It was a disappointing weekend for Slovene climbing fans in the penultimate Speed and Lead World Cup of the season in Xiamen (China), as Slovenian athletes didn’t win any medals in any of the categories.

Xiamen’s Lead World Cup started this past Saturday, October 19th, with the qualification round. Bad route-setting was a constant all over the weekend, but we could see a first glimpse of it on this first stage, as four women, including Janja Garnbret and Lučka Rakovec, topped both routes in their category – usually it’s highly unlikely than even one competitor can achieve it. Moreover, fourteen female athletes made it to hold 35+ on the first route, and topped the second one.

All three Slovene women who were competing (Garnbret, Rakovec and Krampl) progressed to semifinals on Sunday, where spectators were hoping for a better route-setting that could make the competition slightly more interesting. However, this didn’t happen, and again it was too easy for the athletes to make it  to higher points of the wall, as seventeen climbers made it to hold 33+ or higher, including Lučka Rakovec and Janja Garnbret, who topped the route. Mia Krampl, on the other hand, slipped on hold 18 and was out of the final round.

Fans were hoping that after such disastrous rounds the route-setting would improve for the finals, but they were disappointed. Sadly, the route was once again too easy and the climbers cruised up the wall. With the exception of Ai Mori, who fell on hold 10+, all the other athletes made it to hold 31+ or higher. Janja Garnbret and Lučka Rakovec fell on the last move of the route, but even that was not enough to make it to the podium and they finished in 4th and 6th places after the countback to the semifinals. Unfortunately, this meant that Janja now has no chance of winning the overall lead title in 2019, which would have meant that she’d won everything this season. This doesn’t mean, however, that this season hasn’t been a dream for Slovenia’s female climbers. Garnbret has won the Overall Bouldering Title and has also won a gold medal in all three categories she competed in (Lead, Bouldering and Combined) in the World Championships held two months ago; Rakovec has won her first gold medal in a European Championship and a bronze one in an International World Cup; and Mia Krampl won Silver medal on the Lead World Championship.

The situation was no better on men’s side, and again the route-setting can only be described as poor. Thirty-five athletes out of 53 topped the second route, and eight of them topped both. As a result, for example, both of the Slovene men (Jernej Kruder and Anže Preharc) were out of the semifinals round, even though they topped one route and made it further to hold 30+, a really high up stage on the wall.

However, thanks to this results we now have new Overall Lead World Champions in men’s and women’s categories. Although Adam Ondra (CZE) only participated in three World Cups, he has successfully claimed the title after winning all three competitions. On the women’s side, Chaehyun Seo (KOR), the revelation of the season who is only 15 years old, won the overall title.

Xiamen was also the site of the Speed World Cup, where non-speed specialist such as Adam Ondra himself had to compete in order to be able to participate in the Olympic Combined Qualifier that will take place in Toulouse in a month. As the highlight of the competition, Aries Susanti Rahayu (INDO) broke the female world record in Speed for the final round, reaching the top in 6.995 seconds. She is the first woman to complete the speed route in less than 7 seconds.

The last Lead World Cup event of the season will take place this next weekend in Inzai, Japan. As the main titles have already a winner, we will have to wait and see which athletes actually decide to participate in the last World Cup of the year, and hope that the route-setting is better this time.

Ex-Yu Aviation reports that Lufthansa is not interested in working with the Slovenian government to develop a new national carrier. It’s understood that the German firm expressed its lack of interest several weeks ago, leading to a visit to Frankfurt last week by the Slovenian Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek. While the minister obviously failed to make a case for Lufthansa setting up a new carrier – which, under the Slovenian plans would have launched in early 2020 – Lufthansa is among several airlines now adding new services to Ljubljana is the wake of Adria Airway’s collapse.

Related: Adria Collapse Cut 60% of Slovenia's International Seat Capacity

Adria’s bankruptcy came after having been bought by 4K Invest, a Munich-based, Luxembourg-registered investment fund. 4k Invest’s only previous experience in owning an airline was gained with Switzerland’s Darwin Airline, which the fund rebranded as Adria Airways Switzerland before the carrier entered bankruptcy proceedings. The Swiss authorities are currently investigating 4K Invest’s role in the collapse, with accusations bankruptcy fraud and mismanagement.

