News roundup - Sunday, 13 October

Ten children from Gaza arrive in Slovenia for rehabilitation

LJUBLJANA - Ten wounded children from the Gaza Strip and their assistants arrived in Slovenia for treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation at the URI Soča institute in Ljubljana, confirmed the foundation of former President Danilo Türk, which participates in the project. Four of them have had their legs amputated, and two have had their arms amputated, and the youngest of them is four years old. PM Robert Golob wished the children a successful recovery in a post on X.

Minister Arčon visits Slovenian community in Belgium

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Following a two-day visit to Luxembourg, Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon visited the Slovenian community in Belgium on Saturday, where he took part in an event marking the 95th anniversary of the Slovenian cultural association St. Barbara. On this occasion, the minister presented the association with a recognition from the Office for Slovenians Abroad. Arčon also met with representatives of the Slovenian community in Brussels after visiting the Slovenian Pastoral Centre, and attending a Slovenian mass and the closing of the Portraits of Famous Slovenians exhibition.

Machinery maker Ledinek saw revenue, profit drop last year

HOČE - Ledinek Engineering, a maker of machinery and production lines for the wood processing industry, generated over EUR 82 million in revenue last year, down 13% compared to 2022. Net profit was also down, by 37% to EUR 10 million, shows the annual report of the Hoče-based company. The management of the company with 280 employees, which is 25 more than at the end of 2022, said that the drop in revenue was expected given the value of the signed contracts and that it was appropriately planned. Improvement is expected this and next year due to new projects that have been launched in the US and Europe.

Slovenia beat Kazakhstan again in Nations League

ALMATY, Kazakhstan - The Slovenian men's football team beat Kazakhstan 1:0 in what is their second win in the first four matches in the UEFA Nations League Group B3, both coming against Kazakhstan. After a tough 0:3 loss to Norway on Thursday, the win keeps Slovenia in play for the first place in the group and promotion to League A. The only goal in the match at the Central Stadium in front of some 19,800 spectators was scored by Slovenia's Jan Mlakar in the 55th minute. "A difficult and well-deserved victory. I congratulate the lads for the character they have shown," Slovenia's head coach Matjaž Kek said.

Homeschooling becoming less popular

LJUBLJANA - The number of homeschooled students in Slovenia dropped to 696 in this school year from 869 last year, partly because under new legislation homeschooled children have to pass exams on all school subjects in a given year, the civil initiative for homeschooling has told the STA. "Some parents ... decided to send them to school this year because they do not want to overload them with all the required exams," it said. The figure is still higher than the pre-Covid levels. The number of homeschooled children grew from just 25 in the 2007-08 school year to 687 in the 2020-21 school year.