SUMMARY - Wednesday, May 10, 2023 - 5 p.m.

BRATISLAVA - Whether or not the 'Democrats' party grant confidence to the incoming caretaker cabinet in Parliament will hinge on its Government Manifesto, interim and outgoing Prime Minister Eduard Heger (Democrats) stated on Wednesday. BRATISLAVA - The caretaker government that President Zuzana Caputova wants to appoint is very well arranged and balanced as it includes both conservative and liberal ministers, Parliamentary Chair and We Are Family leader Boris Kollar said after he met the president on Wednesday. BRATISLAVA - The soaring energy prices that have complicated life for towns and villages might force them to restrict some services in the spheres of social affairs, culture, sport and transport to a certain extent, as the compensation payments provided to local administrations have failed to offset their losses, the Slovak Towns and Villages Association (ZMOS) warned at a press conference on Wednesday. BRATISLAVA - Parliament on Wednesday approved amendments to a number of laws concerning the protection of the environment in connection with a reform of construction regulations. BRATISLAVA - The extra-parliamentary Democrats party has called on President Zuzana Caputova to veto the amendment to several laws related to environmental protection in connection with the reform of the construction legislation, party member and Environment Ministry State Secretary Michal Kica said at a press conference on Wednesday. BRATISLAVA - Non-parliamentary Progressive Slovakia (PS) perceives votes taken by Parliament in the past two days as the disintegration of the environmental protection system in Slovakia and exclusion of the public from decision-making processes, TASR learnt from Tereza Mikacova of PS press department on Wednesday. BRATISLAVA - Greenpeace Slovakia considers the amendments related to construction legislation and the environment that were approved by Parliament on Wednesday to be completely outrageous, organisation head Katarina Jurikova has told TASR. NITRA - Former long-term Nitra regional governor Milan Belica will strengthen the extra-parliamentary Slovak National Party's (SNS) slate for the snap general election, said SNS leader Andrej Danko on Wednesday, adding that his inclusion on the slate is the natural outcome of long-term cooperation. BRATISLAVA - French President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Slovakia on May 31 at the invitation of President Zuzana Caputova, TASR learnt from the President's Office on Wednesday. BRATISLAVA - The OLaNO party disagrees with the proposal to shift money, allocated under the Recovery Plan for the construction of Bratislava's new Razsochy hospital, to other hospitals in Slovakia, House Health Committee chair Marek Krajci (OLaNO) stated at a press conference on Wednesday. KOSICE - The Constitutional Court will judge the constitutionality of legislative obstacles to the right of professional soldiers join trade unions, TASR learnt on Wednesday. NITRA - A judge of the Nitra District Court has found ex-journalist and ex-Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) member Peter T. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons] guilty of the crime of blackmailing the now-deceased journalist Jana Teleki. BRATISLAVA - The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that judge of the Specialised Criminal Court Michal Truban can decide in the corruption case of Miroslav V. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], who is being prosecuted for a particularly serious crime of accepting a bribe. am