News digest: PM offers 'Slovak hospitality' to lower level peace summit meeting
How a disinformation website fooled Facebook, return of the Be2Can film festival, and what a surprising find in southern Slovakia says about the spread of pottery.
Good evening. Here is the Monday, October 7 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Unconditional support for Ukraine's EU accession
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (left) and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal. (Source: TASR)On Monday, the Slovak and Ukrainian governments held a joint session near the town of Uzghorod, discussing the roadmap signed during the first such session in April.
Before the session started, the Slovak PM stated that Slovakia unconditionally supports Ukraine's accession to the EU, offering specific expertise and an exchange of experiences from the integration process.
"We know how useful it will be not only for us, but also for you if we have another EU-member state as a neighbour. We also need to have you there because sometimes countries with a different history, a different language must come together in the EU to create a counterbalance to proposals that are not always beneficial for the whole Union," said Fico, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
He added that Ukraine must have security guarantees, and its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. Fico also offered to provide 'Slovak hospitality' to any lower level meeting related to peace summits. The government is also preparing another humanitarian and military aid package for Ukraine, with the latter focusing on non-lethal assistance. Emergency electricity supplies will also continue.
The Interior, Education and Agriculture Ministers of both countries also signed joint documents, including an agreement to implement the readmission agreement, a memorandum on mutual understanding that provides Ukrainian students and teachers in Slovakia with support, as well as direct cooperation between educational institutions.
The Slovak government is interested in continuing such joint sessions and invites the Ukrainian government to another one taking place in January or February next year.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
- LAST WEEK: Robert Fico's government has shed its first minister, and consolidation is passed.
- ARCHAEOLOGY: A surprising find in south Slovakia highlights gaps in regional pottery knowledge.
- TRAVEL: Bratislava lures tourists to a treehouse stay in its popular city park; it also offers refreshing hikes in local forests, and scenic views.
- ICE-HOCKEY: American NHL player reflects on playing hockey with his Slovak great-grandmother.
- OPINION: Reflecting on a year of resilience: International Women's Club and the charity.
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FEATURE STORY
Disinformation website hides in Bahamas
COVID-19 vaccination in Slovakia (Source: SME)The Slovak Health Ministry's criminal complaint against the disinformation website Bádateľ (lit. Researcher) spreading medical hoaxes will not lead to anyone's indictment. After almost three years, investigators have not obtained sufficient evidence for the case.
The criminal prosecution was suspended because "facts allowing the charging of a specific person for the crime in question were not possible to find".
EVENT FOR NEXT FEW DAYS
The best of film festivals
The Kino Lumiere cinema. (Source: SME - Marko Erd)The Be2Can film festival once again is presenting select awarded films from three festivals in Venice, Berlin and Cannes. This year's edition showcases 12 movies, including Megalopolis, about a genius artist with the power to stop time who is fighting an arch-conservative mayor, a quantum mechanic thriller in black and white called The Universal Theory, and Flow, 'the antithesis of Pixar movies' as the festival describes it. Learn more about the film and programme here.
IN OTHER NEWS
- Ukrainian soldiers have received artillery ammunition paid for by the Slovak civil collection Ammunition for Ukraine. A total of 2,700 122-milimetre caliber shells from the Czech arms company STV Group were delivered by six trucks. "I'm glad that the work was completed and that it made a lot of sense," said the ambassador of the collection, 100-year-old Slovak National Uprising veteran Otto Šimko. So far, almost 70,000 people have donated almost €4.5 million, with some of the money allocated for the purchase of grenades for grenade launchers, to be delivered by the end of 2024. (SME)
- The Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok ordered entrepreneur Štefan Žiga, a relative of the current Smer-nominated deputy speaker of parliament, to pay a fine of €100,000. Žiga is accused of bribing the former head of the National Criminal Agency's (NAKA) Financial Police, Bernard Slobodník, a claim he denies. The latter man, who pleaded guilty, was to provide Žiga with information about then-ongoing criminal cases and to protect him from prosecution. The verdict is not final, Žiga has appealed. (TASR)
The winners of this year's edition of the international Košice Peace Marathon that took place on Sunday, October 6, from left: Kenyans Denis Kipngeno Chirchir and Rebbeca Sirwanei Tanui. (Source: TASR)- Since the National Criminal Agency (NAKA) was scrapped, the police have been left in a less efficient state, as the ratio between managers-regular officers has become higher than before, the Nadácia Zastavme Korupciu (Let's Stop Corruption Foundation) has warned. However, the Police Corps Presidium still claims that one goal of the reorganisation was to increase efficiency, leading to a reduction in the number of managing officers. (TASR, Zastavme Korupciu)
- The bridges over the Morava River are again open for pedestrians and cyclists after a comprehensive assessment was carried out, confirming their safety. These include the Freedom Cycling Bridge in Bratislava's Devínska Nová Ves borough and the VysoMarch Bridge in Vysoká pri Morave. The bridges were temporarily closed due to the recent floods. (TASR)
- Coffee consumption in Slovakia increased by over 22 percent year-on-year to 3.3 kilograms per capita in 2023, with Slovaks drinking one cup of coffee per day on average, according to data on coffee imports, exports and consumption published by the Statistics Office. "Coffee consumption has fluctuated at around 3 kilograms per capita for the past 10 years. The average consumption per capita rose above the 3 kilogram threshold last year, after four years below that. The highest coffee consumption - 3.6 kilogram per capita - was recorded in 2014. Meanwhile, the lowest amount of just 1.4 kilogram of coffee was recorded in 1990," said the office. (TASR, Statistics Office)
Centre: WW2 veteran Vladimír Strmeň during the 80th anniversary of the Carpathian-Dukla operation on Sunday. A commemorative event was held at the Dukla memorial in eastern Slovakia, attended by Slovak government representatives, as well as the Russian and Chinese ambassadors. Soviet troops and the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps fought through the Carpathians for many weeks during the autumn of 1944. (Source: TASR)WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: The day will start with cloudy to overcast skies and foggy, but the cloud cover will decrease. Daily temperatures between 17 °C to 23 °C expected. Level 1 wind warning issued for several districts in western and northern Slovakia, see map here. (SHMÚ)
OCTOBER 8 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Brigita
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