On today's date in 1583 Dalmatin's Bible was published in Germany, the first full translation of the Holy Book's Old and New Testaments into the Slovenian language.

The translation was based on the earlier translation of the New Testament by Primož Trubar, and took Jurij Dalmatin, a Slovenian protestant author from Krško, ten years to complete. A long time, but Dalmatin had no aid from dictionaries or other books that could help him with the translation.

At first the book was supposed to be printed in Mandelc Printing house in Ljubljana, but following a ban on printing this was moved to Wittenberg in Germany. It was published on November 5, 1583, although the year 1584 is printed in the book. Its full title was Bible, this is all the Holy Book of the Old and New Testament interpreted into Slovenian through Jurij Dalmatin (Biblija, tu je vse svetu pismu stariga inu noviga testamenta, slovenski tolmačena skuzi Jurija Dalmatina).

The book was printed in 1,500 copies, 50 of those were printed on better paper with red, white and black leather covers and gilding, coloured pictures and initials. This is the only Protestant book that was spared by Counter-Reformation. Moreover, after the fall of the Slovene Protestant Church, Dalmatin's Bible was used by Slovenian Catholic priests for the next two centuries.

Just 78 original copies have been preserved, 36 at home and 42 abroad. One of these is kept by Posavski muzej Brežice and its fascimile can be seen in their regular exhibition about local Protestants and their cultural contributions.

Dalmatin’s translation of the entire Bible, was one of the cornerstones in the development of the Slovenian literary language, and the cultural identity of the Slovenes in general.

STA, 5 November 2019 - Slovenia has joined the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing, thus becoming one of the EU reference sites that promote ageing solutions through bringing together civil societies, governmental organisations, industry and science.

The partnership includes 77 reference sites or ecosystems that aim to improve the health and life of the elderly as well as the entire communities, coming up with and promoting innovative strategies.

"Slovenia's contribution to this partnership will be an improved collaboration of various activities," said Alenka Rožaj Brvar, the head of the Slovenian Innovation Hub, at a press conference on Tuesday.

She pointed at increasing population ageing and related challenges, such as chronic diseases, adding that a more systematic plan for tackling these issues should be implemented.

Marjan Sedmak, the head of the Ljubljana Pensioners' Union and the former head of AGE Platform Europe, a European network of organisations focusing on the needs of the elderly, pointed out that another issue posed by ageing was loneliness, which is being partly tackled by senior activity centres, but there was still room for improvement.

Rožaj Brvar also highlighted the business opportunities of the silver or longevity economy targeting older consumers, including in real estate, health care and prevention, tourism, health food, home care equipment products and assistive devices.

One of Slovenia's possible strategies for tapping this potential is a project called the Academic Village which strives for setting up a community of retired professors and researchers near a new university campus at Brdo pri Kranju in northern Slovenia.

According to the former chancellor of the Ljubljana University and an advocate of the Slovenian Innovation Hub Stane Pejovnik, the community would promote maintaining ties between the young and the elderly as well as the knowledge exchange between them.

Pejovnik also listed the hub's other project ideas, including building two new faculties, a proton therapy centre for tumour treatment and the so-called medicine valley which would come with a price tag of a few hundred million euros, adding that securing funds for such projects is one of the main challenges of Slovenia's innovative initiatives in this field.

Meanwhile, the director of the Provita company Gorazd Hladnik presented an example of good practices in health management - the Health Master app, a Slovenian platform which promotes keeping a personal health record and introduces new ways of patient-doctor exchanges using information and communication technologies.

Christmas in Slovenia may seem far away, with the trees outside still a beautiful mix of green, gold and brown, the weather wet, windy but otherwise rather mild. But time moves fast and in three weeks the lights will be turned on around the country, thus begin just over a month of festive fun, with music, lights, markets, parades and more to get you through the darkest days of winter.

December in Ljubljana

The month is known as Festive December in Ljubljana, and runs from 29 November to 5 January 2020. Perhaps the most distinctive feature is the lights that turn up in different places each year, as designed by Zmago Modic, the artist who’s also responsible for the rain that usually appears each summer in Prešeren Square (although this year, due to renovations, there was no rain). It’s in this square, soon to be home to a giant Christmas tree, where the lights will be turned on Friday November 29 at 17:15.

