Hojs, Nouris discuss Ukraine war, migration pact
LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Nouris discussed on Friday the war in Ukraine and its consequences. They stressed the importance of managing migration at the EU level. They also spoke of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, where Slovenia advocates flexible solidarity. The ministers agreed that the Ukraine war and its consequences demand great attention and coordinated action among EU countries. Slovenia has been showing solidarity with concrete actions, including humanitarian aid, diplomatic support and activation of temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine, Hojs said.
Košorok sees second nuclear reactor as guarantee of reliable energy supply
KRŠKO - Blaž Košorok, the new head of GEN Energija, a state-owned power company that manages Slovenia's half of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, believes a second reactor in Krško would guarantee reliable and cost effective energy supply. Energy prices will never go back to what they were, he said in an interview with the STA. Košorok is primarily concerned by the Russian attack on Ukraine, which he believes will affect the energy sector in the coming years. He believes cooperation is the answer. "If we are divided in a populist manner, nothing good will happen to us, not only in the energy sector but in the economy in general, which expects quick reactions."
Minister addresses business conference Texas Feels Slovenia
DALLAS, US - Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik on Friday addressed the opening of a business and investment conference Texas Feels Slovenia as part of his visit to the US. According to the ministry, a number of potential US business partners and investors attended the conference. He stressed the Slovenian government was focussing on digital transformation and striving for as much progress as possible as soon as possible. "Our goal is to have our country rank among the top five digitally most advanced European countries by the end of this decade," he said.
Poll shows Freedom Movement in the lead, Left gaining ground
LJUBLJANA - A poll conducted by pollster Ninamedia for several newspapers suggests the Freedom Movement is the most popular party, polling at 23%, with its support rising by 2.3 percentage points. The Democrats (SDS) in second place lost ground, with its support dropping by 1.4 points to 18.1%. The Left also gained ground, ranking third. The Left added 2.2 points to poll at 10.1%, shows the 2022 Election poll conducted for Večer, Dnevnik, Svet24 and Primorske Novice. The Social Democrats (SD) rank fourth, on 9.8%, down 0.3 points from the month before. The Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and New Slovenia (NSi) follow with 4.8% and 3.9%, respectively.
CoE report shows prison overcrowding no longer issue in Slovenia
STRASBOURG, France - Slovenia is no longer facing issue of overcrowded prisons, shows a report from the Council of Europe on prison statistics in its 52 member states for 2021. This is also due to the number of prisoners declining significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the report, the key factors contributing to the decrease in the number of prisoners in 2020 and 2021 include early release of prisoners to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has also been practised by Slovenia.
Record number of job vacancies in March
LJUBLJANA - Unemployment total in Slovenia is low and employers have difficulties finding skilled workforce, shows an analysis by MojeDelo.si, Slovenia's largest online jobs market. March marked the second lowest recorded unemployment rate in Slovenia's history. This is also reflected in the data collected by MojeDelo.com, where they have noticed a record number of job posting. Currently, the portal has 900 active employers searching for nearly 5,000 new employees.
Number of registered cars in Slovenia up 1.6% in 2021
LJUBLJANA - The number of registered cars in 2021 was just shy of 1.2 million, an increase of 1.6% compared to 2019. Hybrid cars experienced the most prominent rise, well over 160%. The car fleet renewal rate was low due to a high number of new registrations of used cars. Last year, the number of newly registered cars reached 88.235, an increase of 8.9% compared to the year before. The number of new cars registered remained the same as in 2020, whereas new registrations of used cars grew by 26%.
Covid-19 keeps retreating
LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,839 coronavirus infections were recorded in Slovenia on Friday, down over 1,600 from a week ago. Hospitalisations are dropping as well, with 152 patients treated for Covid-19 in Slovenian hospitals today, including 21 in intensive care. Four patients died. The number of hospital patients dropped by 16 and the number of those in intensive care remained level.
Ninth lynx from Romania arrives in Slovenia
ILIRSKA BISTRICA - An adult male lynx arrived from the Carpathian Mountains in Romania to the Snežnik plateau on Friday and is adjusting to the new environment in an enclosure. It is the ninth lynx to have arrived from Romania, said partners to the LIFE Lynx project, striving to preserve the Dinaric-Alpine lynx population. The location of the enclosure has not been made public and people have been urged not to approach it. The area is under video surveillance, and hunters and inspector also patrol the area.
Volunteers plant more than 10,000 trees
KOČEVJE - More than 10,000 trees were planted at six locations around Slovenia as part of an annual campaign to replenish forests hit by natural disasters. The campaign was organised by SiDG, the state forests company, and its partners after a two-year break. As part of Let's Rejuvenate Forests 2022, volunteers planted saplings of spruce, larch, beech, cherry, linden, oak, wild service tree, sycamore and maple. The trees were planted in the areas of Kočevska Reka, Škofja Loka, Trojane, Rakov Škocjan, Trnovo Forests and Kidričevo on almost five hectares.
Film on vanishing Slovenian language in Austria featured in Graz
GRAZ, Austria - A documentary by Andrina Mračnikar, the Austrian director and screenwriter of Slovenian descent, which deals with the vanishing of the Slovenian language from everyday life in Carinthia, was featured at the Diagonale film festival in Graz. The feature-length documentary entitled Verschwinden (Vanishing) is a "call against resignation and for courageous political action," says the presentation of the film in the festival's catalogue.
