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:

US victim of Trump's unpredictable foreign policy, ex-president says

NEW YORK, US - Slovenia's former President Danilo Türk, who is in New York for several events before the UN General Assembly session, says US foreign policy is being undermined due to President Donald Trump's unpredictable and poorly thought through decisions. In an interview for the STA, he said "Trump does not seek advice, has no systematic approach, does not think about the consequences, and the US foreign policy is in a serious crisis". He also hopes the tensions between the US and Iran do not result in a new armed conflict in the Middle East.

Interior minister expects spike in illegal border crossings before winter

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar expects Slovenia to see a rise in the number of people crossing the border illegally before the winter, but not to the extent seen in 2015 and 2016, he said during questions time in parliament. So far this year, nearly 11,300 people have been found crossing the border illegally. Most of those crossing into Slovenia are citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Algeria and Morocco, and most of them are returned back to Croatia, the minister said. The Slovenian Armed Forces meanwhile said they had stepped up their activities, sending two infantry companies to the border. They did not specify the number of troops deployed.

Voter approval rating for govt falls below 50% in POP TV poll

LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, his party and the government all saw their popularity ratings fall in the latest poll commissioned by the private broadcaster POP TV, with voter support for the government falling below 50% for the first time this year. The voter approval rating for the government fell by 1.9 percentage points to 49.7%, as the proportion of those who disapprove of its job rose by 0.8 points from August to 33.7% with 16.6% undecided. The Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) continues to lead among the parties, but with a lower margin, having lost 2.7 points to 16.1%. The opposition Democrats (SDS) placed second with 14.9%.

Diplomat Kirn says Slovenia playing Russia game poorly

LJUBLJANA - Roman Kirn, a seasoned diplomat who has until recently served as the foreign policy adviser to PM Marjan Šarec, was critical in an interview for Reporter of Šarec's recent visit to Russia, in particular because it had not included a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Kirn, who stepped down as a state secretary in Šarec's office in March, argued for the weekly paper that the 10-11 September visit to Moscow had been "poorly prepared", since "all protocol and content features of such a visit should have been envisaged with care".

Postal operator to pay EUR 28.8m for Intereuropa

KOPER - Pošta Slovenije, the state-owned postal operator, plans to acquire a 72% of the logistics company Intereuropa at EUR 1.45 per share. It is to purchase 9,168,425 regular and 10,675,965 priority shares, which totals EUR 28.75 million, Intereuropa said on the web site of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. This is in line with the contract Pošta Slovenije made with a consortium of sellers, comprising SID Banka, NLB, NKBM, Gorenjska Banka, SKB Banka and Banka Intesa Sanpaolo, on 10 May. The takeover was approved by the competition watchdog at the beginning of September.

New property sales prices lowest on record, used highest since 2017

LJUBLJANA - Sales of new housing properties have dropped to the lowest level on record in the second quarter of 2019, according to data released by the Statistics Office. Meanwhile, more than 1,360 second-hand houses were sold this second quarter, the most since the second quarter of 2017. In total, sales reached highest value since 2017. New flats are on the other side of the spectrum, as only 42 were sold, the least since new real estate sales have been recorded. But faring even worse were new houses, with only 18 being sold in the second quarter.

Ptuj comes forward to host waste incineration plant

PTUJ - The Ptuj municipality in the north-east has emerged as a possible location for Slovenia's first waste incineration plant after the local council endorsed a proposal to launch a debate on the issue. Slovenia does not have a purpose-built waste incineration plant, but in recent years debates about the need for such a facility have intensified due to chronic problems with waste, particularly waste packaging. While it has not yet been decided whether such a plant should in fact be built, the Environment Ministry has recently asked local communities whether they would be open to being the site of a waste incineration facility.

Electronic warfare exercise under way in Slovenia

POSTOJNA - An international military exercise in electronic warfare, dubbed Ramstein Guard 2019, got under way in Slovenia today. Lasting until Friday, the exercise will feature units and commands that are part of NATO's Air Command and Control System, the Slovenian Armed Forces said. The activities will focus on operations involving electronic interference, meaning training units to recognise electronic interference, reduce its impact and operate effectively despite interferences in operation of radars, means of communication and systems of command and control.