All our stories on Adria Airways are here

STA, 21 October 2019 - PM Marjan Šarec told MPs on Monday that China was Slovenia's most important Asian trade partner and that Slovenia wanted to further boost this economic cooperation. For exports to China to increase, new market niches need to be identified for high value added products to compensate for costs of transport and competition.

Šarec discussed cooperation with China as he was challenged by a question from the opposition National Party (SNS) deputy Zmago Jelinčič during Monday's questions time with the government.

Jelinčič said that Slovenia was not included in China's Belt and Road Initiative, and asked how Slovenia, given its geo-strategic position, could make sure that it would not be brushed aside and left without projects as part of it.

The prime minister noted that Slovenia had signed an umbrella document on the initiative in November 2017 as part of the 17+1 summit between China and Central and Eastern European Countries in Budapest.

Šarec said China was Slovenia's most important trade partner in Asia, with the volume of trade increasing by 12% last year. The growth has continued in 2019, he added.

Slovenian products are present on the Chinese market, including milk, honey, canned fish, poultry, pork, wine and pharmaceuticals, he said, adding that Slovenia's exports to China could be further boosted.

This requires "new market niches to be identified for products with high added value, which would sustain the cost of transport and also of the competition in the Chinese market."

According to Šarec, Slovenia wants to boost cooperation with China in particular in transport and logistics, hi-tech, tourism, food industry, new materials, alternative sources of energy and waste and water management.

"What needs to be said is that large EU member states are not too inclined to cooperate within this initiative, but Slovenia will act in line with its interests," the prime minister told MPs.

The best thing Slovenia can to is to construct a new railway to the port of Koper to become more competitive and allow for greater transshipment. "So that the port of Koper would work at full capacity," he concluded.

All our stories on China are here

STA, 21 October 2019 - An international police investigation into trafficking in illegal migrants has concluded with criminal complaints filed against 10 persons, including four Slovenians. They are charged with at least 24 cases of transportation of illegal migrants across the border.

The investigation into the trafficking of migrants to the EU through the Balkan countries, which has been taking place since April, has been conducted by the police forces of Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Europol.

Their representatives offered some fresh statistics on illegal migration to the EU as they presented the operation at a press conference in Koper on Monday.

Uroš Lavrič of the General Police Administration said that the Slovenian police had detected an increased number of criminal gangs which organised trafficking in illegal migrants.

One of the cases which prompted the international police cooperation was a wild pursuit of a Slovenian who was transporting three Iraqis in his car, and who was stopped by the Italian border police only in Trieste.

Dejan Jurič, the head of the Koper police department, said that at least ten persons had participated in the criminal gang, and that it was headed by a 28-year-old Slovenian from the Piran area.

According to him, sufficient evidence has been collected to prove at least 150 illegal crossings of the border by citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea and Afghanistan.

Criminal complaints have been written for a total of 24 criminal acts of illegal crossing of the border, with one criminal act related to illicit drugs and one criminal act of illegal production and trafficking in arms.

A total of 150 migrants who have crossed the Slovenian border illegally have been apprehended, and seven of the suspects have been detained.

The migrants most frequently crossed the border in the area of the border crossings of Dragonja and Jelšane in the south-west and in Babno Polje in the south.

The smugglers charged them between EUR 1,500 and EUR 3,000 for the transportation from Serbia to Italy. Had the operation succeeded, the criminal gang would have earned up to EUR 450,000 said Jurič.

Lavrič pointed to the "uncompromising behaviour of the smugglers" lately, as they were endangering migrants with reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or by putting a large number of migrants in vehicles.

In the last 30 days alone as many as six cases were recorded of a smuggler transporting between 24 and 38 foreigners in a single vehicle, he added.

