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Slovak mobster Mikuláš Černák, who is connected to about thirty murders, could become the first ever life sentence in the era of independent Slovakia to be released on parole. Three judges will decide his fate.
Almost a third of people are still convinced that Russia is a strategic partner for us. The survey showed that although support for Slovakia’s membership in NATO and the European Union increased last year, we are still among the countries where it is the lowest.
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If you buy the weekend edition of SME or Korzár today, you will find the magazine INDEX embedded in it, in which you’ll read how Fico threatens cheaper mortgages. You will find out whether Finax or Portu are worth it. In the Magnáti series, we describe the story of Ladislav Rehák, which begins in ŠtB. The price of SME and Korzár dailies for the whole weekend together with INDEX magazine is only 1.95 euros.
Černak has been preparing for months to be released
Mikuláš Černak at the Piešťany court. (source: SME – JOZEF JAKUBČO)
Of his fifty-seven years, he spent twenty-six behind bars. Now he could become the first ever life convict during the era of independent Slovakia to be released on parole. He has been cooperating with the police for years.
Only in the last of the plea agreements from 2020 did the most famous Slovak mobster Mikuláš Černák confess to fourteen murders.
“After years, I would like to face my dark past,” Černák told the three judges in Petr Vrbjar’s senate on Thursday. He convinced them that the time had come to release him at least shortly before retirement age. With a break of several months, he has been in prison since he was thirty-one years old.
“I began to realize what has the greatest value. It’s human life,” Černák repented in court. In addition to extortion and illegal weaponry, he is associated with about thirty murders, either as an executor, orderer, or was involved in another way.
The roughly four-hour public session of the court showed that Černák has been being prepared for a possible release for several months. They put him in the Chance to Return program.
The session ended with an indefinite adjournment. It is necessary to wait for the file from the District Court in Prešov, and then the court will include experts in the proceedings. Prosecutor Repa expects a decision before the end of the year.
For months, they searched for where Stromček got the money for the villa in France. They found a carpet dealer
Viktor Stromček (right) was the general manager of Smer, state secretary and head of the NRSR office (source: SME – JOZEF JAKUBČO)
Behind the assets and financial operations of the former general manager of Smer, Viktor Stromček, is primarily the Norwegian company Windmill, SME daily found out in the fall of 2022. Stromček’s minor children are the ultimate beneficiaries of the benefits.
The company, located within sight of the Norwegian coast in the town of Kristiansand, is part of the ownership relationships that lead to the multimillion-dollar luxury properties on the French Riviera that Stromček and his family enjoy.
After SME’s findings about Stromček’s activities in France and Norway, Norwegian journalists from the newspaper VG became interested in him. In cooperation with the Ján Kuciak Investigative Center they revealed Stromček’s questionable business activities ranging from tax havens in the Caribbean to Singapore.
Some connections lead to the indicted oligarch with direct ties to the government’s Smer, Norbert Bödör. Since 2008, Stromček was a close associate of the former Speaker of the Parliament for Smer, Pavel Paška, as head of the National Council office, he was also the state secretary of the Ministry of Transport under Ján Počiat (Smer) and was responsible for the preparation of the industrial park for the Jaguar automobile company near Nitra.
Briefly from home:
- Tarabo’s appeal: Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba dismissed Milan Olekšák, director of the Slovak Karst National Park Administration. The reason for the recall was primarily bad management decisions and insufficient communication in the region with important people players during zoning.
- Mazák and Majerník: Deputies of the governing coalition dismissed two members of the Judicial Council, Ján Mazák and Andrej Majerník, in a secret vote. These are the members of the Judicial Council, who are nominated by the parliament by law, both were dismissed before the end of their term of office, which was supposed to end only in 2025.
- Art Support Fund: Will the nominees of the Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová be in charge of the distribution of money in culture or will it remain in the hands of experts? At least for now, one of the three opposes the minister’s intention to control the Art Support Fund coalition parties – Voice.
- Protest in support of the media: Several thousand people gathered on Bratislava’s Náměstí slobody on Thursday evening to protest against the interventions in the public RTVS and the second pension pillar. It was organized by an opposition movement Progressive Slovakia.