Slovenian minority writer to get Austrian literary award

VIENNA, Austria - Klagenfurt-based Slovenian-Austrian author Maja Haderlap is to receive an Austrian Art Prize which comes with EUR 15,000. Apart from Haderlap, who has won the prize in the literature category, Austria will also bestow a cultural initiative prize on the Rož Slovenian cultural association from the Austrian region of Carinthia, established in 1902. The awards ceremony will take place at the Federal Chancellery in Vienna on 25 November. Austrian Art Prize recipients are selected by a judging panel of experts and awarded by the Austrian culture minister.

German settlers' culture celebrated in Kočevje

KOČEVJE - A festival honouring culture and heritage of Kočevarji (Gottscheers), German settlers who first settled in the Kočevje region in southern Slovenia in the 14th century, opened this evening with President Borut Pahor delivering an opening address. The 5th Days of Gottschee Culture are hosted by three municipalities, Kočevje, Semič and Dolenjske Toplice, under Pahor's auspices. The festival strives to protect the vanishing culture of Kočevarji and highlight the issues of ethnic groups.

Maribor to get wine-growing museum next year

MARIBOR - Maribor has recently started setting up a museum dedicated to the city's rich wine-growing and wine-making heritage. Works are expected to be finished next year, with the investment estimated at more than EUR 350,000. "The museum will host presentations of various wine-growing areas in Slovenia, and feature a shop and wine tasting of selected wines," Maribor city representatives told the STA. The museum will be housed in a former cold room storage facility from the 17th century, with the transformation being part of a wider city re-development plan.

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

Fresh from his appearance earlier this year as part of the Modern Gallery’s Time Without Innocence. Recent Painting in Slovenia (Čas brez nedolžnosti. Novejše slikarstvo v Sloveniji), Arjan Pregl now has two openings were you can see more his work, in Celje and Ljubjana.

Photo: Tomaž Črnej

Photo: Arjan Pregl

Photo: Vasja Nagy

The Celje show, called GUGU GAGA, is on at the Likovni salon Gallery (Center Sodobnih Umetnosti Celje) and started on 20 September, running 20 October, and is where the pictures that accompany this story come from. More details can be found here.

Photo: Tomaž Črnej

Photo: Tomaž Črnej

Meanwhile, the Ljubljana show opens this Friday, 27 September and runs for about a month, at the Galerije Y (Gallery Y - pronounced “epsilon”, not “y”) at the far end of Trubarjeva cesta, #79, more or less opposite Tovarna Rog. Here, Pregl’s work will be shown alongside three of the gallery’s other artists, Tina Dobrajc, Duša Jesih, and Šašo Vrabič. The gallery is part of the SLOART project, which sells works by modern and contemporary Slovenian artists (learn more about that here).

STA, 21 September 2019 - A total of 120 bears and a couple of wolves have been culled so far under the emergency law, the Slovenian Forest Service has told the STA. Hunting officials have also been granted a decree for emergency wolf culling in the Julian Alps.

Until the end of August, bears have caused damage in 210 cases, up from 96 in the same period last year. Related material damage is estimated at EUR 71,400, which is again an increase compared to last year's EUR 47,700.

Meanwhile, wolves were destructive in 240 cases (116 last year), with the damage being estimated at EUR 158,000 (EUR 71,600 in 2018).

On average, wolves slaughtered 3.6 heads of small cattle in a single attack, altogether slaughtering 756 of them so far this year. They have also attacked almost 40 heads of cattle, over 40 horses and four donkeys.

The emergency law, which came into effect at the end of June, gives hunting officials the right to cull 175 bears and 11 wolves. The culling of the latter stops if the numbers are reduced by five adult wolves.

Wolf culling comes with special requirements which the Environment Ministry relaxed in August having faced pressure by farmers and hunters. Thus the culling area was extended to cover the entire area of the pack's domain.

Culling can be carried out only in areas stipulated in the emergency law, whereas to cull in other places hunters need a special decree. But even that was made more flexible in August.

The emergency law will be in place until 30 April 2020 for bear culling and until 31 January 2020 for wolf culling, which will also take place during the whole of September 2020.

The Environment Ministry is preparing a new law, with its draft proposing culling of 175 bears and 7 wolves. The Forest Service said that the new law would not hinder the emergency law culling.

Learn about photographing brown bears in Slovenia here

STA, 21 September 2019 - Some EUR 50 million in payments to University of Maribor professors through freelance contracts is contentious, an issue auditor Ernst & Young highlighted back in March 2017, according to last evening's report by TV Slovenija.

It was very high payments to university professors and the university and its faculties' deals with certain companies that Ernst & Young found rather suspicious.

