News roundup - Saturday, 1 April

Golob: Peace initiatives for Ukraine currently on back burner

LJUBLJANA - The international community's peace initiatives regarding the war in Ukraine are currently on the back burner, PM Robert Golob told STA on the sidelines of his visit to Ukraine. He praised Ukraine's progress towards the EU, but warned that no one dared to say that they opposed this process, so many were secretly hoping for Ukraine to fail. New Russian offensives and Ukrainian counter-offensives are expected at the end of April or the beginning of May, Golob, who has since safely returned from Ukraine through Poland, told the STA and the newspaper Delo in an interview.

Zelensky thanks Slovenian nation for support to Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine - Following Prime Minister Robert Golob's visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Slovenian nation for support, the Government Communications Office said. "Slovenia is making Ukraine stronger," Zelensky said in a video posted on Instagram. Our two countries, our people, share common universal values. Thank you very much. You make us stronger," Zelensky said in the video, also thanking the Slovenian people for "particularly warm attitude towards our refugees and our people". "Our victory will be a common victory, a guarantee of security for the Ukrainian people, but not only for us, but for the whole Europe," he said.

Slovenian, Austrian interior ministers discuss cooperation in Planica

PLANICA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar met his Austrian counterpart Gerhard Karner in Planica. They held informal talks, which focussed on cooperation between the interior ministries and police forces of the two countries and confirmed the cooperation was good, the Interior Ministry said. The pair agreed that the mixed Slovenian-Austrian police patrols, which were introduced at the beginning of March this year, are operating in line with the agreement, smoothly and without any disturbance.

Slovenian killed in avalanche in Norway

OSLO, Norway - One of the four victims of avalanches that were triggered in northern Norway on Friday is a Slovenian citizen, the Foreign Ministry told the STA, expressing condolences to the victim's family. According to Norwegian police, an avalanche buried a group of six skiers in the Storslett area on Friday and a 40-year-old Slovenian died in the accident. A series of avalanches hit the north of Norway in a matter of hours on Friday, killing a total of four people, including two in the island of Reinoya.

Two reported to prosecution over boy drowning

PTUJ - Two party coordinators are suspected of negligent homicide in the case of a boy drowning at a birthday party held at the pool complex Terme Ptuj at the beginning of the year, the newspaper Večer reported. The Maribor investigators have filed a criminal complaint against the two to the Ptuj District Prosecution. The six-year-old boy drowned while at the birthday party in January, at which Terme Ptuj party coordinators and swim instructors looked after the children.

Temp hiring increasingly popular despite concerns

LJUBLJANA - Hiring temporary workers has become increasingly popular in Slovenia despite attempts to curb it. The government is now planning new measures to regulate it after chambermaids at a state-owned hotel chain protested against being outsourced and after criminal complaints were filed against two temping agencies. Temp hiring was legalised in Slovenia in 1998 and four years later basic criteria for this were established. Under the law, temp workers are eligible for the same payment and work conditions as those hired directly by the company outsourcing them.

Slovenian ski jumping team finishes second in Planica

PLANICA - Slovenian ski jumpers Lovro Kos, Domen Prevc, Timi Zajc and Anže Lanišek finished second at the team event of the Ski Jumping World Cup Finals in Planica. The Austrian team won gold and Norwegians were third. Powered by the energy of some 20,000 fans, the Slovenian ski jumpers finished the first round in the first place, followed by the Norwegian and Austrian teams, but in the second round Lanišek, who was the last to jump, did not land perfectly, which brought victory to team Austria.

Ski jumper Anže Lanišek takes second place in Planica

PLANICA - Anže Lanišek finished second at a ski jumping World Cup event in Planica, jumping 236 metres and scoring 234.7 points. The winner of the event with only one round of jumps was Austrian Stefan Kraft, who scored 240.5 points, and Piotr Žyla was third with 233.3 points. The individual FIS World Cup ski jumping event in Planica was scheduled to take place on Friday but was moved to this morning due to strong winds. This is Lanišek's 15th podium result this season and the 28th in his career. The silver is his second medal from Planica after he won bronze last year.