tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5840480779627215432024-03-13T03:48:19.606-07:00Slovenia BlogRandom Items of Interest from SloveniaFNDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10551137160321061294noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-42159859771751493412009-11-19T02:06:00.000-08:002009-11-19T02:06:41.990-08:00Slovenian PM turns shoeshine boy after World Cup win"Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said he had made good on a promise to clean the team's boots after Wednesday's victory over Russia earned them a place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.<br /><br />'I just cleaned the players' shoes but I admit I did not clean them thoroughly,' Pahor told TV Slovenia after coming from the dressing room.<br /><br />Pahor said last month he would 'clean shoes' if Slovenia managed to come through in the playoffs, which they did after a 1-0 win over Russia saw them to victory on the away goals rule.<br /><br />Pahor watched the match in the company of Slovenian President Danilo Turk, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of English Premier League club Chelsea."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idINIndia-44070020091119">Reuters</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-2643568869492313572009-06-29T00:37:00.000-07:002009-06-29T00:37:56.336-07:00Border bother for visitors to Italy - G8 Summit<a href="http://www.euronews.net/2009/06/28/border-bother-for-visitors-to-italy/"></a> "Tough luck for tourists as Italy tightens its borders. For the next two weeks, Italy is suspending the Schengen Agreement, which abolished border controls within mainland Europe. It is doing this to step up security ahead of the G8 summit in L’Aquila on July 15. It means anyone entering or leaving Italy will now need to show a passport."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.euronews.net/2009/06/28/border-bother-for-visitors-to-italy/">euronews</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-66674572189578972882009-06-20T09:09:00.000-07:002009-06-20T09:09:49.108-07:00Slovenia reports 1st case of swine flu - USATODAY.com<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-06-19-swine-flu-friday_N.htm#"></a>"The Slovenian Health Ministry has confirmed the country's first case of swine flu in a young woman who recently visited New York.<br /><br />The ministry says the woman felt symptoms Wednesday while on a plane from New York to Venice in neighboring Italy, from where she returned to Slovenia."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-06-19-swine-flu-friday_N.htm#">USATODAY.com</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-72637159669235950582009-05-08T04:48:00.000-07:002009-05-08T04:48:13.703-07:00Ancient spear tip found"Slovenian archeologists have found a wooden spear tip believed to be between 38,000 and 45,000 years old, in a river near the capital Ljubljana, newspapers reported Thursday.<br /><br />'A spear tip made of wood is something absolutely new for that period,' the head of Slovenia's Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (ZVKDS), Ms Barbara Nadbath, was quoted as saying.<br /><br />The tip, unique for being made of wood, was found by the institute's underwater archaeology team last September at a riverbank construction site in Sinja Gorica, in the Ljubljansko barje wetlands west of the capital."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Tech%2Band%2BScience/Story/STIStory_373630.html">AFP</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-47661636051940623842009-03-24T03:11:00.000-07:002009-03-24T03:11:31.693-07:00"Tuerk: Tito Was a Great and Complex Historical Figure"<a href="http://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?s=a&id=1375084"></a>"Ljubljana, 24 March (STA) - Contributing to the debate about Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito, reopened by the recent discovery of a mass grave suspected to contain victims of post-WWII Communist executions, President Danilo Tuerk said in an interview for STA that Tito was a great and complex historical figure of extreme importance for the Slovenian people."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?s=a&id=1375084">STA</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-74747100334726190722009-03-21T13:59:00.000-07:002009-03-21T13:59:32.135-07:00Croatia courts old enemy and its tourism spending<a href="http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=20920446"></a> "It is a sign that the global financial crisis has hit the Adriatic when Croatia is reaching out to its former enemies: for the first time since Serbian and Montenegrin forces besieged this historic port city in 1991, businesspeople here are publicly appealing to Serbian tourists to help rescue the economy.