According to TV Slovenija, some professors received almost EUR 30 million in various fees.

Another EUR 20 million was paid to university staff who were treated as external staff (outsourcing).

Five million euro went to various suppliers connected with the university.

The auditors warned of a number of possible irregularities, including tempered calls for applications, tax evasion and fictitious payments.

They even urged a criminal investigation in some cases, according to the public broadcaster.

To double check Ernst & Young's findings, then Chancellor Igor Tičar commissioned a forensic audit, but before he could present its findings to the university's board, he had to retire.

"In line with the law, my contract terminated as of 2018, and I've had no information about what is going on ever since," he explained.

The audits were then shelved until they have recently been sent to some e-mail addresses, according to TV Slovenija.

Opposition Democrat (SDS) MP Anže Logar, who chairs the parliamentary Commission for the Oversight of Public Finances, said he had alerted the Education Ministry, Court of Audit and police about the case and "now I'm waiting for their answers".

Education Ministry State Secretary Jernej Štromajer said one should get to the bottom of the case to make sure public universities spend funds transparently.

When Chancellor Zdravko Kačič, who was in charge of finances at the university at the time, commented the allegations of irregularities the last time in June, he disputed Tičar and the auditors' views.

"We've decided to do another ... audit and we've asked the Institute for Business Accounting ... to give its opinion," he said.

Kačič was now unavailable for comment for TV Slovenija, which reported that the case would be discussed by the university's board later this month.

The case is also being processed by the Court of Audit and investigated by law enforcement.

TV Slovenija said the Education Ministry was waiting for a report from the university, which it should get by the end of September, before it took action.

STA, 23 September 2019 - Pošta Slovenije, the state-owned postal operator, plans to acquire 72% of the logistics company Intereuropa at EUR 1.45 per share. It is to purchase 9,168,425 regular and 10,675,965 priority shares, which totals EUR 28.75 million, Intereuropa says on the web site of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.

This is in line with the contract that Pošta Slovenije made with a consortium of sellers, comprising SID Banka, NLB, NKBM, Gorenjska Banka, SKB Banka and Banka Intesa Sanpaolo, on 10 May.

The takeover was green-lighted by the Competition Protection Agency at the beginning of the month.

There was much speculation about the value of the deal, with the business daily Finance reporting of a EUR 40 million range, or EUR 100 million together with debt.

But the amount revealed today is closer to the stock market value of the 72% stake, which was estimated at roughly EUR 30 million at the beginning of the month.

Pošta Slovenije is now expected to publish a takeover bid for the outstanding stock in line with competition law. The price per share is also set at EUR 1.45.

Last Friday, a share of Intereuropa was worth EUR 2.54 on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.

STA, 21 September 2019 - Modern Centre Party (SMC) members elected unanimously Zdravko Počivalšek new leader at a congress in Ljubljana on Saturday. Počivalšek, the economy minister, is taking over from Miro Cerar, the SMC founder who currently serves as foreign minister.

More than 400 participants, including 210 SMC delegates, gathered at the congress. Before the election, Cerar once again backed Počivalšek, the only candidate for the SMC top position.

In his keynote address before the election, Počivalšek highlighted the importance of being committed to social dialogue, saying that "concern for development is the responsibility of parties, industry and trade unions".

He called for economic stability, a fair welfare state, liberal approach and sustainability, urging the party to go "neither left, nor right, not backwards, only forward".

Commenting on the fact that the party has been having low support for a while, he said that current opinion polling is not to be trusted completely. Remaining optimistic, he said the party should not feel dismayed by its past election results since they still trumped opinion poll figures.

According to him, the party's core is strong, consisting of its members, innovative ideas, breakthrough visions, useful know-how and ambitious targets - everything that is needed "to improve the party's opinion poll indicators".

Moreover, at the congress, Cerar was elected honorary leader of the party at Počivalšek's initiative and accepted this honour upon stepping down.

In his keynote after the election, Počivalšek highlighted the importance of progress for the party and the well-being of all Slovenian citizens as well as the importance of cooperation between parties.

He said he would lead the party in cooperation with its deputy group, local committees, secretariat and ministers, adding that a rejuvenated local network will make the party less dependant on opinion polling.

Počivalšek believes the SMC is about to transform itself and regain voters' trust. He has decided to run for the top position upon realising he had support of the entire party.

He thanked Cerar for his support and accomplishment including in bringing the SMC to life at a turning point in Slovenia's political history, saying that he had an affinity with the party because of its centrist views and lack of interest to rehash historical events.

