Christmas

Artillery exchanges pounded war-scarred cities in eastern Ukraine on Jan. 6 despite Russian leader Vladimir Putin unilaterally ordering his forces to pause attacks for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas.

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said Friday's armed attack on two Kosovo Serb youths at Gotovusa, near Strpce, was "an attempt of murder" and noted that someone had "wanted to give the Serbs a bloody Christmas."

He said that, according to locals, the two had been shot at by an ethnic Albanian from a moving vehicle.

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic confirmed he and Human Rights Minister Tomislav Zigmanov would attend a Christmas reception to be hosted by the Serb National Council in Zagreb on Friday.

Croatian government representatives are also expected to attend.

Ljubljana city authorities should use the energy crisis not only to drop Christmas lights but also reduce illumination of key buildings, including Ljubljana Castle and churches, to save energy and reduce light pollution, Dnevnik newspaper says in Tuesday’s commentary From Dusk to Dawn.

Ptuj – A retrial for a man charged with murder of his former partner and her parents on Christmas 2020 is coming to an end at the Ptuj District Court. While the defendant changed his plea from guilty in the first trial to not guilty, the prosecution once again proposes life imprisonment. The verdict will be delivered on Monday.

Ljubljana – The average Slovenian gross wage stood at EUR 2,085 in November, up by a tenth both in real and nominal terms over the month before and almost 3% on 2020. The Statistics Office attributes the jump to Christmas bonuses.

Ljubljana/Koper/Maribor – The government ban on outdoor food and drink stalls has dampened down the festive mood at Christmas markets across Slovenia as inspectors clamped down on the vendors trying to get around the restrictions. Dismayed at what they see as unfair and unlawful rules, hospitality providers are now mounting class action to claim damages.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today attended an extraordinary meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos and the Permanent Holy Synod to discuss public health measures at Orthodox Christmas services nationwide and to convey to the entire Church the importance of vaccination amidst a surge in the COVID-19 epidemic.

Christmas appetizers - from imported meat. Due to the shortage of Bulgarian pork, almost all sausages in the shop windows are with meat from Germany, Spain and Denmark. At the same time, the prices of meat products on the stand are going up.

Increased interest in charter programs for Christmas and New Year, according to tour operators. However, tourists are sensitive to all restrictive measures and many of the registrations are at the last minute.