News roundup - Sunday, 28 January

Fajon worried about rise of far-right in Holocaust address

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said she is following with concern a rise in the far-right across Europe as she addressed a commemoration marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day. She stressed that the best way to remember the victims of Holocaust and of shelling in Gaza is by "finding a way to peace". Fajon was the key note speaker at the commemoration at Kino Šiška in Ljubljana, which was organised by ZZB NOB, the Slovenian umbrella organisation of WWII veterans.

Just over half respondents for justice minister's resignation, poll shows

LJUBLJANA - 51% of those surveyed by pollster Mediana for commercial broadcaster POP TV consider calls for Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan's resignation justified, while 21% see them as unjustified. Nearly 26% said they did not know whether the calls were justified and 2.2% declined to provide an answer. As for the judges' strike over salaries that should be raised in line with last year's constitutional court ruling, only 13% support the 10-24 January strike, while 77.5% are against it.

TIGR memorial in Italy desecrated, Slovenia expects perpetrators to be held accountable

TRIESTE, Italy - A memorial to the anti-fascist group TIGR near the Italian city of Trieste was desecrated on Friday with a black bundle, a symbol of Fascism, while part of the inscription was erased. As the association TIGR Primorska said on its website, this is at least the third time the memorial has been vandalised. Reacting, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry condemned the vandalism in a post on X, saying it expects Italian authorities to find the perpetrators and hold them accountable.

Slovenia ski-flying champions for second time in a row

KULM, Austria - Slovenian ski jumpers Lovro Kos, Peter Prevc, Domen Prevc and Timi Zajc scored a convincing win in the team event at the Ski Flying World Championships, defending the championship title from Vikersund two years ago. The team scored 1,615.4 points, 26.5 points more than the Austrian team, which finished second, and 65.5 points ahead of Germany, for the 11th medal for Slovenia at ski-flying championships. For Zajc, today's gold is the second medal at this championship, as he won bronze in the individual event on Saturday.

Slovenian ski jumper Prevc wins Ljubno World Cup event, Križnar third

LJUBNO OB SAVINJI - Slovenia's Nika Prevc won today's World Cup event in Ljubno pri Savinji, Slovenia, with 276.8 points after taking second place on the same hill yesterday. Another Slovenian, Nika Križnar (268.9 points) placed third, only 2.8 points behind Austrian Eva Pinkelnig, the winner of yesterday's race. This is the sixth individual World Cup victory for 18-year-old Prevc this season and in her career, and her ninth World Cup podium result. The World Cup season will continue in Germany.

Farm land in Slovenia among most expensive in EU

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The prices of agricultural land in Slovenia are among the highest in the EU, shows data by Eurostat. In 2022, a hectare of agricultural land in Slovenia averaged EUR 23,282, while the EU average was at EUR 10,578. Agricultural land was most expensive in Malta, averaging EUR 233,230 per hectare. In Slovenia, regional differences were very noticeable, as a hectare of land in the west of the country cost nearly twice as much as in the east.