The West threatens us and Russia is a partner. Slovakia excels in anti-Western attitudes
Protest against the defense agreement with the USA in February 2022. (source: SME – Marko Erd)
Support for Slovakia’s membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance, after a decline in 2023, returned to the level of 2022. However, with a broader view of the Central European region, Slovakia is still among the countries with the lowest support for membership.
Despite the steady decline, almost a third of people in Slovakia are still convinced that Russia is a strategic partner for the country.
At the same time, Slovakia stands out in the region as the country in which the largest number (41 percent) of people consider the United States a threat. Slovakia, together with Bulgaria, has traditionally found itself at the forefront of pro-Russian attitudes and lower trust towards the USA or NATO.
Euroscepticism is also pronounced in the Czech Republic, where, however, human rights and liberal democracy enjoy high support. In Slovakia, there is a relatively firm belief that membership in the Union gives the country a stronger voice in international relations. However, there is also a strong feeling that the European Union is dictating to the state what it should do without the state having any influence on it.
This follows from the current Globsec Trends survey published by the Globsec organization. The organization obtained data for the survey from representative samples of people in four V4 countries, three Baltic states, Bulgaria and Romania.
Briefly from Ukraine:
- Destruction of the city of Časiv Jar: Months of relentless Russian artillery bombardment devastated Chasiv Yar, a strategic city in eastern Ukraine. The AP agency published drone footage showing an almost depopulated city where it is practically impossible to find undamaged building.
- Management scandal: President Zelensky dismissed the head of the cyber department of the SBU secret service, Illya Vitjuk. This happened after the media reported last month that Vityuk’s wife bought a luxury one last year apartment in the center of Kyiv.
- Russian attacks: In April, Russia fired almost 4,000 missiles, bombs and drones at Ukraine, President Zelenskyi said. Moscow stepped up attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in the spring as Kiev waited for critical aid deliveries from their allies.
The world in brief:
- Death of a whistleblower: Whistleblower Joshua Dean, who was one of the first to speak about problems in the production of components for the Boeing aerospace concern, has died suddenly. He visited the doctor two weeks ago complaining of breathing problems. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and severe bacterial infection.
- Human rights: A convicted sex offender is asking Norway’s Supreme Court to declare access to social media a human right. The man was banned from using the Snapchat platform for two years, which he used to contact the minor. His lawyers claim that this step is contrary to the European Convention on human rights.
- LGBTI+ people and the church: The United Methodist Church, which has approximately ten million members worldwide, has lifted the ban on the ordination of gay clergy and the ban on marriage between of the same sex.
From foreign websites:
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They flushed their toxic companies. Fic’s brother, Bašternák, and the developer proceeded in the same way
The court sentenced Ladislav Bašternák to five years in prison, the same length of ban on doing business and forfeiture of property. (source: SME/Jozef Jakubčo)
What do tax fraudster Ladislav Bašternák and the brother of Slovak Prime Minister Ladislav Fico have in common? They transferred their indebted companies under the same company. In this way, they mentally cleaned their hands and continued to do business without debts.
The “absorber” of Bašternák and Fic’s company was Relco. It has been in bankruptcy for several years. Relco has not appeared in the media for half a decade since its establishment. There was no reason for it. That changed in 2016.
Investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, who was murdered together with his fiancee Martina Kušnírová in February 2018, noticed one peculiarity. Relco served as a box through which entrepreneurs disposed of their companies.
Relco absorbed a total of 22 companies. And since it took over their obligations, it became one of the biggest debtors of state institutions. Only its financial report at the beginning of 2023 recorded a tax arrears of over 25 million euros.
In brief from the economy:
- How much does a day off cost: The cancellation of the day of rest can bring 130 million euros to the state budget. It was reported by the Institute of Economic and Social Analysis, stating that Slovakia has long been one of the countries with the largest number of holidays and days working peace.
- Crypto assets await regulation: Crypto assets will be more regulated, and they will also face greater supervision. This follows from the draft law on certain obligations and authorizations in the field of crypto-assets, which was approved by the government. The goal is the implementation of the Euroregulation on markets with crypto assets.
