Slovenia

Podčetrtek Castle in the east of the country has reopened to visitors after extensive renovations that restored it to its former glory after being left to decay for decades; the last major renovation dates back to 1874

The country is more and more relying on the foreign labour force to alleviate staff shortages, with an increase in workers from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines; measures are also being taken to facilitate recruitment

A fire has been raging near the village of Borovec, near Kočevska Reka in the south, since Friday evening, very close to the primordial Krokar forest, protected by UNESCO

311 pairs of white storks nested in Slovenia, with 673 young emerging from the nests, a new record since the first annual census of white storks in the country was carried out in 1999

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar won the 111th edition of the Tour de France, the first to have won both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same year since 1998

Photovoltaic panel manufacturer Bisol saw its results for 2023 heavily impacted by the devastating floods that hit Slovenia in August last year, with the company's turnover down 40% compared to 2022

A corn maze was inaugurated near Kranj, north-west of Ljubljana: shaped like a mammoth, it pays homage to these extinct animals that roamed the area during the Pleistocene

A charitable foundation whose main mission is to promote the career development of young people and intergenerational cooperation has been launched by President Nataša Pirc Musar

The house in which Prešeren was born will be restored and reinvented this year; the place were the national poet was born attracts over 20.000 visitors per year, with largest numbers on 8 February, Slovenian Culture Day the anniversary of the poet's death

Slovenian researchers with German colleagues have developed and tested a new method of vaccine administration using a mucoadhesive film that sticks to the mucous membrane of the cheek, offering greater protection against respiratory infections

The need to continue to emphasise animal welfare, also as part of a civil initiative to eliminate the use of cages on livestock farms, was raised by State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture in Brussels at an EU Ministerial on Agriculture

The country gained two positions and placed 19th in the latest Rainbow Map, published annually by Europe's leading LGBTI organization, ILGA-Europe

On 9 June, when Slovenians go to the polls for the European Union elections, they will also cast their votes in a triple referendum on assisted dying, cannabis consumption, and the introduction of preference voting in parliamentary elections