Three candidates nominated for Slovak presidential vote

Three candidates have been nominated for next week's presidential election in Slovakia to find a successor to Michal Kovac, who is standing down.

An agriculture professor Juraj Hrasko and an official of the Academy of Sciences Stefan Markus have been proposed by opposition parties, and a trade unionist Augustin Kurek has been nominated by an independent deputy.

The governing party of the Prime Minister, Vladimir Meciar, will not have a candidate for the non-executive post.

Slovakia's president is elected by parliament.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service