Sloveense minister van Buitenlandse Zaken ontslagen (en)

Slovenia's foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel has failed to get the necessary support from parliament to keep his job.

Parliamentarians voted on Monday to sack Mr Rupel after allegations that the foreign minister was undermining Prime Minister Anton Rop.

Mr Rupel has been among the most prominent foreign ministers from the countries that joined the EU in May, serving on the body which drew up the initial draft constitution.

He has intermittently been minister of foreign affairs since early 2000.

According to reports, Ivo Vajgl, Slovenia's ambassador to Germany could be Mr Rupel's replacement, although he will first need to win a vote in parliament.