Moreover, Počivalšek pointed out before the election that he only became the SMC member last year because he had been delusional before, thinking he could take action alone. "Nonsense. It's hard to play for a team if one is not wearing its kit," he said.

"I wish to only upgrade the party's successful work so far," Počivalšek told the congress, highlighting the party's consolidated role in the coalition and parliament.

As one of his top priorities, the economy minister listed economic stability and rejected the imposed divide between booming industry and welfare state, saying the two were interconnected.

Pointing out that in times of healthy economy people vote left-wing parties, whereas in time of financial crises they turn to the right, he said his goal was then "to maintain economic stability since this ensures people are considering the well-being of every individual".

Another target of his is a just welfare state - fair pay for fair work, elderly care, including in letting the elderly decide between active or more peaceful autumn years, decent pensions, as well as youth empowerment.

He will also focus on a liberal approach since, according to him, liberal parties are agents in the fight against inequality, exclusion and other extremist stances.

Another mainstay of his leadership will be sustainable economy and environmental efforts, including promoting circular economy in terms of waste management.

Počivalšek will also strive to strengthen the role of the SMC local as well as programme committees. He also wishes this government would continue doing its work until the end of its term.

The 61-year-old entered the Slovenian political arena at the invitation of the then Prime Minister Cerar at the end of 2014, taking over as the economy minister. He has kept this position in Prime Minister Marjan Šarec's government and has been a strong advocate of a prudent privatisation principle.

Cerar said he believed in Počivalšek's vision for the party, which was in sync with its values. He trusts that the new leader will rejuvenate the social-liberal party and make it more popular.

The first SMC leader pointed out that the party had ten MPs and four ministers upon his departure from the top position but also conceded that the party had been having low support in opinion polls and that this would have to be tackled.

Commenting on the view by some that the SMC was politically dead, he noted the party's important role in Slovenia's political arena. "We're here today to show Slovenia and Europe that the SMC is and will remain an active and constructive part of Slovenia's politics."

Cerar said he would remain a loyal member of the party, but he would also like to focus even more on his work as the foreign minister.

Leaders or representatives of almost all parliamentary parties attended the congress as well, with both Počivalšek and Cerar pointing out that this meant the party was willing to cooperate.

What stood out was that the event was attended by representatives of opposition parties as well, including Franc Breznik of the Democrats (SDS) and Jožef Horvat of New Slovenia (NSi).

Moreover, Počivalšek confirmed that he had been in contact with SDS leader Janez Janša, who excused himself for not attending the congress due to his being away for work.

Šarec, also in attendance, highlighted the importance of cooperation between parties, particularly those in the coalition, in his keynote as well. He thanked Cerar for all his work so far as the first SMC leader, foreign minister and the previous prime minister.

Related: Elections 2018, Party Profiles: SMC – “Lukewarm Centrists” (Feature)

Janja Garnbret is the best sport climber in the world, and the best in the history of the young discipline, having already won thirteen World titles, with seven World Cup series and six World Championships, as well as making a clean sweep of a whole bouldering season. And while Garnbret’s dominance is unique, she’s far from the only Slovene who regularly appears high in the rankings.

Climbing is thus a Slovenian pursuit, and one that, thanks to its sporting incarnation is now easy to watch, understand and enjoy. While you can do so on TV and online, with the IFSC maintaining an excellent YouTube channel, this coming weekend, 28 – 29 September, you can watch live and in person as athletes with rare strength, flexibility and daring make their ascents.

The occasion is the ISFC World Cup Lead event, held on Saturday and Sunday at the Sport hall Zlato polje, Kidriceva 55, 4000 Kranj. Entrance is free on Saturday, while on Sunday tickets are €12 for the semi-finals and €20 for the finals, with more details here.

The long-running story of Ascent Resources and its attempts to get permission to use a form of hydraulic stimulation in its gas fields in Petišovci has taken another turn, one that may have more success for the UK firm. The company announced on Friday that it will now use conventional drilling techniques to extract more gas, taking “advantage of the newly reprocessed Petišovci 3-D seismic survey to appraise new conventional targets", in the words of CEO John Buggenhagen, who took over management a few months ago. The company is also appealing the decision that prevents the use of hydraulic stimulation.

Ascent Resources’ non-executive chairman Louis Castro is also quoted as saying: "Over the next six weeks or so -- together with our partner Geoenergo -- we will be evaluating and prioritising potential shallow conventional oil and gas targets and associated well site locations.”