The same evening will see the opening of the Christmas market, which is held in the Central Market and also along Breg embankment. Here you’ll find hats, gloves, scarves, festive foods, treats, gifts, souvenirs and so on, along with many stalls selling mulled wine and hot food. Since the city is small everything is easy to find, and the best thing to do is just wander through the Old Town, being sure to visit Prešeren and Congress Square / Zvezda Park, where there will be a (free) magical forest to explore.

The city’s official site for the month is here, and some dates to look out for are 5 December, when at 17:00 St Nicholas himself will lead a procession, while Grandpa Frost will keep the cheer going with his own parade on 26 December, at 17:00. Both provide good excuses to make the trip the Ljubljana and enjoy the atmosphere. Note that the Castle also has a full programme of events.

If you're in the capital now, check out the latest edition of What's on... for a selection of things to do in things to do in Ljubljana this week.

December in Maribor

The lights in Maribor will start shining the same day as those in Ljubljana, Friday 29 November, but 15 minutes earlier, at 17:00, in General Maister Square. The city’s official site for the month – which is currently rather short on information – is here.

December in Bled

The picturesque lake, island, chapel and castle are especially magical in winter, with the scene made even more full of wonder when the lights come on at night. This year the festive season will run from November 29 until January 5, and – in addition to the usual lights and stalls – there’ll also be an ice rink with a spectacular view, one that opens 22 November and closes 1 March. The official website is here with more details, and note that if you’re in the area on Christmas Day then you have the chance to join other brave souls and go for a swim in the lake.

December by the Coast

Of course, not everyone likes the cold and snow, even in December, in which case a festive trip to the mild climate of the Slovenian coast is recommended. All the towns here will have lights to enjoy, starting on 29 November, but if in Portorož then head to Christmas market in the park of Hotel Kempinski Palace Portorož, while in Koper the Old Town will come alive to a series of events call Magical December, usually including an ice rink. Finally, in Piran the centre of festivities will be Tartini Square.

STA, 5 November 2019 - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Peter Jožef Česnik is starting a ten-day visit to Australia on Tuesday. Travelling across the continent, he will make stops in Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Melbourne and several other smaller towns to meet members of the community he belonged to for nearly four decades.

On route to Australia, Česnik made a stop in Singapore, where Slovenians are building a new community, the government Office for Slovenians Abroad said before the trip.

Česnik will start his tour in Brisbane and then travel to Sydney, where he will visit the Slovenian-Australian chamber of commerce, as well as the two Slovenian associations based there and a church. He will also meet Tanya Pliberšek, the years long Labour deputy president and former cabinet minister.

He will visit the community in Wollongong before heading to Canberra, where he will meet the Slovenian community and Ambassador Jurij Rifelj, and lay a wreath at the War Memorial dedicated to Australian soldiers who lost their lives in combat.

Česnik will also visit the community in Geelong and meet community representatives of greater Melbourne, as well as Honorary Consul Eddy Kontelj.

He will then travel to Adelaide, where he will be welcomed by South Australia Governor Hieu Van Le and visit the National Wine Centre of Australia.

The minister will end his tour in Perth, where the small Slovenian community is gaining new momentum, as local Marjana Kaker is to be named honorary consul for Western Australia.

The government Office for Slovenians Abroad estimates that Australia is home to between 20,000 and 25,000 people of Slovenian descent. Minister Česnik himself moved to Australia in 1967 and lived there for 36 years before returning to Slovenia after retiring.

STA, 4 November 2019 - The Slovenian and Italian police forces will further enhance cooperation in fighting illegal migrations, as the number of joint police patrols, launched on 1 July, will be doubled from four to eight, the General Police Department told the STA on Monday.

In July a three-month trial period started in which the two countries' mixed police units patrolled the border to curb illegal migrations. The cooperation continued into October.

Since such cooperation was assessed as effective in migration management, the leaderships of border police from both countries agreed to prolong and enhance it.

It was agreed in Trieste on 24 October to double the patrols to eight, with seven patrolling the border in the area of the Koper Police Department in the south-west of Slovenia and one in the area of the Nova Gorica Police Department further north on the Slovenian-Italian border.