<br /><br />When tourism officials from two Croatian regions, Istria and Dalmatia, sent a delegation to a trade fair in Serbia last month, people on both sides noted sardonically that economic doldrums were forcing Croats to turn to Serbs to help save them. Many here bitterly recall the 1991-1995 war, which erupted after Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia; more than 10,000 Croats and Serbs died, and hundreds of thousands fled their homes.<br /><br />But Goran Strok, the owner of Dubrovnik's choicest hotels, said it was time to put historical grievances aside. 'What Milosevic and Serbian politicians did was unforgivable and should be remembered,' he said, referring to Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian leader, whose embrace of Serbian nationalism set off nearly a decade of Balkan fighting.<br /><br />'But the war is finished, and we can't change who our neighbor is,' Mr. Strok added. 'The Serbs are also good people, and the time has come to reach out to them. I want to see Serb tourists in Dubrovnik.'"<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=20920446">International Herald Tribune</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-2952523655421525752008-12-09T03:04:00.000-08:002008-12-09T03:04:28.547-08:00Thousands on Facebook want Slovenia's Rupel out"More than 13 600 people have joined an Internet group urging Slovenia s 'perennial foreign minister ' Dimitrij Rupel to retire from political life. <br /><br />Rupel who held the post in several governments after independence in 1991 attracted criticism when he swapped parties to allow him to retain the post from 2004 to 2008 a period that covered Slovenia s presidency of the European Union. <br /><br />Now despite being a member of the defeated centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party his fourth party since 1991 he has been made special foreign policy adviser by the new ruling party the centre-left Social Democrats. <br /><br />A day after the announcement his critics set up the 'Together Against Dimitrij Rupel' group on the social networking website Facebook."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE4B72N920081208">Reuters</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-44939421962976413222008-11-24T04:59:00.000-08:002008-11-24T04:59:04.924-08:00Slovenian lawmakers endorse new government<a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/21/europe/EU-Slovenia-New-Government.php"></a> "Slovenian lawmakers endorsed a new, center-left Cabinet on Friday and the prime minister pledged it would focus on guiding the country through the economic crisis.<br /><br />The EU-member country of 2 million has yet to feel any strong effects from the global economic downturn, but experts warn Slovenian growth will likely slow and jobs will be lost in 2009.<br /><br />Leftist Prime Minister Borut Pahor, who won Sept. 21 elections, told lawmakers Friday that his government would focus on 'overcoming the obstacles' of the international slowdown.<br /><br />In the 90-seat legislature, 56 deputies supported Pahor's Cabinet, which includes seven nonpartisan members and a record five women. Thirty deputies voted against it; others were absent."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/21/europe/EU-Slovenia-New-Government.php">International Herald Tribune</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-72153350507255851692008-10-21T14:34:00.000-07:002008-10-21T14:34:48.653-07:00British monarch pays first state visit to Slovenia"Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, paid their first state visit to Slovenia on Tuesday at the invitation of Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk.<br /><br /> The 82-year-old monarch and the Duke were welcomed at the Joze Pucnik airport in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana by British ambassador Tim Simmons and several Slovenian officials, Slovenian news agency STA reported.<br /><br /> The royal couple then traveled in a motorcade to the nearby Brdo Castle, to be met by President Tuerk and First Lady Barbara Miklic Tuerk with full state honors.<br /><br /> After the talks, the Queen and her host exchanged state honors and gifts. President Tuerk decorated the Queen with the Order for Exceptional Services of the Republic of Slovenia, while he received the Most Honorable Order of the Bath.<br /><br /> The Queen's first visit to Slovenia is being met with great fanfare in Slovenia, as it is seen as an opportunity to further enhance the good relations between the two nations.<br /><br /> Slovenia has amended its protocol in anticipation of the royal visit, making this its first state visit to date. Previously, the highest level of visit was an official one."