- Additional financing of hospitals: State hospitals will be financed with an amount of 191 million euros. In addition, they will also receive 70 million to cover the increase in production due to the shortening of waiting periods, the introduction of the DRG system, as well as the implementation of optimization network of hospitals.
Arrest warrant for Škriniar? People wondered. The problem boy in Dortmund came to life
Goal joy of Borussia Dortmund footballers. (source: TASR/AP)
Dortmund in the German Bundesliga and Dortmund in the Champions League are two different teams. The performances of the team from Westphalia are often like night and day. On one side, there is a team that is fighting for a place in the top four, thanks to which it would ensure the royal European competition for the following year as well.
The second version of the German big club ranks this season among the four best teams in the most prestigious European competition – the Champions League.
By winning over the current French champion Paris St. Germain in the first match of the semi-finals secured the promotion to the Champions League and the fifth team in the German league. Surprisingly, Borussia is on this list, for whom it is like redemption.
Both teams were part of the group of death this season. They faced AC Milan and Newcastle in it. Experts favored the Parisians, Dortmund was written off by the majority.
More sports news
- Sports review: Daily highlights from sports. Subscribe >
She disgusted him, but he couldn’t say no to her. The story of the British actor is only suitable for adults
The series Sobík (Baby Reindeer) is on Netflix. (source: NETFLIX)
When are you going to do this to me? she wrote to him. I can do it several times in a row. I will teach you, all the secret is in the fingers, she continued after a short pause. She then described to him the texture of menstrual blood, blood clots and the appearance of tampons, and boasted that her eggs were in condition as if she were only twenty years old.
It wasn’t long before she was sending him names of what their children might have. In addition to her coming to work and stalking him, he was getting about eighty emails from her a day. They were full of typos, but also determination and conviction that he was her lover, boyfriend, future husband. And he did nothing but offer her a cup of tea for free once when she came to his bar looking extremely sad.
The new series called Reindeer is the true story of Richard Gadd, an actor and screenwriter from Londonwho at the beginning of his career tried his luck as a stand-up comedian and, until he broke through, made a living as a waiter in a bar.
When he wrote down his experience with an older and repulsive woman and presented it to the audience, he proved that he had the prerequisites for his dream career. From the very beginning, he captivates the audience with his self-irony and works so skillfully with tension that it makes them curious as to how this crazy “storka” will continue.
Culture in brief:
- Capote series: Luxurious lunches, immense wealth, elite parties, alcohol, New York and sleepless nights. Welcome to the story of the acclaimed writer Truman Capote, who was once the closest companion of the women of New York’s cream. However, he betrayed his “swans”, as he called them, and thus fell from prominence, which he never managed to achieve again. get back.
- War in Ukraine: When Juraj Mravec’s father called him on the morning of February 24, 2022, asking if he knew what was going on, he had no idea. He slept. Dad insisted that he turn on the TV. Juraj Mravec immediately understood how much it cost and started packing his things to go to Ukraine. To Ukraine, which was just militarily invaded by the Russians. He filmed the feature-length documentary Mir vam in Donbass. His news, capturing the beginnings of the war in Ukraine, sa calls Mir to us.
- Domestic violence: On the subject of the book Agátka, Liška a Čierny mus, the theater play Mama no longer cries was created. It was translated by Daniela Lozanova, a translator and teacher at the Gymnasium on Javorová Street in Spišská Nová Ves. Together with students Simona Zimová, Emma Dzurendová, Ella Wagnerová and Emma Meleková, they bring children all over Slovakia hot topics.
Cartoon
A pop sounds from the Ministry of Culture. (source: Sliacky)
We are podcasts
Recipe of the day
Chicken breast on herbs. (source: AP/Matthew Mead)
Are you in the mood for something light, simple, fresh and healthy? Get ready steamed chicken breast with herbs.
Today we expect
- All-Slovak commemoration on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the tragic death of General MR Štefánik
- The launch of China’s robotic probe Chang’e 6, which will try to collect the first ever soil and rock samples from the far side of the moon
Today in history
Illustration photo. (source: PIXABAY)
In 1993, the third of May was declared World Press Freedom Day. It has been celebrated since 1994 and is linked to the event of 3/5/1991, when the Windhoek Declaration on the support of an independent and pluralistic African press was adopted.
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