MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Wednesday, 12 November 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Tuesday, 11 November): BRATISLAVA - Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) has dismissed the management of Slovak rail passenger carrier ZSSK, appointing Ivana Pinosova to head the company on a temporary basis, the Transport Ministry told TASR on Tuesday. Urged by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Monday (10 November) to remove the ZSSK management, Raz thus responded to the collision between two trains near Pezinok (Bratislava region) on Sunday (9 November) in which dozens of passengers suffered injuries, with 79 of them ending up in hospital. "In line with yesterday's session of the government, we've dismissed the management of ZSSK as of yesterday, with the new management appointed as of today," said Raz. The new general director of the company and chair of its Board of Directors is Ivana Pinosova. According to Raz, she's a very experienced manager, having previously worked for the state-run Slovak Post Office, rail-freight operator ZSSK Cargo and the Slovak Road Administration. BRATISLAVA - The trains that were involved in the accident near Pezinok on Sunday (9 November) have been removed from the tracks, but the damaged section of track remains out of service, the communications department of rail-infrastructure operator ZSR told TASR on Tuesday, adding that trains on the section are currently being delayed by an average of 10 to 20 minutes, while passenger carrier ZSSK has noted that some passenger trains have been cancelled due to reduced track capacity. "The last piece of rolling stock, including the engines, was removed from the track today at 1.10 p.m. Due to the clear-up work, repairs to the damaged parts of railway infrastructure (tracks and switches) haven't yet begun," said ZSR. According to ZSR, the exact date on which ordinary service will be resumed will depend on the availability of materials and when they are supplied from external sources. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party on Tuesday presented its 'Team of Change', which will hold discussions with its counterparts from Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), the Christian Democrats (KDH) and Democrats and seek consensus on specific issues. PS leader Michal Simecka told a news conference on Tuesday that the team will also keep watch on every step taken by the government, point out its mistakes and work for change. MEP Ludovit Odor will be the leader in charge of restarting the economy, while party member Ivan Korcok will be in charge of foreign and European policy. Simecka described these two areas as key. Stefan Kiss will be responsible for finance, Ivan Stefunko for the economy and energy, and Jaroslav Spisiak will be in charge of the interior and police. Michal Truban should be the leader for investments, while Tomas Valasek will take care of defence, and Jan Hargas will be in charge of transport. Zora Jaurova will address changes in culture and the media, Simona Petrik labour and social affairs and Tamara Stohlova the environment. Tina Gazovicova should be the PS leader for education, and Zuzana Stevulova for justice. Oskar Dvorak will be the leader for changes in the health-care sector. All of the aforementioned are MPs. Peter Bator is the leader responsible for changes in intelligence services, while Peter Horny will be in charge of agriculture. Both are party members. BRATISLAVA - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) has lost a court case against police officers from the so-called 'Curilla group' and will have to apologise for comparing them to convicted crime boss Mikulas Cernak, their lawyer Peter Kubina announced on social media on Tuesday, adding that Sutaj Estok failed to check his electronic mailbox and therefore lost the case "by default", so he'll have to pay a total of €90,000 in damages, including court fees and late payment interest. "Minister Sutaj Estok, as the defendant, was so passive that after the verdict was delivered (again to his electronic mailbox), he didn't even use his right to file an appeal. As a result, the verdict became final and enforceable a few days later. We've therefore filed for enforcement, and the minister is now subject to an enforcement order, with his bank account now being blocked by a bailiff," said Kubina, adding that Sutaj Estok will also have to pay the bailiff's fee. According to Kubina, the minister will have to pay damages personally to Jan Curilla, Pavol Durka, Stefan Masin, Milan Sabota, Robert Magula and Branislav Duncko, as the police officers filed the lawsuit against him as a natural person, and not against the ministry. BRATISLAVA - The greatest tribute to fallen soldiers is a world in which war has no place, said President Peter Pellegrini during a wreath-laying ceremony held at the Petrzalka-Kopcany military cemetery in Bratislava on Tuesday to mark Veterans Day, with House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD), Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) and other guests including local government representatives in attendance. The anniversary of the end of the First World War is a reminder not to repeat history in its cruelest forms, to let diplomacy speak again rather than the clash of arms, and to return to economic cooperation instead of building economic barriers, stated the president. "It's alarming that today's situation so strikingly reminds us of the situation before the outbreak of the First World War, that today in the 21st century we can hear shooting not far from our borders, soldiers are again dying on battlefields or in trenches, along with innocent people, even children in the ruins of residential buildings," stated Pellegrini. According to him, the anniversary should also remind people to coexist in a multilateral world instead of ruthlessly promoting power or economic interests, and "to restore respect for international law and human life". BRATISLAVA - Preparations to launch the Perun supercomputer are nearing their final stage, Investment, Regional Development and Informatisation Minister Samuel Migal (Independent) announced at the Computing Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) in Bratislava's Patronka area on Tuesday, with SAV chairman Martin Venhart and SAV ex-chairman Pavol Sajgalik in attendance. The supercomputer will be put in operation in Kosice next week, and it should be launched in Bratislava in the first quarter of next year, said Migal, adding that €19.5 million has been directly invested in the project. "I can say today that we'll ceremonially hand over the supercomputer in Kosice next week. That's why I wanted to familiarise myself with the progress of the work at SAV. I was pleased to receive information that we're making real headway and should launch this supercomputer here in Bratislava in the first quarter of next year," said Migal. ko