The two police forces also agreed to exchange information more promptly to allow for more flexible planning of joint policing of the border, the Slovenian police also said.

Border areas will be patrolled alternately on both sides of the border on the basis of a detailed analysis of the routes used by illegal migrants. The legal basis for the cooperation is the 2007 Slovenia-Italy agreement on cross-border police cooperation.

In the July-September period, over 1,900 foreigners were processed for crossing the Slovenian-Italian border illegally in the area policed by the Koper Police Department, up from almost 1,800 in the same three-month period in 2018. In the area covered by the Nova Gorica Police Department, 42 persons were processed, up from 33.

STA, 4 November 2019 - The parliamentary inquiry into suspected abuse of office at the bad bank interviewed on Monday the former chairmen of NLB and NKBM, Janko Medja and Aleš Hauc, who said that the banks had no power in determining which assets will and which will not be transferred to the bad bank as part of the 2013 bailout.

First to be interviewed was Medja, who said the bank was only an "object" and could not participate in determining the methodology for appraising assets, nor had it final say about which assets and why would be transferred to the bad bank.

He was faced with the questions from the inquiry chair, Jernej Vrtovec of the opposition New Slovenia (NSi), about the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) using "double standards".

Vrtovec noted that the BAMC made different assessments when placing a company or group on the list for transfer of assets, taking the DZS group as an example, as it had been transferred on the bad bank, while KD Group, which is also a financial holding, was not.

Medja, who was the chairman of NLB between the autumn of 2012 and February 2016, which included the state-sponsored bank bailout, said he could not answer the question as he did not remember concrete cases.

Regarding alleged pressures, he said that representatives of certain companies did ask the bank about the transfer, but NLB's answer was always that it stuck to the rules and procedures in line with the law.

According to Medja, the first list of claims to be transferred to BAMC was compiled by NLB, and was sent to an inter-ministerial task force and the Banka Slovenije central bank, with the two coming up with the final list.

Banka Slovenije had data on claims to individual companies from other banks, he said, adding that he could not tell why some claims or assets had not been transferred, as he did not have access to all documents.

According to Medja, the bank did not agree with certain results of asset quality reviews (AQR) regarding for how much claims could be sold. Due to the large quantity of data and relatively short time, he allows for the possibility that not all appraisals were compliant with the international accounting standards, in particular in real estate.

In individual cases, the bank's assessments did not comply with the AQR results, but the eventual estimates on the amount of the required capital were at a similar level, he added.

Medja explained the difference in the initial estimate about how much capital NLB needs and the final calculations with the fact that not the entire portfolio was reviewed in the first estimate.

Surprising things were discovered mainly in investments in foreign countries, he said, adding that NLB services were adopting in 2013 the recommendations of the European Banking Authority (EBA), which were becoming stricter.

Medja stressed on several occasions that when it comes to the bailout measures, NLB was an "object", adding that the bank's management had wanted to get a clearer picture and get a greater role in talks, "but had no chance to discuss it".

The bank could not risk capital inadequacy, and could not get capital on the market, he said, adding that the state-sponsored measures were an "all or nothing" approach, with the bank not being able to pick recapitalisation or transfer or bad claims to the bad bank alone.

"We could only pick recapitalisation as it was envisaged, or capital inadequacy, risking to lose the trust of deposit holders," he concluded.

Also interviewed was Hauc, who managed NKBM from March 2012 to February 2015. He too said that the bank had no say about which assets would be eventually transferred to BAMC, and repeated some of the other explanations offered by Medja.

He said that the the stress tests in 2013 had been "too brutal" and the AQR strongly underestimated the value of insurance of claims. Banka Slovenije was warned about this, but the bank had no influence whatsoever, he added.

Hauc noted that NKBM had wanted that all non-performing assets be transferred to the bad bank, with many of them staying in the bank after the bailout. "There is no logic in carrying out a bailout without transferring everything that is disputable to BAMC."

He also assessed that Banka Slovenije had been rather limited and that the European Commission had the main say, in fact its "lower-ranked officials", who had been sending e-mails about what needed to be done. "The bank had to implement the measures, otherwise it would go bankrupt."

