Slovak Police Fire Tear Gas At Anti-Corruption Protesters

Police in the Slovak capital Bratislava have used tear gas to disperse a crowd of several thousand protesters demonstrating against corruption in the government.

People threw eggs and bananas at government buildings as they made their way through the city center.

The protest was sparked by material recently posted on the Internet indicating top government officials were meeting with executives from the private equity group Penta who were bribing the officials in exchange for winning lucrative privatization deals.

The Interior Ministry confirmed in January that the Slovak Intelligence Service had carried out a surveillance operation of the meetings.

compiled from agency reports