Polka

Americans of Slovenian descent are holding their biggest annual cultural festival this weekend near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, featuring live polka music, presentations of Slovenian cultural heritage, and a sausage competition.

Maria Sakkari took umbrage with opponent Diana Shnaider's vocal celebrations after winning points at the Australian Open on Wednesday but silenced the teenage qualifier with a finger-wagging rant on the way to a comeback 3-6 7-5 6-3 win.

Ljubljana – President Borut Pahor awarded five Slovenian musicians with honours at a ceremony held in the Presidential Palace on Thursday. The Order of Merit was awarded to Miha Dovžan, Vlado Kreslin, Vladimir Lado Leskovar, Oto Pestner and Andrej Šifrer, the president’s office said.

The Rio carnival is a celebration of joyful excess but deep recession in Brazil means that samba schools are thinking about their budgets as much as their dance moves.

"Here the key word is austerity," says Luiz Carlos Magalhaes, president of the Portela samba school, which has won the prestigious annual parade contest in the Sambodromo more than any other school.

Swatting aside fears over the Zika virus, the glittering dancers of the Rio Carnival samba championship and their adoring fans were primed Feb. 7 for their first all-night parade.