News roundup - Saturday, 22 July

Defence Minister Šarec visits storm-hit Črna na Koroškem

ČRNA NA KOROŠKEM - Defence Minister Marjan Šarec visited Črna na Koroškem in northern Slovenia, where severe storms on Friday triggered landslides and torrential flooding. The damage is great extensive, and all available teams are on the ground, including soldiers with machinery, the minister said. "The most important thing is that no house and no human life is endangered, the rest will be sorted out," he added. Mayor Romana Lesjak called on the state to develop infrastructure that would prevent flooding of facilities in the area by torrential streams. She estimated the damage as "certainly enormous".

Janša discusses govt moves, crisis of values at SDS get-together

BOVEC - The 28th annual get-together of the Democratic Party (SDS) started at the Bovec airstrip, with SDS president Janez Janša addressing the event. He pointed to what he believes are the wrong decisions of the current government and to a crisis of values in Slovenian society. The SDS is still waiting for good initiatives from the current government, Janša said, criticising the establishment of advisory councils for nutrition and for the prevention of hate speech. Turning to the European elections in June 2024, he said that the SDS would prepare the best list of candidates so far.

Illegal migration up almost three-fold in first half of 2023

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian police processed 20,274 illegal crossings of the border in the first six months of 2023, which is almost three times more than in the same period last year. Citizens of Afghanistan, Morocco and Bangladesh were the most frequently involved in illegal crossings of the border in that period. As many as 72.4% of all illegal crossings of the border were recorded in the area covered by the Novo Mesto Police Department (southeast). The number of expressed intentions to submit applications for international protection was up by almost four-fold to 19,451 compared to the first half of 2022.

Slovenia's Pogačar wins penultimate stage of Tour de France

LE MARKSTEIN, France - Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the penultimate stage of the Tour de France from Belfort to Le Markstein (133.5 km), ahead of Felix Gall of Austria and Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark, who today unofficially became the winner of this year's edition of the most prestigious road cycling race. "It is best to win if you reach the finish line alone, but Jonas was very good again," the 24-year-old told the national broadcaster RTV Slovenija after winning the white jersey for the best young cyclist at the Tour and finishing second overall, behind Vingegaard.

19-year-old Ukrainian found dead in sea in Izola

IZOLA - A 19-year-old Ukrainian apparently drowned in the coastal town of Izola. The police was notified about a lifeless male body floating by the customs terminal pier around 8:30am, and have so far determined his age and nationality. The body was pulled out of the water by members of the Koper fire brigade, who handed it to the competent authorities. The police said that the site had been examined and that no foul play had been detected. The official cause of death is yet to be determined.