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/22/content_10230588.htm">Xinhua</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-53679710933652208602008-10-08T13:11:00.000-07:002008-10-08T13:11:04.945-07:00Slovenia: Housing prices continue to rise<a href="http://lemn.fordaq.com/fordaq/news/housing_17987.html"></a>"Apartment prices in Slovenia rose by an average of 10% in nominal terms the first half of 2008 compared to the same period last year, according to a report by the Slovenian Surveying and Mapping Authority, which expects prices to go up by another 5% by the end of the year.<br /><br />A square metre of apartment cost on average of EUR 1,850, but prices range from about EUR 2,800 in Ljubljana and Koper to just over EUR 1,000 in Murska Sobota in the east of the country. The growth in house prices was slower, at about 5%. Prices of commercial property, which plunged last year, seem to have recovered: offices were up 9% on average and bars/restaurants rose 26%."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://lemn.fordaq.com/fordaq/news/housing_17987.html">Fordaq</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-86890672072110752652008-05-21T02:47:00.000-07:002008-05-21T02:48:03.637-07:00Bush to attend EU-US summit in Slovenia"US President George W. Bush will attend an EU-US summit in Slovenia in June as part of a European tour including stops in Germany, Italy, the Vatican, France and Britain, the White House announced Tuesday.<br /><p>Bush will begin the June 9-16 trip 'by participating in the annual US-European Union summit in Slovenia,' White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters.<br /><br />Slovenia, the first former communist state to hold the EU's six-month rotating presidency, said Monday that the summit will focus on political and regional issues, global security as well as bilateral partnership.<br /><br />Perino said Bush was traveling to Europe in part 'to strengthen the trans-Atlantic partnership and to celebrate the enduring friendship between our nations based on shared democratic values,' Perino said.<br /><br />'He'll also have a chance to visit with some new friends and some old friends,' she said, noting in particular Silvio Berlusconi, who has begun a third stint as Italy's prime minister.<br /><br />Bush was also likely to press forward with ongoing cooperation on economic, trade and counter-terrorism issues, and to do more work on a multilateral approach to dealing with Iran, Perino added.<br /><br />The June summit will be Bush's second visit to Slovenia after a 2001 visit where he officially met with then Russian president Vladimir Putin for the first time."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ghEPcRsGNHaNfVc05XGUGLsJFpYg">AFP</a></p>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-13472070188864361672008-04-03T13:10:00.000-07:002008-04-03T13:10:49.470-07:00Harrah's, Slovenian group Hit suspend talks<a href="http://www.servihoo.com/Aujourdhui/kinews/afp_details.php?id=196526&CategoryID=47"></a>"Harrah's Entertainment of the United States and Slovenia's Hit Group are suspending talks on construction of a 750-million-euro (1.17-billion-dollar) entertainment park in western Slovenia, the Hit Group said in a statement Wednesday.<br /><br />'The two companies concluded that they could not find a solution that would meet the interests of both,' said Hit Group, which controls the largest casinos in the tiny European Union state.<br /><br />It added that 'it was not possible to define a managing structure that would fulfill the interests of the Hit Group for a balanced development of Nova Gorica as a tourist destination and granting, at the same time, (Harrah's) expected influence in the new joint company.'"<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.servihoo.com/Aujourdhui/kinews/afp_details.php?id=196526&CategoryID=47">Servihoo.com</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-89298967996453254882008-02-28T01:48:00.000-08:002008-02-28T01:48:57.252-08:00Ex-Slovenian President Dies at 57<a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iJ8ezid9hNA3yHrEQXlDQxazMXdQD8V027QG0"></a> "Former President Janez Drnovsek, who helped lead Slovenia to independence from Yugoslavia and later enthralled many of his countrymen by adopting a New Age lifestyle, died Saturday, his office said. He was 57.<br /><br />Mild-mannered but resolute, Drnovsek became a political icon in part for working to keep violence at a minimum when Slovenia gained independence in 1991. He later led the country to European Union and NATO membership.<br /><br />In recent years, as he battled cancer, he made a radical transformation to a holistic lifestyle and wrote several New Age-influenced books. His office said he died overnight at his home but gave no specific cause.<br /><br />Drnovsek was the Slovenian representative the Yugoslav federation's collective presidency when his region declared its independence. Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic sent tanks to Slovenian borders, triggering a brief war. But Drnovsek used his position to push for negotiations, eventually orchestrating a deal for the peaceful withdrawal of the Yugoslav army and sparing Slovenia from bloodshed that later engulfed Croatia and Bosnia.<br /><br />Drnovsek was Slovenia's prime minister for a decade before being elected president in 2002. He did not run for a second presidential term in elections late last year and was replaced by Danilo Turk in December."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iJ8ezid9hNA3yHrEQXlDQxazMXdQD8V027QG0">The Associated Press</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-54797296091308820902008-02-11T15:14:00.000-08:002008-02-11T15:14:11.948-08:00Slovenia worried Serbia bomb linked to EU role<a href="http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1202585521.62"></a>"Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel expressed concern Saturday over a bomb blast at a Slovenian-run shopping mall in Serbia, saying he feared it was tied to his country's EU leadership.<br /><br />'Yesterday there was some bomb explosion in Belgrade in front of Slovenian stores,' Rupel said during a speech to an international security conference in Germany on the issue of the crisis between Serbia and breakaway Kosovo.<br /><br />'I'm a little worried about that because it may be connected to the role Slovenia's playing at the head of the European Union,' he said.<br /><br />Slovenia currently holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation EU"<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1202585521.62">EUbusiness.com</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-31986929356500300092008-01-10T01:05:00.000-08:002008-01-10T01:08:17.173-08:00Sarkozy steals Slovenia’s EU limelight<p>"Less than 17 years since becoming an independent state, Slovenia launched its presidency of the European Union this week – and received a swift lesson in how to have its spotlight stolen. </p><p>For three years the little Alpine nation had prepared for the proud day when it would bask in the spotlight as the first country once under communist rule to have the honour of leading the 27-member EU.</p><p>But when Tuesday came, so did Nicolas Sarkozy. As the Slovenes applied themselves to the humdrum task of hosting the European Commission at a conference centre outside Ljubljana, the French president was busy dazzling the world’s media at the Elysée palace.</p><p>While the Slovenes gave a succinct summary of the EU’s policy agenda between now and June 30, Mr Sarkozy, leapfrogging over them, sketched his vision for France’s EU presidency from July 1 to December 31.</p><p>Slovenia, a country of 2m people with centuries of experience of foreign domination – including a brief spell as part of the Napoleonic empire – says its contacts with France have been constructive at all levels. It is just as well.</p><p>Slovenia’s diplomatic service is so small that, over the next six months, France will provide representation in more than 100 countries where the Slovenes have no missions.</p><p>In similar fashion, Slovenia last year helped out Portugal, its predecessor as EU president, by representing it in Macedonia and Montenegro. But Slovenia’s reliance on France is on a different scale altogether."</p><p>Source: <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/30158dc8-bf08-11dc-8c61-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1">FT.com</a><br /></p>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-28469163041551149442008-01-07T02:56:00.000-08:002008-01-07T02:56:47.425-08:00Slovenian journalists renew censorship claims"Slovenian journalists urged the government Friday to create an independent commission to investigate allegations of government censorship and political pressure on the media.<br /><br />Journalists Blaz Zgaga and Matej Surc said international experts should be included in the commission 'that could evaluate the situation and contribute to improving media freedom in Slovenia.'<br /><br />Zgaga, a journalist with the daily Vecer, and Surc, a state television reporter, last year initiated a petition signed by 570 journalists accusing the government of censorship. The petition was sent to all EU capitals.<br /><br />But three months on and just days after Slovenia took over the six-month presidency of the EU, the paid <span style="font-size:-1;">[<span style="font-style: italic;">sic</span>] </span>said that no measures had been taken in response to their complaints.<br /><br />'Since then, the only Slovenian official to have talked to us is the Human Rights Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek Travnik,' Zgaga told AFP."