Slovakia today - latest news from Slovakia

According to a survey carried out by the MVK Agency and published on Monday, the strongest coalition party Smer-SD would have gained 42 percent of the votes if a general election had taken place in January.

A team of Slovak paramedics arrived in Haiti on Sunday to provide help to the earthquake-stricken country. The 16 paramedics will mainly carry out disinfection in order to prevent the outbreak of diseases as well as logistic support for staff from St. Elizabeth's University for Healthcare and Social Work.

By blocking important roads with their lorries, Slovak carriers wanted to express their discontent over the running of the newly-introduced tolling system. Last week, the protest evoked traffic jams in major cities over Slovakia.

Slovakia, Bratislava - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said he doesn't see any reason to dismiss Interior Minister Robert Kalinak over the explosives incident on January 2 – in which the airport security planted danger explosives in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers.

Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak views the failed police operation involving explosive traveling from Poprad to Dublin in the bag of an unwitting passenger as an individual failure of one police officer. The officer concerned will face disciplinary proceedings. Opposition is calling on the Interior Minister to explain the situation at the ministerial level. "He fails to provide explanations and hides behind his inferiors," said former Slovak Defence Minister.

During the live security tests, Slovak authorities planted eight plastic explosives, in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers. Seven items were detected by airport security, but the eighth one was lost and unwittingly transported to Dublin.

Vice-chair of the Christian Democrats (KDH) Daniel Lipsic told a press conference on Tuesday that he is about to submit a legal proposal on proving the origin of property to Parliament, as well as a constitutional amendment proposal that would enable the act to be passed.

The number of lorries stuck on the border crossing points to Slovakia is increasing. The problems caused by introductions of new Slovak electronic road toll system.

Slovakia, Bratislava - The Police Presidium of Slovak Republic informed that Slovak Anti-drug Office has arrested a 46-year-old Nigerian suspected of importing cocaine into Slovakia.
The smuggler was caught at Bratislava Airport on December 31 after arriving on a flight from Girona. The seized cocaine, which was probably heading for the Austrian black market, would have provided 7,000 doses with a total value of €115,000.

"The new electronic road-toll system is not ready," stated the Union of Slovak Motor Carriers (UNAS). As much as the operator SkyToll claims that the system has been launched and works perfectly, transport companies disagree with that.

According to UNAS, 20 Turkish truck drivers couldn't secure a board unit anywhere in Slovakia while passing through. From Trstena to Ruzomberok (both in Zilina region), the drivers couldn't get a single working board unit. They were told the system had crashed and the registration is not possible.