Regarding the estimate of the amount the banks needed in the bailout, Hauc said that no damage had been done. "The state put the money from one pocket to the other. Even if too much money was given, it has not been lost."

He assessed that a majority of bad loans were a consequence of the crisis, and to lesser degree of bad practices. "Companies were borrowing excessively and then stumbled, while banks were not conservative enough in approving loans."

According to him, the US fund Apollo and the EBRD, which acquired NKBM in 2016 for EUR 250 million, got the bank for cheap but are doing a good job. "Apparently a bank had to be sold to show that we are a serious country, not a banana republic," Hauc concluded.

On the other hand, Janez Fabijan of Banka Slovenije said that the banks themselves had sent the lists of companies to the central banks, as he was quizzed about his role in due diligence procedures, transfer of claims to DUTB and other bail-out procedures.

"I never worked in supervision, but I'm objectively responsible as a member of the Banka Slovenije board of directors," he said, adding that when it came to the bailout, it would be wrong if the central bank had acted differently.

According to him, the transfer of claims to BAMC was transparent, with lists of companies to be transferred being made by the banks, as they were obliged to know their clients.

It was determined with a government decree which claims will be transferred, said Fabijan, who could not tell whether Banka Slovenije made any interventions in the lists. "Perhaps something was changed, but not too many times."

This was done in any case with consent from the banks, and the decree determining the criteria for the transfer of claims gave the banks and BAMC absolute advantage compared to Banka Slovenije, he said.

He added that the central bank had only participated in the process and admitted that he had been visited by a few representatives of companies claims to whom were planned to be transferred to BAMC.

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:

Shareholders to learn more about Petrol management resignation at shareholding meeting

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) sent a response to the government regarding the 24 October resignation of the Petrol management, which has upset the business community and the public, which however brought no new insight into the reasons for the move. Shareholders now expect to get more information at a shareholder meeting. The prime minister's office welcomed the idea about the shareholder meeting, saying any step enabling the shareholders to obtain more information was welcome.

Slovenia and Italy to extend, intensify joint border policing

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian and Italian police forces will further enhance cooperation in fighting illegal migrations, as the number of joint police patrols, launched on 1 July, will be doubled from four to eight, the General Police Department told the STA. This was agreed in Trieste on 24 October. Seven units will be patrolling the border in the area of the Koper Police Department in the south-west of Slovenia and one in the area of the Nova Gorica Police Department further north on the Slovenian-Italian border. The two countries' police forces also agreed to exchange information more promptly to allow for more flexible planning of joint policing of the border, the Slovenian police also said.

Decade on, arbitration agreement yet to be implemented

LJUBLJANA - It is ten years, to the day, since Slovenia and Croatia signed an agreement to take their long-running border dispute to a binding international arbitration. However, rather than ending what had been a recurrent source of tensions between the two countries, these only mounted after Croatia withdrew from the arbitration process in 2015. The arbitration tribunal declared the award in June 2017, but Croatia refuses to accept it, which is why Slovenia brought legal action against it at the EU Court last year.

Slovenia promoted in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, China - Slovenia will be showcased as a country of advanced technologies and a winter sports destination at China International Import Expo (CIIE). Its opening on Tuesday will be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, with Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek arriving from Slovenia for the occasion. This is the second time that CIIE is being held and the second time that Slovenia is being featured. Slovenia will also be promoted as a partner for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

Opinions vary, issues raised as provinces debate is revived

LJUBLJANA - Representatives of parliamentary parties and experts agreed that administrative provinces should indeed be established in Slovenia as President Borut Pahor hosted a debate on the topic, while the opinions differed regarding the territorial division as well as the question of their powers and financing. The debate focussed on a new proposal, coming after a ten-year break and envisaging eleven provinces centred around existing city municipalities.

Task force to look for solutions for border areas affected by migration

LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec met the mayors of border municipalities to discuss ways to reduce the impact of illegal migration on the lives of people living in border areas. They agreed to set up a task force that will prepare systemic solutions. The task force will consist of representatives of the municipalities and the government, and will be coordinated by Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar. It is to start work within the next two weeks.

