SUMMARY-Thursday-March 19, 2020 - 10 p.m.

BRATISLAVA - A Supreme Court senate decided not to prosecute in custody Bratislava V District Court judge Zuzana M., who faces charges of accepting bribes and misusing the powers of a public official, TASR learnt on Thursday. BRATISLAVA - Outgoing Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna (Slovak National Party/SNS) on Thursday praised inter-generational solidarity in Slovakia, with many young people doing food shopping for the elderly amid the coronavirus crisis. BRATISLAVA - The situation surrounding the new coronavirus pandemic will force hundreds or even thousands of Slovaks to return home to Slovakia from abroad, many from countries such as Italy and Spain, outgoing Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) warned on Thursday. BRATISLAVA - No Slovak government has ever been appointed in such a difficult situation, President Zuzana Caputova said in an extraordinary speech on private television channel Markiza on Thursday, referring to the coronavirus spread. BRATISLAVA - Smer-SD chairman and former three-times prime minister Robert Fico is expected to be tasked to head the party's parliamentary caucus by its members, Smer spokesman Jan Mazgut told TASR on Thursday. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia faces the most critical situation in its modern history and we must win the fight against the treacherous infection with minimal losses while also curing wounds inflicted on our spirit and health as well as addressing adverse economic impacts, outgoing Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) declared in his final and special address to the nation broadcast by RTVS on Thursday. BRATISLAVA - OLaNO, the strongest party of the new government to be appointed on Saturday, will propose Gabor Grendel for parliamentary vice-chair, while its parliamentary caucus will be headed by Michal Sipos, the party's newly elected MPs decided at a meeting on Thursday. BRATISLAVA - Future economy minister and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) chair Richard Sulik is gearing up to cushion the economic impacts of the new coronavirus pandemic on the Slovak economy and intends to create provisos for entrepreneurs that would alleviate pressure on their financial reserves, TASR learnt on Thursday. POVAZSKA BYSTRICA - A belligerent driver, 49, of Povazska Bystrica (Trencin region) headed the wrong way on a bridge, hit another car twice and refused to take a breathalyser test or submit to medical examination, TASR learnt from Trencin regional police spokesperson Danka Adamikova on Thursday. bub