News roundup - Thursday, 11 April, until 3pm

Slovenia hit by another DDoS cyberattack but situation manageable

LJUBLJANA - Vojko Volk, a state secretary for national and international security in the prime minsiter's office, confirmed that Slovenia is a target of another distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Access to some websites remains blocked, including to that of the central bank, but the situation is manageable, he said after the government session. Volk also said that Prime Minister Robert Golob announced more funds for cybersecurity.

Police under scrutiny over handling of school shooting threat

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar ordered a review of police work regarding a shooting threat at Slovenian schools, which was made in an online comment last week and made schools beef up security and upset the general public this week. The review will also check whether the police's communication about the threat was conducted professionally and lawfully, the Interior Ministry said.

Nearly 7,000 people in Brežice sign petition against asylum centre

LJUBLJANA/OBREŽJE - A group campaigning against a government plan to establish an asylum centre at the Obrežje border crossing with Croatia presented the government with a petition signed by nearly 7,000 people. Unless the government listens to them, they will take the matter to court.

Four Slovenians convicted of involvement in fraud against BBC

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana District Court sentenced four Slovenians to jail for their involvement in an email scam that defrauded the British national broadcaster BBC of EUR 336,000, the newspapers Dnevnik, Delo and Slovenske Novice reported. The sentences range from three years and two months in prison to an imprisonment of one year, whereas the fines for their involvement in the fraud and money laundering scheme range from EUR 3,500 to EUR 1,000. A fifth Slovenian suspect has been acquitted.

Minister orders review of Jesenice station upgrade

LJUBLJANA/JESENICE - Due to cost increase concerns, Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek called on the Infrastructure Agency to carry out a review of the planned upgrade of the Jesenice railway station as soon as possible. The cost of the project first increased from a ballpark figure in the region of EUR 80 million to EUR 137 million, but once bidders submitted their bids, it became clear it could rise even further.

Number of active population up, share down

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia had an active population of around 989,000 in 2023, which is 0.3% more than in 2022 and the highest figure in the last decade. However, the share of active population dropped by 0.2 points to 56.4%, data from the Statistics Office shows. The number of employed persons stayed level, that of self-employed grew by 3.4%, and 9% fewer were jobless.

EU Commission registers Slovenian-led pro-choice campaign

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission has registered a Slovenian-coordinated European Citizens' Initiative, My Voice, My Choice, coordinated by the NGO 8 March Institute, which aims to campaign for accessible and safe abortion for women across Europe. The initiative organisers now have six months to start collecting signatures in support of the cause. They need to collect one million signatures from at least seven EU member states. They hope to achieve the goal before the EU elections in June.