LMŠ considering easing 2015 fiscal rule

LJUBLJANA - The ruling Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) declared that the time had come to ease up on the fiscal rule which was introduced to put constraints on public spending in mid-2015. The party said that most EU countries were relaxing fiscal policies, while Slovenia continued with a strategy that was slowing down progress. The party is drawing up an amendment to ease the fiscal rule. After being presented to coalition partners and following a public consultation, it is to be tabled in parliament in December.

LMŠ urges freezing loan caps until adoption of housing bill

LJUBLJANA - Following up on a critical response from Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, his LMŠ party called on Banka Slovenije to put the new restrictions on consumer loans on hold until a new housing act is passed that facilitates housing credit access for the young. "We believe that the Banka Slovenije measure is worsening the social situation of a significant number of citizens," the party commented on the much criticised loan restrictions which are in force since 1 November.

Former NLB, NKBM execs say they had no say in asset transfer to bad bank

LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry into suspected abuse of office at the bad bank interviewed the former chairmen of NLB and NKBM, Janko Medja and Aleš Hauc, who said that the banks had no power in determining which assets were going to be transferred to the bad bank and which not as part of the 2013 bailout. Medja said the bank did not agree with certain results of asset quality reviews (AQR). Similarly, Hauc described the 2013 stress tests as "too brutal", asserting that the AQR strongly underestimated the value of loan collateral.

Telekom ordered to pay Greek partner in joint media venture

LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije, the telecoms incumbent, confirmed it had been ordered to pay EUR 17.6m plus default interest to its Greek partner Antenna Group for its remaining 34% stake in a media joint venture that the Greeks have long sought to exit. The venture, Antenna TV SL, produces Planet TV, a commercial TV station that has been in the red ever since it was launched in 2012. Since the partners could not reach an agreement, they resorted to the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, which decided on 31 October that Antenna Group exercised its put option correctly. Telekom said its own legal costs and the counterparty's plus default interest totalled EUR 5.3m.

SID Banka to provide consultancy on Juncker Plan investments

LJUBLJANA - SID Banka signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to expand its services to investment consulting. The state-owned export and development bank has been Slovenia's entry point for the Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the Juncker Plan, since November 2015. Sid Banka will use the EUR 440,000 it is entitled to under the agreement to finance an investment consultancy hub to help develop and structure projects, and offer financial advice and assistance in obtaining EU funds.

SDS, SLS spent the most on EU election campaign

LJUBLJANA - A report on party campaign costs for the 26 May elections to the European Parliament showed that the winning coalition of the Democrats (SDS) and People's Party (SLS) spent the most on their campaign, EUR 230,000. Meanwhile, the campaigns of the Social Democrat (SD) and Marjan Šarec Party (LMŠ) were the most effective given the money invested, having spent EUR 35,000 and EUR 36,000, respectively for each of two seats won. The least effective was the campaign of the Modern Centre Party (SMC).

Krško nuclear station back at full capacity

KRŠKO - The Krško Nuclear Power Station (NEK) announced it was operating at full capacity again following a nearly month-long scheduled regular maintenance shutdown. The station was reconnected to the grid last Tuesday and reached full capacity on Saturday. The power plant is operating in a stable way and the next regular maintenance shut-down is scheduled for the spring of 2021.

ETI to raise pay to all employees

IZLAKE - The increase in the statutory minimum wage has prompted the foreign-owned industrial concern ETI to overhaul the pay system in its five companies in Slovenia as a result of which wages will go up by over 10% on average. The Izlake-based company said all its employees would benefit from a rise next year, not just the lowest paid workers, because otherwise a change in pay ratios could negatively impact on employee motivation. The concern employs 1,600 people in Slovenia and abroad.

Slovenian literature showcased in Vienna

VIENNA, Austria - Slovenia's contemporary authors and illustrators are being showcased in Vienna as the Week of Slovenian Literature got under way as part of Year of Neighbourly Dialogue between Slovenia and Austria. The festival opened with the launch of an exhibition on Slovenian illustration since 1976 at the central Vienna library and a concert. The highlight will be Thursday's presentation at Buch Wien, the international book fair, featuring writers Drago Jančar, Aleš Šteger and Mojca Kumerdej.

