Infrastructure Minister Out of Office After 5 days!
Less than a week into the new government's term, Minister of Infrastructure and Spatial Planning Igor Maher tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek on Monday in the wake of controversy surrounding his property on the coast.
In his letter of resignation, posted on the web site of his Citizens' List (DL) party, Maher explains that even though he does not think he has done anything wrong, he believes in the highest ethical standards and understands he cannot deal with issues related to his property as a public office holder.
Industrial Output Broadly Flat in January, Down Y/Y
Slovenia's industry contracted by 0.2% in January on the month before, collapsing by 1.8% on the same month a year ago as decline in industrial output continues, the Statistic Office reported on Monday.
Only mining and quarrying registered a decline in January over December (-1.4%), while electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, and manufacturing recorded growth (+1.4% and +0.3%, respectively).
The output of consumer goods increased by 1.7%, but output in capital goods industries fell by 1.5% and it remained flat in intermediate goods industries compared to December 2012.
Industrial turnout increased by 1.6% from December, but dropped by 2.6% from January 2012. At the monthly level, revenue was up 13.6% in mining and quarrying and 1.4% in manufacturing.
The value of stocks was 0.8% up in January on the month before but down by the same percentage on January 2012.
Labour productivity in industry in 2012 was just 0.2% higher than in 2011. Labour productivity growth slowed down due to a fall in industrial production and a drop labour active population.
Winter is Coming Back
Snow will make a comeback in Slovenia on Sunday, as light to moderate snow is expected to spread across most of the country during the day. Temperatures are expected to drop to around freezing inland, up to 7 degrees centigrade in the Adriatic region.
The cold front will be fanned by a cold easterly wind, which is expected to blow in most parts of Slovenia during the day. A bora is expected in western parts of the country.
The cloudy and snowy weather is expected to persist until Tuesday, with the Environmental Agency forecasting that it will bring 5-10 centimetres of snow to low-lying parts of the country and up to 25 centimetres to high-lying areas in the south.
The wind is also forecast to persist until Tuesday, when the first signs of clearing are expected. Gusts in western Slovenia could reach up to 120 km/h from Sunday evening until Tuesday.