News roundup - Sunday, 11 February

Slovenia wants "comprehensive and respectful" remembrance on Italy's National Memorial Day

LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Ministry reiterated the importance of a "comprehensive and respectful remembrance and dignity for all the victims" of war and the post-war period as it commented on Italy's National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe. "While emphasising the right to remember and respect for human dignity, we must not resort to simplifying and exalting one pain over another, and to pushing into oblivion the horrors inflicted on the Slovenian people by fascism," it said.

Emergency dispatchers announce strike

LJUBLJANA - Emergency dispatchers announced a strike starting on 19 February due to stalled public sector pay talks, after having been warning for months that their pay is too low and vacancies are no longer being filled. The strike will start at 8am on 19 February, but despite the action calls on the 112 emergency number will still be handled, the Defence Ministry Trade Union said.

Retired journalist announces EU Parliament bid

LJUBLJANA - Uroš Lipušček, a retired TV journalist best known for his work as a foreign correspondent, has announced in a Facebook post that he will run at the European Parliament elections in June due to his disappointment with how passive Slovenian MEPs are in the face of profound changes in the EU. Lipušček has recently been active as a member of a peaceniks circle that has called for negotiated peace in Ukraine.

Ski jumper Lanišek takes top sports prize

LJUBLJANA - Anže Lanišek, one of Slovenia's top ski jumpers, is the winner of the Bloudek Prize for sporting achievements in 2023. He has been honoured not just for his results but also for sportsmanlike conduct. Three sports officials meanwhile received the Bloudek Prizes for lifetime achievements: sports literature author Janez Penca, sports professor and event organiser Vojko Orel, and Franc Ekar, a climber and mountain rescuer.

Second podium for ski jumper Kos in two days

LAKE PLACID, US - Slovenian ski jumper Lovro Kos finished second on the large hill in Lake Placid, the second podium in two days after he bagged his first career World Cup win on the same hill. With jumps of 130 and 127.5 metres, the 24-year-old Kos was 3.2 points short of the Austrian Stefan Kraft. German jumper Philipp Raimund was third with exactly the same score as Kos.