New ballet production in Ljubljana retelling Great Gatsby

LJUBLJANA - The first ballet premiere of the 2019-2020 season at the Ljubljana SNG Opera and Ballet House is a modern retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel The Great Gatsby choreographed by internationally acclaimed Leo Mujić. The ballet, which explores the bombastic construct of the 1920s American Dream through a modern perspective, will open on Thursday. Istvan Simon, the former principal dancer of the Dresden Semperoper Ballet and the Hungarian National Ballet, is cast as Jay Gatsby.

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

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On this day In 1926, Fascists occupied Trgovski dom (home of trade), a building where Slovenian trade and cultural associations in Gorica were located.

The building, designed by Max Fabiani, was built and furnished by Slovenian enterprises from the Gorica area in 1904.

Besides the trade cooperative, Trgovski dom also hosted several stores and offices, a gym, a library and reading room of the National Teachers Association. It was a location where theatre performances, concerts and other cultural events took place.

In November 1926, following an assassination attempt on Benito Mussolini in Bologna earlier in October, squads of terrorising Fascist groups (Squadristi) were raging across the Julian March. On today’s date the squadrists broke into Trgovski dom in Gorica and took control of the building.

A bit later the place was renamed “Casa Littorio”, and in December 1933 an Italian liquidator formally sold it to the Fascist Party in Gorica.

After the WWII it was taken back by the Slovenian minority and renamed Ljudski dom. But in 1946 Slovenian and anti-fascist organisations already had to vacate it again. Following the annexation of Gorica to Italy, the government used the building for its offices.

The Slovenian minority advocated for the return of the house for many decades, and only at the start of the new millennium did things start to move. The house was finally renovated and returned to the Slovenian minority in the form of a library in 2014.

Old travel posters are evocative of a lost world, one with a sense of real mystery and romance, before mass tourism and colour TV brought the world everyone, everywhere. If you find the few images that go along with this story of interest then consider making your next trip to the National Gallery, where until 12 January 2020 you can enjoy “Slovenia on the posters from the Salce Collection".

Ratomir Pešeć, © Museo Nazionale Collezione Salce, Treviso

Janez Trpin, © Museo Nazionale Collezione Salce, Treviso

The collection is named after Ferdinando (Nando) Salce (1878‒1962), who collected some 24,580 posters in his time. The gallery is showing 52 of these that refer to the territory of present-day Slovenia and were produced between 1910 and 1960. As the page for the show says:

In terms of content, they can be divided into several groups: tourist posters which promote Slovenia, its natural beauties, spas and tourist resorts; the next group consists of posters promoting different events, such as fairs, cultural and sports events, various congresses and meetings of interest associations; in the last group there are commercial posters, such as advertisements for hats, washing powder, beer, newspapers, etc.

Glaico Cambon, © Museo Nazionale Collezione Salce, Treviso

A ticket costs €5 for adults, and €10 to also gain access to the Gallery’s complete collection. Children, students, and pensioners. The place is closed on Mondays, and then open Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00 to 18:00, and Thursday to 20:00

STA, 4 November 2019 - Slovenian police have arrested nine foreigners who tried to help migrants illegally cross the border and processed around 150 cases of illegal border crossing in the south-west of the country since Wednesday.

On Saturday, police spotted a car with German licence plates in the town of Kozina running a red light and then speeding up towards Italy.

Notifying Italian police, Slovenian police followed the car into Italy, where it crashed into another car in Basovizza, the Koper Police Department said on Monday.

The car was driven by an Iraqi with an Iraqi woman co-driver, both of whom had their status approved in Germany. They were transporting two Iraqi illegal migrants and a child.

Once apprehended, the foreign citizens were taken to an Italian hospital and the investigation was taken over by Italian law enforcement.

On the same day, police pulled over three cars registered in Italy near the town of Knežak.

They arrested a Romanian, an Italian woman and three Pakistani citizens for organising illegal transport of migrants across the border.

All twelve foreigners whom the suspects brought to Slovenia without proper documents were sent to a centre for foreigners. Ten of them were Eritreans.

Two days earlier, an Albanian citizen driving a car with Italian licence plates and transporting two Albanian illegal migrants was also arrested in the south-west.

Both illegal migrants were sent back to Croatia, and an investigating judge placed the driver in detention.

On Friday, a 53-year old Croatian citizen was found transporting three Turkish illegal migrants. He too was placed in detention.