Good evening. Here is the Tuesday, April 4 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Judge dismisses charges against ex-interior minister
Robert Kaliňák. (source: TASR)
On Monday, the Specialised Criminal Court dismissed charges against former interior minister Robert Kaliňák for the Smer party, and oligarch and Smer's patron Jozef Brhel, in the František Imrecze case.
The prosecutor has not dropped bribery charges against the two. He filed these with the court on March 28.
The court announced that it found serious procedural errors, in particular, the violation of the right to defence. For example, the accused were not allowed to ask Imrecze relevant questions. Kaliňák said that 12 errors were identified. He added that the Special Prosecutor's Office should be renamed the Political Prosecutor's Office.
The court described the police's approach as unprofessional and improper. Its decision is not valid. The Supreme Court will deal make a final decision.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
Travel: Google Street View cars will return to Slovak roads in the coming months.
Culture: Journalist Tom Nicholson shares his top 10 Slovak words. Do you know what a "sedlák" is?
Migration: International Organisation for Migration has opened new offices.
Politics: Acting Interior Minister Roman Mikulec does not have security clearance. Can he read secret NATO and EU documents? Politicians cannot agree.
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FEATURE STORY FOR TUESDAY
KHL Slovaks will not play at the world ice-hockey tournament
Slovak national hockey team will have no KHL players at this year's World Championship. (source: Sliacky)
The Slovak ice-hockey team will take part in the world championships in Riga, Latvia, and Tampere, Finland, without Slovaks from the Russian KHL league.
See who will not show up on the A-team.
The tournament will be held in the second half of May.
In a few lines:
Slovakia will have enough natural gas during the next heating season, said acting Economy Minister Karel Hirman (Demokrati).
Smer-SSD would support a technocratic government appointed by the president only if the early elections are held in June, said Smer leader Robert Fico. He claims that the Presidential Palace is talking about the technocratic government as one alternative. Hlas will not support such a government, but the party is open to supporting bills that could help people or would concern the recovery plan.
President Zuzana Čaputová has signed an amendment that expands the protection of dogs, cats and ferrets against abuse and also regulates criminal responsibility for killing a pet.
The ZSSK national railway carrier will add more carriages to train sets during Easter. The occupancy of the busiest trains during the Easter holidays stands at around 79 percent.
The wreath-laying ceremony on the Slavín war memorial on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Bratislava on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR WEDNESDAY: Cloudy skies. Snow showers. The highest daytime temperature will range from 5°C to 10°C. A north wind up to 60 km/hr. Yellow frost warnings are in place until late Wednesday morning in western and southern Slovakia. (SHMÚ)
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