Pahor calls maiden session of new parliament for Friday
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor signed an order calling the maiden session of the new National Assembly for Friday after receiving a report on the official results of the 24 April general election. Both Pahor and Peter Golob, the president of the National Electoral Commission, found that the election process was "fair and transparent". Robert Golob, the leader of the Freedom Movement, which won 41 seats in the 90-strong assembly, plans to form a government with the SocDems and the Left by 3 June.
Simona Semenič wins Cankar Prize for Three Plays for Girls
VRHNIKA - Author Simona Semenič won the Cankar Prize for best original piece of literature published over the past year for Three Plays for Girls (Tri Igre za Punce) in which she focusses on women's and gender issues. Before accepting the EUR 10,000 prize at Sunday's ceremony in Vrhnika, the 46-year-old multi-award winning author said her plays deal with the subject of the female body as a testing ground for abuse. Named after writer Ivan Cankar (1876-1918), the prize has been presented for the third year.
Novo Mesto remembers founder of Vienna Boys' Choir
NOVO MESTO - Bishop of Novo Mesto Andrej Saje celebrated mass and Archbishop of Ljubljana Stanislav Zore delivered the sermon at a ceremony marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Jurij Slatkonja, the founder of the Vienna Boys' Choir. Slatkonja was born in Ljubljana on 21 March 1456 when Slovenian lands were under Habsburg rule. He went on to become priest and a chaplain and cantor at the Vienna court where he founded in 1498 what later became known as the Vienna Boys' Choir.
Catholic weekly Družina marks 70th anniversary
LJUBLJANA - Družina, the Slovenian Catholic weekly, celebrates its 70th anniversary with a sizeable readership of 100,000. The first issue of what translates as The Family came out on 7 May 1952. The newspaper was first published as a religious biweekly of the Apostolic Administration for the region of Goriška, western Slovenia. In 1973, it switched to a weekly format. The paper's name was chosen by its first editor-in-chief Jože Premrov and it was to represent the Slovenian nation as one big family.
Covid case count down by third w/w
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 321 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, just two-thirds of the figure reported a week before, and no deaths among Covid-19 patients, data from the Health Ministry shows. A total of 89 patients were treated in hospitals for Covid-19 this morning, four more than yesterday, including eight in intensive care. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 of the population fell to 531.
Golfer Babnik third in Madrid Ladies Open
MADRID, Spain - Pia Babnik, Slovenia's best professional golfer, has notched up another podium, finishing third in the Ladies European Tour tournament in Madrid with a prize fund of EUR 300,000. With the feat at the Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open the 18-year-old follows up on her third place in the first major tournament of the season, the Chevron Championship in California, US.
