News roundup - Saturday, 11 February

Slovenian rescue team returning from Turkey

LJUBLJANA - A Slovenian team of rescue dogs and their handlers that was sent to Turkey on Tuesday to help locate earthquake survivors is returning to Slovenia, the Defence Ministry said, adding that many international search teams were gradually withdrawing from the affected areas due to the deteriorating security situation, injuries and exhaustion.

Pirc Musar calls for efforts to encourage women to pursue career in science

LJUBLJANA - President Nataša Pirc Musar called for efforts to encourage women to pursue vocational training or study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as she attended via videolink an assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday dedicated to the 8th International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Minister for Higher Education, Science and Innovation Igor Papič warned that every year Slovenia failed to unlock the great potential in girls who decided not to pursue STEM careers due to stereotypes.

Court dismisses suit over former Statistics Office head's dismissal, report says

LJUBLJANA - The Administrative Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Bojan Nastav, the former head of the Statistics Office, over his dismissal in May 2020, the newspaper Dnevnik reported. The court said the then government's decision to dismiss Nastav was "an act of political discretion", based on the public employees act, and so the court could not delve into reviewing the grounds for the dismissal.

Nearly 518,000 emergency calls made last year

LJUBLJANA - A total of 517,842 calls to the 112 emergency number were made in Slovenia in 2022, shows data released by the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, which means more than 1,400 calls on average per day. Among the country's 13 regional notification centres, the Ljubljana centre was the busiest with 131,800 calls. Marking European 112 Day, the administration said that last year's callers had required firefighters' services the most.

Maribor named third best destination in Europe in 2023

MARIBOR - Maribor has been named the third best destination in Europe this year in a poll by European Best Destinations in which over half a million travellers were deciding between more than 400 destinations. The city was also named the best culinary destination in Europe. Over 68,600 people voted for Maribor, the city's tourism office said on Friday.