The statistics shows that the number of related criminal acts processed by the Slovenian police this year is up by 71% compared to the same period last year (365 to 213).

The number of related criminal acts committed as part of a criminal ring increased almost seven-fold, and the number of cases of trafficking in illegal migrants for material gain increased by 59% (from 132 to 210).

According to Lavrič, last year the Slovenian police apprehended 218 persons who were transporting illegal migrants across the border in a total of 153 cases.

Until 18 October this year, there were a total of 260 such cases, an increase of 132% compared to the same period last year (112).

So far a total of 379 smugglers of illegal migrants have been apprehended, including 37 Slovenian citizens, and 312 of them ended in detention. They were transporting a total of 2,246 illegal migrants.

Svevlad Hoffmann, the chief inspector of the border police of Bosnia-Herzegovina, said that the criminal gang had been well organised, transporting around 350 illegal migrants across the Bosnian border.

He expressed the hope that the EU would recognise the effort and provide the Bosnian police with staffing, material and technical assistance so that it could be equipped comparably to border police forces in the west.

Gabor Stankovič of the European Migrant Smuggling Centre noted that the Balkan migration route was still a "hot potato" for the EU, adding that "migrations are not a problem of one country, but the entire EU."

Stankovič noted that Bosnia-Herzegovina was facing enormous migration pressure, adding that at least half of the smuggling cases reported to Europol came from the Western Balkans.

STA, 21 October 2019 - Julija Adlešič, who cut off her hand with a circular saw at the beginning of the year in an alleged insurance fraud scheme, entered a non-guilty plea at the Ljubljana District Court on Monday, thus following the example of the other three suspects in the case, including her boyfriend.

The 29-year-old Sebastien Abramov, who allegedly put her up to it, and his mother Tinka Huskić Colarič pleaded not guilty on Friday.

His father Gorazd Colarič did not attend the hearing but since he appealed the indictment the court took his absence as a non-guilty plea.

Adlešič's hearing was adjourned until today after her lawyer warned that the court file lacked a document allowing Sedin Kičin, a local court prosecutor, to lead a procedure at the district court.

At the hearing Adlešič kept her hands in her pockets

Adlešič's lawyer also proposed today that his client's physical and mental health during and after the incident be re-evaluated. He also requested for her to be released from custody.

Adlešič and Abramov have been in custody since March.

Abramov reportedly made life and accident insurance policies for Adlešič with five insurance companies at the end of last year.

In January, when the insurance was valid and the first instalments paid, Adlešič cut off her left hand just above the wrist with a circular saw at Colarič's home.

Only days later, the four suspects filed damages claims with the five insurance companies. But they did not receive any money, as police already started investigating the case.

If the police had not interfered, the 21-year-old would have received EUR 1.2m in damages and several hundred thousand euro in monthly rent.

Adlešič had been claiming she had an accident while sawing off tree branches.

She, Abramov and his mother face up to eight years in prison, while his father faces up to two years.

STA, 18 October 2019 - Iskra Mehanizmi, a development supplier for mechatronic solutions in the automotive, medical and home appliance industries, is feeling upbeat ahead of 2020 after lower than expected profit in 2019. In what is a EUR 30 million investment, the company is expanding production and relocating to Brnik, just off Ljubljana airport.

Iskra Mehanizmi CEO and majority owner Marjan Pogačnik told the STA that the company, which has around 400 employees at its Lipnica location near Radovljica and 300 more in Kamnik, started building a new production and offices complex in Brnik in August.

The production hall should be ready at the start and the offices part at the end of 2020 to provide for 20,000 square metres of new space. This is currently the combined surface area available at Lipnica and Kamnik. While the entire Kamnik production is to be relocated to Brnik, the fate of the Lipnica location is not clear yet.

Pogačnik said the EUR 880,000 in profit recorded in 2018 as the company saw a 5% growth in sales had been below expectations, but he ascribed this to higher pay costs, investments into new projects and the foray into medical solutions.

Things have already improved this year when profit is planned to be on par with previous years, meaning at around EUR 4 million.

