MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, 16 November 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, 15 November): BRATISLAVA - The coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) calls on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to end cooperation with his adviser and former foreign affairs minister Miroslav Lajcak, according to the party's statement provided to TASR by SNS spokesperson Zuzana Skopcova on Saturday in connection with Lajcak's communication with late US financier Jeffrey Epstein. "Lajcak was the minister of foreign affairs and he held, between 2016 and 2020, a high post at the UN on behalf of the Slovak Republic. SNS, being a part of this government, holds the view that it is a scandal if the country's foreign minister and top state official regularly provided information about developments and internal matters of the Slovak government to a person who intentionally obtained such information and passed it on to another government. The fact that Lajcak has publicly admitted having communicated with this person and, according to the content of the messages, also met with him personally is beyond imagination," stated SNS. The junior coalition party also insists on Lajcak's dismissal as prime minister's adviser. "SNS does not want to judge whether the minister gained any benefits from providing such information. Lajcak cannot serve as an adviser to the prime minister in any area. SNS demands this as a coalition partner and believes that the prime minister will not ignore our request," added SNS. BRATISLAVA - Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) led the delegation of government officials at the funeral of Cardinal Dominik Jaroslav Duka, the Archbishop Emeritus of Prague, in the Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert on Saturday, describing Duka as a significant figure of the Catholic Church and a sincere friend of Slovakia, TASR has learnt from a social media post published by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. "Today in Prague, we said farewell to an important figure of the Catholic Church, a great and sincere friend of Slovakia and of Slovak–Czech relations," the ministry quoted Blanar on social media. He stressed that important figures like "Cardinal Duka remind us that values such as truth, faith, courage and service to others have lasting meaning in times when we often find ourselves lost in the noise of everyday life". Blanar also highlighted Cardinal Duka's participation this year in the Cyril and Methodius celebrations at the Devin castle (Bratislava region) and in the pilgrimage in Nitra, where he reaffirmed the shared spiritual heritage. BRATISLAVA - Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka announced on social media on Saturday that investigation into the knife attack at the grammar school in Spisska Stara Ves (Presov region) at the beginning of this year has entered the final phase, TASR reported on the same day. The victims of the knife attack that took place on January 16 were two women aged 18 and 51, a student and the school's deputy headteacher. Another student was injured. The police charged the suspect, an 18-year-old student from the village of Lubica (Presov region), with premeditated murder. He is detained in custody by a court's decision. The Prosecutor-General's Office informed in June that it has found several shortcomings in connection with the tragic knife attack. Errors were noted during the transfer of the attacker between schools, and they occurred at both grammar schools. The Prosecutor-General's Office also detected irregularities in the procedures of the labour, social affairs and family offices. The reconstruction of the case is held at the grammar school on Saturday. BRATISLAVA - Vice-premier for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy Peter Kmec (Voice-SD) has delivered his resignation to the Presidential Palace on Saturday, with President Peter Pellegrini expected to deal with it in the coming days in order to announce further course of action, TASR reported on the basis of information from the Presidential Office's communications department on the same day. Kmec confirmed on Saturday that he was leaving his post over controversial results of research and development grant calls, but he didn't admit any major errors. By leaving his post, he wants to protect the reputation of the coalition Voice-SD party, Slovakia and industry. On Friday (14 November), Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) announced on social media that he would ask Pellegrini to dismiss Kmec. On the same day, several opposition parties announced that they were filing criminal complaints with respect to research and development grant calls issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy, headed by Kmec. On Thursday (13 November), Voice-SD party leader and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok instructed Kmec to suspend the calls immediately and launch a thorough audit of the entire process, adding that no further steps should be taken until all circumstances are explained and verified. jrg