News roundup - Sunday, 17 March

Prevc overall winner of FIS Women's World Cup this season

VIKERSUND, Norway - Slovenian ski jumper Nika Prevc won the overall ranking of the FIS World Cup in Vikersund a week before the final competition of the season in Planica. With only one event before season end, Prevc has 1,370 points, a 194-point lead over runner-up Eva Pinkelnig of Austria, while Yuki Ito of Japan is in third place with 941 points. Prevc was 11th in today's ski flying event, while Slovenia's Ema Klinec was third, and Nika Križnar tenth.

All three bombs in Nova Gorica successfully deactivated

NOVA GORICA - The bomb squad deactivated three aerial bombs in Nova Gorica, following the evacuation of nearly 3,400 nearby residents. A 100kg explosive device of unknown origin with a faulty fuse had to be detonated on the site, while two Second World War bombs were deactivated without explosion. The bombs were found during rail station reconstruction works.

Catholic Church reports drop in believers, priests

LJUBLJANA - A 2023 report by the Slovenian Roman Catholic Church, the country's largest religious denomination, shows that the number of believes went from 1.55 million in 2012 to 1.48 million in 2022, while the share of Catholics in the population dropped from 81.4% in 2012 to just under 70% in 2022. The data is still higher than the figures from the official 2022 census, when 1.14 million said they identified as Catholic, accounting for 57.8% of the population.

Handballers defeat Bahrain in Olympic qualifier, not booking tickets to Paris yet

GRANOLLERS, Spain - Slovenian men's handball team won against Bahrain in what was the final qualifier for the Summer Olympics. But they will only be able book their tickets to Paris if Spain wins or draws against Brazil later in the evening.

Prevc and Zajc third in two ski flying events

VIKERSUND, Norway - Slovenian ski jumper Domen Prevc won third place at the FIS World Cup ski flying competition in Vikersund in the morning, while his teammate Timi Zajc won third place in the afternoon event. Two competitions were held after all events were cancelled on Saturday due to strong winds.