Pogačnik said things are looking even better than that and announced a EUR 2 million increase in net revenue this year to over 90 million. Close to EUR 100 million is projected for 2020 and EUR 120 million for 2022. Around 100 new jobs are also expected in the coming years.

The company has so far not been feeling the cooling in the auto industry particularly: "Buyers are telling us that they are experiencing a drop of slightly over 10% in general, but have not been feeling this directly to such an extent and are operating according to plans," said Pogačnik.

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

A schedule of all the main events involving Slovenia this week can be found here

This summary is provided by the STA:

Slovenia in favour of Brexit delay if well-grounded

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's position on the British parliament's request for another postponement of Brexit is that "another delay would make sense" as long as it would justifiably contribute to an orderly Brexit. Prime Minister Marjan Šarec's office declared Slovenia's position after he announced he would discuss Britain's request with European Council President Donald Tusk in the coming days. He said that Slovenia was being constructive and would accept any solution acceptable for Ireland in particular. The European Council's decision to sign the withdrawal agreement was endorsed by the government today.

Catalonia support committee protests with Slovenian, EU officials

LJUBLJANA - Three days after being set up, a Slovenian committee in support of Catalan political prisoners sent a protest statement to Slovenian and European leaders over the high prison sentences for nine Catalan leaders and over the silence in Europe surrounding them. "The draconian prison sentences handed down on nine respectful and democratically elected Catalan leaders seriously undermine the foundations of European values. To have political prisoners in the EU is a disgrace," reads the statement, sent to senior Slovenian and EU officials plus the European Representation in Slovenia, the Spanish Embassy in Ljubljana and all embassies accredited to Slovenia.

Šarec believes relative preference vote to be enacted

LJUBLJANA - Addressing parliament in questions time, PM Marjan Šarec said he was convinced a draft proposal amending Slovenia's electoral law by adopting the relative preferential vote would get enough support in parliament, while the alternative involving redrawing of the electoral districts would be more of a challenge. Šarec believes the preferential vote could get the necessary two-thirds majority, considering that during the May EU elections more than 75% of the voters cast preferential vote.

Šarec wants to further boost business ties with China

LJUBLJANA - Taking questions from MPs at the outset of the October plenary session of parliament, PM Marjan Šarec told MPs that China was Slovenia's most important Asian trading partner and that Slovenia wanted to further boost this economic cooperation. For exports to China to increase, new market niches need to be identified for high value added products to compensate for costs of transport and competition. This was in response to a question about Slovenia's inclusion in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Kangler inquiry starts work, OECD concerned

LJUBLJANA - Ex-Maribor Mayor Franc Kangler appeared as the first witness in the contentious parliamentary inquiry into the allegation that criminal prosecution against him was politically motivated. Kangler, who serves as a member of the upper chamber of parliament, which initiated the inquiry, described the prosecution against him as a plot unthinkable in a law-ruled country. The inquiry proposed for the parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Commission to conduct oversight of the Maribor police force. While the inquiry is being examined by the Constitutional Court, concern has also been raised by the OECD.

Slovenian, Serbian home ministers discuss bilateral ties, migrations, EU

BELGRADE, Serbia - Bilateral relations, migrations and Serbia's EU integration topped the agenda as Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar met his Serbian counterpart Nebojša Stefanović. The pair agreed countries on the Balkan migration route were faced with a rise in illegal crossings of the border, but Poklukar hailed Slovenia and Serbia's police forces' good work in preventing illegal migrations. Poklukar said the Slovenian police had processed over 12,800 illegal crossings on the border with Croatia since the beginning of 2019, up 70% from the same period last year. Poklukar reiterated Slovenia's support for Serbia's EU integration.

Police bust ten migrant smugglers in intl operation

KOPER - Representatives of the police forces of Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Europol presented the conclusion of an international investigation into smuggling of illegal migrants to the EU through the Balkan countries in which they filed charges against 10 persons, including four Slovenians. They are charged with at least 24 cases of transportation of illegal migrants across the border. They smuggled at least 150 migrants from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea and Afghanistan across the border.

