News roundup - Saturday, 31 August

Pirc Musar talks topical issues with Czech and Finnish counterparts

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - President Nataša Pirc Musar discussed bilateral relations and topical issues in meetings with her Czech and Finnish counterparts, Petr Pavel and Alexander Stubb, on the sidelines of the Globasec Forum security conference in Prague. Her office said both meetings confirmed good and friendly relations between Slovenia and each respective country. Pirc Musar concluded her two-day appearance at the security conference with a discussion with BBC news presenter Kasia Madera about Slovenia's experience as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Majority in a poll say govt should stick to EU commissioner candidate

LJUBLJANA - More than half (54.4%) of those questioned in a poll run by the newspaper Dnevnik would support the government if it insisted on Tomaž Vesel as the candidate for Slovenia's European Commissioner and almost a half (45.9%) see him as a suitable candidate, against 24.4% who do not. Nearly half (49.6%) of respondents do not find it acceptable that Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen should have allegedly asked for a different candidate, while a third (32.2%) would find this acceptable.

Slovenia joins celebration of Jewish culture

ŠALOVCI - European Days of Jewish Culture got under way in Slovenia with an event by the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in front of the Šalovci town hall in the northeast of the country. Taking place in several Slovenian towns until November, the festival this year focuses on the family as the central theme. After several events in Šalovci, the Maribor Synagogue will hold open day on Sunday to kick off festivities in Maribor. Events will also be held in Ljubljana, Murska Sobota, Negova, Oplotnica, Lendava and Ptuj.

Unlimited paid leave proves success for Mikro+Polo

MARIBOR - Mikro+Polo, the Maribor-based lab equipment supplier, offers a number of benefits to its employees, including unlimited paid leave. Ten years on, they find that on average, employees take two more days of leave per year than they would be entitled to under the law. General manager Marko Podgornik Verdev told the STA it depended on the age how much leave their employees take. "The younger ones take up to ten days more per year and the older ones up to ten days fewer," he told the STA.

Wolf takes down 15 sheep near Kropa

KROPA - Fifteen sheep and lambs were taken down by a wolf in a pasture protected by an electric fence near the northwestern village of Kropa in the night to Friday. Some of the sheep and lambs were killed and some are so badly injured they will not survive, the local hunting club told the STA. The attack site has been inspected by the Forest Service and a permit has been issued to cull one wolf at the location within 10 days. The owners of the attacked sheep say this is the first such attack on low ground in the Gorenjska region.

Turnout at cultural events below pre-pandemic levels

LJUBLJANA - There were fewer cultural events and fewer people going to such events in 2023 than in the pre-Covid year 2019. The number of visitors stood at roughly 3.9 million last year, down 12% compared to 2019, show data from the national Statistics Office. Cultural organisations held more than 24,100 events, a 3% decrease from 2019. There were also 193 fewer events organised by cultural centres, theatres and music institutions than in 2022.