Ljubljana  - Slovenia's economy picked up slightly in the second quarter to an annual growth rate of 5.5 per cent, despite slower rises in consumer spending and construction, official data showed Thursday.

Slovenia, an export-driven economy and the only formerly communist eurozone member, recorded 5.4-per-cent growth in the first quarter.

Trade accounted for 0.3 percentage points of the second-quarter gain after holding back gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first three months of 2008, the national statistics office said.

Ljubljana- Slovenian rescuers were searching for bodies in the Sava River Friday, a day after a freak accident at a poorly organized boating event claimed the lives of a dozen people.

Eight people from the two canoes which capsized Thursday afternoon were confirmed dead, including Kristijan Janc, the mayor of Sevnica, a town 70 kilometres southeast of Ljubljana who organized the event, police said. Janc was also a lawmaker in the national parliament.

Four others were still missing, their chances of survival described as "negligent."

Brdo, Slovenia  - European Union countries should offer to host prisoners held in the United States' notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, Amnesty International said Monday.

Ljubljana  - The shutdown of the Slovenian nuclear power plant at Krsko following a coolant leak was standard procedure and "nothing unusual," plant director Stane Rozman said Thursday.

Brdo, Slovenia - The European Union wants to set up official monitoring bodies to keep an eye on internationally operating banks and insurances, sources close to the Slovenian EU presidency said Fr