News roundup - Saturday, 11 February

Slovenian rescue team returns from Turkey

LJUBLJANA - A Slovenian team of rescue dogs and their handlers that was sent to southern Turkey on Tuesday to help locate earthquake survivors returned to Slovenia due to the closing window of finding people alive, the dogs' injuries and security concerns amid unrest in the affected area, said the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief. The dogs' injuries have been treated and the four-legged rescuers are expected to recover shortly.

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

LJUBLJANA/NEW YORK, US - 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.

Winter athletes sweep Bloudek Prizes for major achievement

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The four-member men's ski jumping team from the Winter Olympics in Beijing, Alpine skier Žan Kranjec and snowboarders Tim Mastnak and Gloria Kotnik are the winners of the 2022 Bloudek Prizes. All seven athletes won Olympic medals in Beijing last year to earn the highest national awards for sporting achievements.

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.