<br /><br />Source: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1199471522.24">EUbusiness.com</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-7342703559777433332008-01-07T02:48:00.000-08:002008-01-07T02:48:28.856-08:00Croatia seizes Italian boat days after fishery zone comes into force<a href="http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2008/01/04/feature-01"></a> "The Croatian navy seized an Italian fishing vessel that was 'illegally present' on Thursday (January 3rd), two days after declaring a protected fishing zone in its territorial waters.<br /><br />Police spokeswomen Zeljka Radosevic said the trawler crew was fishing near a remote island in Croatian waters and not inside the new Croatian Ecological and Fisheries Protected Zone (ZERP), which extends to the middle of the Adriatic.<br /><br />Radosevic said the boat was escorted to a port on the island of Vis for investigation. She added that the three crew members would appear before a judge and would probably be fined. It was not immediately clear what impact this incident would have on Croatia's ongoing dispute with Italy and Slovenia over the fishing zone, which the EU has also warned against.<br /><br />Croatia held general elections in late November. Because the new government has not been formed, the zone was enacted automatically based on laws previously passed.<br /><br />Diplomats have been unable to make progress on the issue due to the slow pace of forming the new coalition cabinet."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2008/01/04/feature-01">SETimes.com</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-84864394980262280682008-01-04T10:58:00.000-08:002008-01-04T10:58:05.332-08:00Many in Slovenia yearn for old Yugoslavia - Telegraph<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/29/weu229.xml"></a> "Marco Sporar, a 21-year-old business student who studies in the capital Ljubljana, said he understood why posters of Yugoslavia's founding leader and Second World War hero Marshal Josip Broz Tito are appearing again on the walls of many Slovene homes.<br /><br />'I have a picture of Tito at home, my mother worships him,' he said. 'It was easier to get a job then, now everything is about money.'<br /><br />Doubts remain about whether the EU will bring Balkans countries, such as Slovenia and Serbia, together or heal the wounds of past conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.<br /><br />'The EU is not united like Yugoslavia. Then every country, under Tito, had a voice. In the EU the biggest countries have the biggest say,' said Mr Sporar."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/29/weu229.xml">Telegraph</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-55599730023865525672007-12-31T11:38:00.000-08:002007-12-31T11:38:33.793-08:00Former Tito residence to host EU meetings<a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iibQnU4EZNDK4RVccARgEcQW8yOQ"></a> "The castle, which often changed hands in the last five centuries, has a rich history.<br /><br />It is believed to have been one of the favourite residences of Serbian, and later Yugoslav, Prince Paul Karadjordjevic, who bought it in 1935, and his descendents still lay claim to it.<br /><br />After World War II, the communist regime nationalised the castle, which became one of the preferred residences of Josip Broz 'Tito', who ruled Yugoslavia from 1944 to his death in 1980.<br /><br />When Slovenia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991, the authorities chose Brdo castle as their main official residence and in June 2001, it staged the first official summit between US President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.<br /><br />The Brdo estate is also part of a natural park, with a number of springs and streams, eleven ponds and a large variety of protected plant and animal life."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iibQnU4EZNDK4RVccARgEcQW8yOQ">AFP</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-46078273731294642382007-11-24T14:55:00.000-08:002007-11-24T14:55:49.312-08:00Slovenia’s Ceplak faces two-year ban"Olympic 800m bronze medallist Jolanda Ceplak faces a two-year ban after Slovenia’s athletics federation on Tuesday rejected any doubts about the validity of her positive test for EPO. <br /><br />Ceplak, 31, who won European gold in 2002 and took Olympic bronze over the two laps in Athens two years later, tested positive for blood-booster EPO (erythropoietin) in an out-of-competition test on June 18. The B sample test confirmed the A sample finding. <br /><br />Ceplak, the world indoor record holder in the 800m which she set in 2002, denies doping. In September, the Slovenian federation’s anti-doping commission were unable to reach a decision in the case, pending an additional investigation. "<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2007/11/22/sports/19542890&sec=sports">Reuters</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-46932013742453654332007-11-16T00:57:00.000-08:002007-11-16T00:57:45.314-08:00Slovenian PM will seek vote of confidence<a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/15/europe/EU-POL-Slovenia-Government.php"></a>"Slovenia's