Economist praises ECB crisis measures, warns of risk of "Japanisation"

LJUBLJANA - As Mario Draghi's term at the helm of the European Central Bank (ECB) is about to end, economist Vasja Rant assessed that unless the ECB had taken measures during the financial crisis, there would probably be no more eurozone as we know it and the consequences of the crisis would be much worse. However, the Ljubljana Faculty of Economics professor also warned that the ECB does not have any more room to take classic monetary measures in case of a new crisis. The eurozone is thus at risk of a "Japanisation" of its monetary policy.

Slovenian army to purchase 14 light military vehicles

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Armed Forces are planning to purchase 14 six-wheeled (6x6) military vehicles, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec told MPs during questions time in parliament, noting Slovenia had 85 such vehicles, which he labelled the backbone of the Slovenian defence system. He said the decision on the six-wheelers had been made after the planned purchase of the eight-wheeled vehicles had been delayed for a while. The 6x6 vehicles the army has are an average 16 years old and pretty warn out, Erjavec said in response to an MP question from Matej T. Vatovec of the opposition Left.

Ministry warns of problems in closing dump sites

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia has still not closed eight of the potentially dangerous 21 dump sites the EU's Court of Justice ordered it to close a year ago. The Environment Ministry said part of the blame for the delay are non-responsive site operators and property ownership issues. If Slovenia fails to close the sites, it faces a fine. In a similar procedure, Slovakia was given a EUR 1 million fine plus EUR 5,000 for each day the ruling was not implemented. Italy and Greece had to pay EUR 40 million and 10 million, respectively.

Shareholders increase payments for NLB supervisors

LJUBLJANA - The shareholders' meeting of NLB, the bank in which the state holds a controlling 25% stake plus a share, approved an increase in payments for its supervisors. The move comes after pay was increased for the management board in June despite opposition by the representatives of the state. The Slovenian Sovereign Holding voted against, while MP Naložbe and Facig, two small shareholders, announced they would challenge the decision in court.

Ljubljana Music Academy turning 80

LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Music Academy will mark its 80th anniversary with a ceremony at the Cankarjev Dom arts centre on Wednesday. Dean Marko Vatovec told the STA in an interview that the academy had indeed come a long way and was contributing a lot given its circumstances, which include continuing efforts to secure a proper location. "We are walking side-by-side today with what is happening elsewhere," he said. The academy's students and graduates can be found all around Europe, including in leading orchestras.

Ljubljana Fashion Week gets under way

LJUBLJANA - The autumn iteration of Ljubljana Fashion Week got under way, bringing fashion shows, lectures and exhibitions to the capital until Friday. The event is touted as a fashion extravaganza featuring creations by more than 30 Slovenian and foreign fashion designers. It will also include a conference on the fashion industry, a display of a new collection by acclaimed fashion and costume designer Mateja Benedetti and collection exhibitions.

Visiting Ljubljana? Check out what's on this week, while all our stories on Slovenia, from newest to oldest, are here

If you're learning Slovenian then you can find all our dual texts here

The city of Ljubljana is a photogenic one, but if you see a lot of pictures then pretty soon your eyes will glaze over from the repetition of the same colourful buildings, the same picturesque bridges, and the same man playing the accordion in Prešeren Square.

On top of the Emporium building, looking down at Prešeren

Roman remains at Gosposvetska ulica

A new exhibition, on at Ljubljana Castle until 12 January, 2020, shows the city from some other perspectives, offering views you don’t see every day. Called (Ne)Znana – (Un)known –  the striking and original photographs, shot by Domen Pal, Branko Čeak and Jože Maček, take you from the heights of the city to the sewer pipes beneath it, from painted ceilings to a child on a sled in Tivoli, and much more besides.

Žale Cemetery

Red corner in Hotel Union

The project started out with some assignments for National Geographic Slovenia, and will continue into the future. For now, you can see these and other photographs in the "S" Gallery, Ljubljana Castle, open from 09:00 to 20:00 and free to enter.

