News roundup - Friday, 19 May, until 3pm

NGOs call on govt to stop deportations of asylum seekers

LJUBLJANA - Asylum seekers and NGOs staged a rally to call on the government to prevent the planned deportations of two asylum seekers. The practice of handing those seeking international protection over to Croatia needs to be scrapped immediately, they said. The rally was a response to certain NGO's warnings in recent days that the Interior Ministry intends to return a large number of asylum seekers to Croatia in the next few days. The government said all asylum applications were handled on a case-by-case basis.

Leaders discuss crisis management at international conference

BLED - A number of experts and leaders in politics and business convened an international conference on crisis management hosted the the IEDC Bled - School of Management and Bloomberg Adria. Setting priorities and focusing on their implementation was highlighted as a key to success. Former Finnish prime minister and manager at Nokia Esko Aho said it was key that those in charge are aware that crises demand changes in existing strategies and concepts. Prime Minister Robert Golob said was very important to stay focused, which is much harder to do in politics than in business.

Number of Brnik airport passengers up by over a half y/y

BRNIK - The number of passengers travelling through the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport increased by 51% in the first four months of the year, show data by operator Fraport Slovenija. While overall passenger traffic remains under the pre-pandemic levels, some routes have exceeded the 2019 figures. In April alone, over 95,000 people travelled through Brnik airport, an increase of 36% year-on-year, and the number is expected to exceed 100,000 in May.

Steklarna Hrastnik launches digitalisation project

HRASTNIK - Steklarna Hrastnik glassworks launched a EUR 4.6 million project to digitalise production. General director Peter Čas said that the funds will enable his company to go digital in several fields: in innovation, organisation, and management of operations and markets. The company will introduce new and upgrade existing technologies and applications, as well as new business models for different markets. It will also develop machine learning models to optimise production.