News roundup - Saturday, 9 March

Survey: SDS would get three, Freedom Movement two MEPs

LJUBLJANA - Delo published a survey carried out by Mediana in accordance with which the coalition Democrats (SDS) would get three MEPs in the European Parliament election, followed by the ruling Freedom Movement with two. The remaining parliamentary parties, the Social Democrats (SD), New Slovenia (NSi) and the Left, would get one MEP each. More than 81% of the respondents would definitely or probably participate in the elections, while 14.8% would definitely or probably not participate, shows the survey commissioned by the newspaper and carried out on 5-7 March among 723 people.

Slovenia in UN Security Council calls for end of war in Sudan

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia's representative in the UN Security Council Samuel Žbogar noted the need to end the conflict in Sudan and return to an inclusive political process ahead of Friday's vote and endorsement of the UK-sponsored resolution, which calls for a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Žbogar endorsed the call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the warring parties to respect international humanitarian law, and added that the most tragic consequence of the war was the catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and called for the protection of civilians and access to humanitarian aid.

73% think recent extreme weather related to climate change, survey shows

LJUBLJANA - Some 73% of the respondents in the Slovenian Public Opinion survey think that the recent extreme weather phenomena are the result of climate change. The respondents were also asked whether they themselves or someone from their family was affected by the August 2023 floods, with 75.7% saying no one from their family suffered any damage, and 12.5% saying they were on the verge of being endangered.The floods have left at least some emotional consequences on the majority of the people polled.

Balcony shooter from Draženci gets year and half in prison

PTUJ - The man from Draženci who last September barricaded himself in his house and took several shots from the balcony, hitting a moving car with two passengers and also aiming at the police officers who came to intervene, has been sentenced to a year and a half in prison, Večer reported. The incident took place on 26 September 2023 in the village near Ptuj (NE), ending after almost ten hours of negotiations with the man being apprehended by the police. The court in Ptuj sided with the prosecution, which had charged the 56-year-old with the criminal act of obstructing the performance of official acts.