(source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)
Good evening. Here is the Thursday, December 22 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Slovakia's budget approved, session postponed
Finance Minister Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) holds a "Thank you for helping people" banner in parliament on December 22, 2022. (source: TASR - Jakub Kotian)
"It's a real Christmas present for people," PM Eduard Heger posted on social media after the 2023 state budget was greenlit by the MPs on December 22.
He called it a compromise budget, as he had been forced to seek support among opposition MPs for the SaS party and make amends.
In the end, 93 lawmakers voted for the budget in the 150-seat parliament.
Here's what the approved budget includes.
Parliament: MPs will return to their seats on January 24. Originally, their next meeting in the debating chamber was scheduled for January 10.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
DISINFORMATION: One of the largest Slovak disinformation websites, Hlavné Správy, has been placed on the list of disinformers once again.
BORDER CONTROL: Czechs will continue to carry out checks at Slovak border, but the checks will be random.
POLL: Slovaks more and more critical of Slovakia's sovereignty, a poll has revealed.
SCAM: What is it like to communicate with a romantic scammer?
EVENTS: Check out the latest edition of the Top 10 events in Bratislava.
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FEATURE STORY FOR THURSDAY
Old train carriage turned into cosy café
Depo Café near Dobšinská Ice Cave. (source: Archive of A.Š.)
An old train carriage in northern Slovakia from the Austria-Hungary era, which now serves as a café, has grown into a popular tourist attraction.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Up to 59 per cent of people in Slovakia are in favour of an early election before summer 2023 and 5 per cent support an election after summer following the collapse of PM Eduard Heger's government last week, a Focus poll shows. (Sme)
The police will continue investigating the case of alleged damage to a WWI cemetery in the town of Ladomirová, eastern Slovakia, a district prosecutor decided. An investigator did not consider it a crime. The Russian embassy used the cemetery to disseminate a hoax in September. (Korzár)
A brown bear at the Košice zoo receives a Christmas present on December 16, 2022. (source: TASR - František Iván)
The National Crime Agency violated the rights of entrepreneur Jaroslav Haščák of the Penta financial group in regards to discussing his case without unnecessary delays, the Constitutional Court ruled. The violation concerns the Gorilla case, a high-profile political corruption scandal from over a decade ago. Haščák is facing a charge in the case again.
Speaker Boris Kollár and his party Sme Rodina will support Eduard Heger's new cabinet if an early election takes place in June or September next year. Sme Rodina is a coalition party that is part of the Heger-led interim government today.
Thank you for reading The Slovak Spectator.
P.S. If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