The National Gallery

Tivoli Park

More details are here, while you can test your knowledge of the country’s most-visited tourist attraction with our guide to 25 Things to Know about Ljubljana Castle, or find out 25 Things to Know About Ljubljana itself

At the exhibition. Photo: Miha Mally

Ljubljana Fashion Week’s Fall edition is about to begin with the majority of shows to take place between Monday and Wednesday at the Museum of Architecture and Design at Rusjanov trg 7 in Ljubljana.

More than 30 domestic and foreign designers will be presenting their work, including a new collection from the Slovenian eco-friendly luxury brand Benedetti Life, which will take place on Thursday, 24 October, in Photopub’s Project Venue (Fotopubov projektni prostor) on Tivolska 44, Ljubljana.

In addition to the catwalk, the week also includes a two-day conference on the fashion industry that will explore some of the business models used by the industry worldwide, and approaches designed for the Slovenian scene.

For programme, tickets and free entry options, please click here.

STA, 20 October 2019 - Central bank Governor Boštjan Vasle and Finance Ministry State Secretary Metod Dragonja attended this week's autumn meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington where they said that Slovenia's economic condition was currently good despite risks to the global economy.

 Vasle, who mostly took part in meetings and discussions at the IMF, said in a statement for the Slovenian media that the IMF had downgraded its global growth projection for this year to 3% and highlighted the risks to the global economy that could potentially further diminish growth.

"We're talking about a trade war which is currently the strongest limiting factor for economic growth. There are still uncertainties related to Brexit and slowing Chinese growth," said the governor.

"Regarding these weaker projections, the IMF says that all macroeconomic policies should be implemented. So far, mostly monetary policies of all the biggest central banks have been striving for stabilisation, but the IMF is highlighting the need for other two policies as well - stronger activation of structural measures and fiscal policy."

According to Vasle, Slovenia is in a situation similar to other euro countries as well as others. Growth is cooling down due to global factors - slowing international trade; however, it is still positive.

The governor said that Slovenia's service sector, which depends on the home environment, was doing very well, which resulted in a stable labour market, with the highest figures since the country's independence.

Asked about whether Slovenia was ready for another financial crisis, Vasle said that the current situation was completely different from the one in 2007 and 2008, pointing out that the processing industry had changed and become more efficient and focussed on development and foreign markets.

He added that people saving up and being moderate in spending have also contributed to this stability, with budget conditions improving as well.

"However, during the financial crisis, the debt increased severely. Slovenia has a three times higher debt than it had before the last crisis arose, which could be one of the factors that would make it harder to respond to a potential further economic deterioration in the next few years," said Vasle.

He added that IMF representatives delivered a positive assessment of Slovenia's fiscal policy and acknowledged that public debt had been significantly reduced in the recent years.

Meanwhile, Dragonja pointed out that the government was tackling a complex issue of some EUR 30 billion debt.

On the sidelines of the Washington meetings, the state secretary met representatives of credit ratings agencies, investment funds and investment banks to discuss reducing interest on the national debt and easing the squeeze on the budget.

"There were 20 talks and the outlook looks promising despite somewhat lowered growth projections. Slovenia is in a good economic and macroeconomic condition; however, it does have an excessive public debt, which is why it needs to maintain strict discipline when it comes to banks and budget," said Dragonja.

"The budgets need to be balanced, surplus needs to be generated and reserves for controlling economic cycles should be created."

Asked about whether the IMF figures on Slovenia's growth were the same as Slovenian ones, Dragonja replied that the figures were very similar, although Slovenia's projection for this year was a bit higher than the IMF outlook which stood at 2.9%.

There were not huge discrepancies and Slovenia is taking into account the IMF suggestions on planning the country's economic policy, said Dragonja, adding that Slovenia was part of the EU economic space and as such could not significantly diverge from its outlook.

Both the governor and state secretary said that the current situation included extremely low interest rates, which benefited debtors but put pressure on the financial sector, with the meeting discussing the future challenges of this issue.