Good evening. Here is the Thursday, April 6 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
The next news digest will be published after Easter, on April 11, but there's a lot of stories that you can read on our website in the meantime.
Best poll result for Smer in years
Smer leader Robert Fico, as portrayed on February 16, 2023. (source: SITA)
Former three-time prime minister Robert Fico's aggressive style of campaigning seems to resonate with voters.
In the latest NMS Market Research poll, Fico's Smer-SSD reached its best result in several years. Conversely, his biggest rival, Peter Pellegrini's Hlas, is weaker. Smer would win 22.4 percent if the early elections were held in late March, much more than Hlas' 14.2 percent.
The agency surveyed 1,008 people.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
Energy: Bratislava could get an LNG terminal, and Slovakia could be supplied with cheaper power until 2027 thanks to Slovenské Elektrárne.
Culture: Here's a selection of 10 Bratislava events, including an Easter market and a beer festival.
Transport: Czech rail company České Dráhy has sent a critical letter to Slovak railways, pointing out the disastrous quality of its railroads.
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FEATURE STORY FOR THURSDAY
3 free events you can do in Bratislava
Svätý Jur. (source: Ján Pallo)
As usual, you can set out on a hiking adventure. But you can have a blast at an English-language stand-up comedy instead. And how about classical music?
In a few lines:
Maternity hospitals in Snina, Kráľovský Chlmec, Revúca, Myjava and Partizánske will close down in 2024. Fewer than 400 children are born here every year.
Post offices will remain closed during Easter, except for Saturday. Most shops will be closed too.
The court postponed the start of the hearing with the former Slovak president Andrej Kiska until June 29. Kiska is facing tax fraud charges in the case of his family company KTAG. The trial was originally scheduled to begin on April 18.
The National Crime Agency accused the former head of the General Prosecutor's Office, Dobroslav Trnka, who is suspected of committing the crime of abuse of authority of a public official.
Trnava-based Stellantis produced the most cars in Slovakia last year. It made
312,500 vehicles in total in 2022. Kia's factory in Žilina followed with 311,000 vehicles. VW Slovakia's factory in Bratislava placed third when 268,700 cars rolled off its production lines last year. Jaguar Land Rover in Nitra did not publish its production figures. (SITA)
Snow has been complicating the lives of many drivers in most regions of Slovakia until Thursday evening. Snow weather warnings are in place until Friday. (source: TASR - František Iván)
WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: Cloudy and overcast skies. Snow in several places, rain at low elevations. The highest daytime temperature from 5°C to 10°C. Light wind. You can find more weather forecasts, as well as all weather warnings that are in place, on the meteorological office's website.
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