News roundup - Sunday, 11 August

PM Golob joins Ireland's call for review of EU-Israel partnership agreement

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob drew attention to the horrific situation in Gaza as he joined an appeal by Irish PM Simon Harris to the European Commission to review the EU's association agreement with Israel, which governs trade and is pegged to Israel's respect for human rights. "I fully agree with the statement by Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on the horrific situation in Gaza and reiterate his call for an urgent review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement," Golob wrote on X.

Slovenia's handball team fourth at Olympics, Team Slovenia returning home with three medals

LILLE/PARIS, France - The Slovenian man's handball team lost to Spain 22:23 in the bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics in Lille, failing to win what would be the first Olympic medal in any team sport for Slovenia to date. Nevertheless, fourth place is an improvement on their sixth place from Rio in 2016 and matches the other Slovenian best Olympic team result, that of the basketball team in Tokyo. Team Slovenia is thus returning home with three medals - sport climber Janja Garnbret and judoka Andreja Leški won gold and sailor Toni Vodišek silver, as the country fielded a record 90 Slovenian athletes in the Paris games.

Slovenian labour market strong but with some shortcomings

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian labour market has been strong while displaying some shortcomings in recent years, shows a report the Labour Ministry has published after it set up a framework for monitoring nine key factors on the labour market with technical support from the European Commission, and earlier from the OECD. Apart from highlighting a shortage of labour, the report says that more workers work remotely than before the pandemic, women are are more likely than men to be in precarious jobs, and older workers lack the necessary skills to remain competitive, among others issues.

Slovenian Henkel subsidiaries increase revenue and profit in 2023

MARIBOR - The two Slovenia-based subsidiaries of German chemical group Henkel recorded a combined EUR 91 million in revenue and over EUR 9 million in net profit in 2023. Revenue as well as profit were up for both the production company Henkel Maribor and the wholesale company Henkel Slovenija. Henkel Maribor, which employs around 650 people and produces cosmetic products, recorded EUR 49.2 million in revenue, over EUR 10 million more than in 2022, while its net profit, at almost EUR 6.5 million, was also nearly EUR 5 million higher.

Picturesque Jezersko celebrating sheep herding heritage

JEZERSKO - The 64th Shepherds' Ball, an annual heritage event celebrating the return of sheep from mountain pastures into the valley, was held in Jezersko in north Slovenia, in what is one of the oldest Slovenian ethnographic festivals. The peak of the festival, held annually in the popular Alpine spot, is when shepherds bring their herds back to the valley. The event attracts a number of visitors as it showcases the old traditions of life in the mountain and the work involved in processing sheep's wool, while visitors get a chance to taste local dishes prepared in the traditional way over open fire.