News roundup - Friday, 5 May, until 3pm

Slovenia condemns another mass shooting in Serbia

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Robert Golob condemned yet another fatal shooting in Serbia as a 21-year-old man shot at least eight people dead in the Mladenovac area on Thursday night, some 60 kilometres south of the capital of Belgrade, which saw a school shooting on Wednesday that left nine people dead. Golob also expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims and wished those injured in the attack a speedy recovery, as did President Nataša Pirc Musar. She added that the "cruelty of the events that have affected all of us deeply must not become a competition in sensationalism".

Exports growth outpaces imports growth in Q1

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia exported EUR 14.4 billion worth of goods in the first quarter of the year, up 27% over the same period a year ago, as imports rose at a slower pace, by 11.2% to EUR 14.5 billion, fresh Statistics Office figures show. The trade gap amounted to EUR 84.3 million with export-import ratio at 99.4%. Trade with non-EU countries increased much more substantially than trade with EU countries, although the bulk of trade was still done with EU markets. In March alone, exports rose by 21.7% year-on-year to EUR 5.2 billion with exports to markets outside the EU rising by 62.5%, or by 15.6% discounting operations involving processing.

Slovenia's jobless total lowest since 1990

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's registered jobless in April dropped by 3.4% at the monthly level to reach 48,598, the lowest figure since 1990. In yearly comparison, the figure is down by 16.3%, reads the report published by the Employment Service. There were 3,819 people newly-registered at the Employment Service in April, which is 11.6% down from March and 6.8% from April 2022. Employers posted 12,010 vacancies in April, which is down 27.2% from March and 8.6% year-on-year.

Open letter finds energy and climate plan proposal harmful

LJUBLJANA - The Youth for Climate Justice group addressed an open letter dubbed Plan for Climate Breakdown to the Environment Ministry. The letter, signed by 48 organisations, warns that the proposal for the National Energy and Climate Plan update that was presented in April is not ambitious and will lead Slovenia to an environmental and climate breakdown and a worsening of social inequalities. The movement advocates for measures that will help Slovenia reach carbon neutrality by 2040 in a socially just and nature friendly way.

Two schools in Trbovlje secured due to threatening mail

TRBOVLJE - The police secured two primary schools in Trbovlje in central Slovenia as it received a threatening e-mail on Thursday, which is believed to be motivated by Wednesday's school shooting in Serbia. Additional safety measures have been imposed, and classes and other activities are being performed as usual, but some 10% of the students did not come to school today, the school's head teacher Petra Čede said, hopeful that the threatening e-mail was merely a prank.

Dončić to cover costs of funerals of victims of Belgrade shooting

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian basketball superstar Luka Dončić announced on Thursday that he will cover the costs of the funerals of the nine victims of Wednesday's school shooting in Serbia, and will also pay for counselling for the victims' families and the affected students and staff. The 24-year-old member of the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA said on Twitter that he was "heartbroken by the tragic school shooting in Serbia and the loss of lives, including those of innocent children". He said that he supported and stood with the people of Belgrade during this difficult time.