prime minister said he would seek a parliamentary vote of confidence in his government Thursday, after an opposition-backed candidate won an overwhelming victory in weekend presidential elections. <br /><br />Prime Minister Janez Jansa had said earlier this week that his center-right Cabinet could step down, after Danilo Tuerk won 68 percent of votes in Sunday's ballot. He said late Thursday on state television that he would seek a vote of confidence in parliament, and that 'depending on the result, I will decide on my next steps.' <br /><br />Tuerk's victory — and the crushing defeat of the government-backed Lojze Peterle — was seen as a reflection of eroding popularity for Jansa's governing coalition just one year before new parliamentary elections are due. <br /><br />Jansa has accused the opposition of blackening his government during the campaign, saying such criticism has hampered his government's daily work as well as preparations for Slovenia's Jan. 1 takeover of the European Union presidency."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/15/europe/EU-POL-Slovenia-Government.php">International Herald Tribune</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-64628781579385200392007-11-11T15:49:00.000-08:002007-11-11T15:49:56.399-08:00Turk wins Slovenia presidential vote"Centre-left opposition party candidate Danilo Turk decisively won Slovenia's presidential election Sunday, the electoral commission announced. His landslide victory dealt a blow to the ruling centre-right coalition of Prime Minister Janez Jansa ahead of general elections next year. <br /><br />The 55-year-old Turk won 68.26 percent of the vote, while Lojze Peterle, backed by the PM's centre-right coalition, took just 31.74 percent, according to results with 99.9 percent of the votes counted, the commission said. Mail ballots have yet to be tallied and final full results are expected to be published in a week's time. <br /><br />Turk's majority is the largest won in a presidential election in 15 years, beating even reformed communist Milan Kucan, who in 1992 won 64 percent of the vote in Slovenia's first democratic elections after independence. Peterle conceded defeat almost immediately after first exit polls indicated Turk's victory, admitting: 'I expected a better result.'"<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdT41sCQXeM3f0WLKGzFa6Qf984A">AFP</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-61677066961750599692007-11-08T02:33:00.000-08:002007-11-08T02:33:53.435-08:00Ljubljana Film Festival (LIFFe)"The 18th Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe), the biggest event of its kind in Slovenia, will feature over 100 films from around the globe between 7 to 21 November. The festival will open with the independent US production 'The Darjeeling Limited' by Wes Anderson. <br /><br />Special attention will be given to national cinematographies and tributes to masters of contemporary film, LIFFe's new programme director Simon Popek told the press on Tuesday. Film lovers will have two full weeks to see the very best of world cinematographies packed into twelve programme sections according to type of film." <br /><br />Source: GCOEditorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-73268651384741058112007-11-08T02:31:00.000-08:002007-11-08T02:31:21.835-08:00Nine more European countries open borders"The European Union announced on Wednesday it plans to extend the abolition of borders to nine new members, including Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. <br /><br />As from December 2007, the EU will abolish checks at internal land and sea borders (and air borders by March 2008) to the nine countries, a press release from the EU Council said."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/08/content_7029835.htm">Xinhuanet</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-584048077962721543.post-54550319444705963302007-11-05T03:51:00.000-08:002007-11-05T03:51:49.307-08:00Ljubljana Film Festival (LIFFe)"The 18th Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe), the biggest event of its kind in Slovenia, will feature over 100 films from around the globe between 7 to 21 November. The festival will open with the independent US production 'The Darjeeling Limited' by Wes Anderson. <br /><br />Special attention will be given to national cinematographies and tributes to masters of contemporary film, LIFFe's new programme director Simon Popek told the press on Tuesday. Film lovers will have two full weeks to see the very best of world cinematographies packed into twelve programme sections according to type of film."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.ukom.gov.si/eng/slovenia/publications/slovenia-news/5584/5613/">GCO</a>Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10223869489018471278noreply@blogger.com0