All our stories on Ascent Resources can be found here

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:

PM Šarec goes to New York for UN session, plenty of meetings

NEW YORK, US - PM Marjan Šarec will start a five-day visit to New York on Monday to address the general debate of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly on Friday. In his address to world leaders, he will highlight Slovenia's four priorities in addressing global issues, the rule of law, human rights, global peace and security, and sustainable development. He will also attend the Climate Action Summit on Monday and meet Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday. Šarec will be accompanied by several ministers, including Foreign Minister Miro Cerar.

Banks will have to adjust to changed environment, Vasle says

LJUBLJANA - Banks will have to adapt to changes in the business environment, Slovenian central bank Governor Boštjan Vasle said as he commented on a recent set of measures taken by the ECB to revive inflation. "Inflation has been relatively low and far away from the ECB's medium-term goal for several months now, a situation when risks and uncertainties are considerable." Despite some negative effects the measures have for the financial sector, their overall impact has been much more positive than negative, the governor told Radio Slovenija. Without the ECB measures, inflation would have been even lower and the economic cooling even stronger, he said.

Upon centenary, SNG Maribor honoured with Golden Order of Merit

MARIBOR - The SNG Maribor was honoured with the Golden Order of Merit for its outstanding contribution to performing arts and Slovenian cultural identity as the theatre, bringing together drama, opera and ballet, marked its centenary at a high-profile ceremony on Saturday evening. Its director Danilo Rošker, who received the state decoration from the hands of President Borut Pahor, thanked all those who had contributed to the establishment, development and reputation of the theatre. It was 27 September 1919 when the first play in Slovenian, Josip Jurčič's tragedy Tugomer, was staged at SNG Maribor's predecessor.

Slovenia in quarter-finals of European Volleyball Championship

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian men's national volleyball team made it to the quarter-finals of the European Championship after defeating Bulgaria 3:1 on Saturday evening, earning another encounter with the defending champions Russia on Monday. Not everything went as planned as Slovenia started the elimination round of 16 at home in front of more than 8,000 fans in Stožice Arena, as the Bulgarians won the first set in a come-from-behind fashion. Captain Tine Urnaut, however, said the team was aware it would take more to beat Russia than it had to outperform Bulgaria.

Germans dominate second Slovenian Half Ironman

KOPER - Germany's Maurice Herwig won the second Half Ironman event in Slovenia, clocking in 4 hours 15 minutes and 6 seconds to complete a 1.9-km swim, a 90-km bicycle ride and a 21.1-km run, and improving last year's result from this triathlon race by a few minutes. The second place at the 2019 Ironman 70.3 Slovenian Istria went to Slovenia's Jure Majdič with the time of 4:17:37, the best Slovenian result for this race. Germany's Lasse Ibert was third with 4:20:07. The race's director general, Milan Eržen, labelled the event a success. "We've managed to increase the number of participants [from last year], and the race has attracted many spectators."

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 striking, moving sculpture of President Trump that was recently erected in the village of Sela is looking for a new home. The brainchild of the architect and artist Tomaž Schlegl, the 8-m artwork has already attracted global media attention, many visitors, and no doubt huuuge crowds, but cannot stay forever outside the firefighters’ station.

The work in progress. Kickstarter

Like the man himself, the Trump figure divides opinions. The first aim is thus to raise $21,466 to move the statue to a permanent home. If $40,000 is reached them the artist and his team will complete the inside of the figure, with internal organs and mechanisms to explore, although as yet there’s no word if there’ll be a working heart. If $60,000 is raised then the team will commission a custom craft beer that will then be served, on tap, from the wooden Trump’s groin. $100,000 will see the statue electrified, and the mechanical elements, at present powered by hand, will be electrified, bringing the statue to commanding life. $120,000 means a kitchen is added, to serve some klobasa with the beer, while $120,000 will lead to a party and serious event.

The artwork is a conscious echo of the Statue of Liberty and is dedicated to Freedom. As the Kickstarted says: “The statue is dedicated to Freedom and, whatever you think of the man it represents, there is no doubt that he represents absolute freedom, the freedom to think and say and do whatever he wants without any repercussions.”

Pledge money and there are rewards, such as a T-shirt or print of the statue, President Trump toothpick holder, statue or print, right up to a 3-day “Sela Experience” in the village.

You can learn more about the project here, and until it’s moved you can visit it at the location marked below.