Slovenia

KRANJ, Slovenia (AP) — Tiny Slovenia took charge of the world’s largest trading bloc this week, and immediately shone a harsh spotlight on one of the European Union’s most vexing problems: How to accommodate increasingly vocal member countries with very different visions of Europe’s future.

Already, nationalist governments in Hungary and Poland are worrying their more politically mainstream partners in the 27-nation EU. Some fear that new legislation introduced by the two countries could undermine democratic standards and the independence of the judiciary.

LJUBLJANA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia celebrated Statehood Day on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of the country's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia.

The main ceremony started on Republic Square at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) and was divided into two parts -- the first part dedicated to the declaration of independence, and the second marking the start of Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) on July 1.

(Reuters) --- Slovenian President Borut Pahor called on Friday for the European Union to speed up the process of admitting the six countries of the Western Balkans to the bloc, calling it a crucial step for the preservation of stability in the region.

Europe and the United States say that the Western Balkans, comprising Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, will ultimately join the EU, after the ethnic wars of the 1990s.

LJUBLJANA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Senior politicians in Slovenia were administered the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Friday to boost public trust in vaccination.

President Borut Pahor, Parliament Speaker Igor Zorcic and Prime Minister Janez Jansa got their jabs after the AstraZeneca vaccine was briefly suspended this week for a review of possible risks.

Pahor said that the vaccine was the main factor of change for the better and return to normal life.

BLED, Slovenia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Slovenia making the case for high-speed wireless networks that bar Chinese companies like Huawei.

On the second leg of a four-nation tour of central and eastern Europe, Pompeo met with Slovenian officials in the mountain lake town of Bled on Thursday and signed a joint declaration on “5G Clean Network Security” that aims to keep untrusted telecommunications vendors out of Slovenia.

LJUBLJANA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Pocivalsek on Wednesday called on employers to follow the "good example" set by a factory of Chinese household appliances maker Hisense, in order to protect the health of their employees as much as possible.

A video posted on the Slovenian government website shows how health safety measures were being applied in Hisense's Gorenje factory in the city of Velenje in northeastern Slovenia, which employs thousands of people.

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, Mar 5 (NNN-STA) – Slovenian police discovered 30 migrants hidden in sealed wagons of a train.

The migrants included 12 children aged between five and fourteen, and a pregnant woman, police said. They said, they were from Iraq, Syria, Iran and Afghanistan.

The train, with 20 wagons loaded with clay, was travelling to Slovenia from Serbia, when police found the migrants, at the Dobova border-crossing with Croatia. Their destination was reportedly to be Italy, where the cargo train was destined.

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenian President Borut Pahor on Wednesday named a former prime minister Janez Jansa, the head of the largest party in parliament, as a candidate for a new prime minister and asked parliament to confirm him.

The parliament is expected to confirm Jansa, head of the center-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), next week. He will replace center-left Prime Minister Marjan Sarec who resigned last month.

LJUBLJANA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday that the China-U.S. deal on the text of a phase-one economic and trade agreement serves as bullish news for both countries and the rest of the world.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Miro Cerar, Wang said China has, as always, been opposed to settling economic and trade disputes by imposing tariffs as there is no winner in a trade war.