This is your overview of news from Slovakia on Thursday, April 22, 2021. This is a free-of-charge service for our readers. If you want to support us, become a subscriber and get access to more detailed news and interesting feature stories from Slovakia.
Three Russian diplomats expelled from Slovakia
PM Eduard Heger together with Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok and Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď announced the decision to expel three Russian diplomats from Slovakia. They have seven days to leave the country.
This action is being taken because of the probable sabotage by Russian agents that caused the explosion of an ammunition warehouse in the Czech village of Vrbětice in 2014.
“This decision was made based on the evaluation of the activities, but it is also an expression of solidarity with the Czech Republic,“ Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok told the media.
It is expected that Russia will expel three Slovak diplomats from Slovak Embassy in Moscow.
Slovakia to expel three Russian diplomats Read more Penta no longer has shares in Petit Press
The Penta financial group is withdrawing from the Petit Press publishing house, which issues the Sme daily and co-owns The Slovak Spectator.
The group has sold its 34-percent stock to the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), a New York-registered non-profit investment fund for independent media, Sme reported.
Penta has left the publishing house after more than six years. The change in ownership back then resulted in most of Sme’s newsroom leaving. They then founded the Denník N daily.
Penta financial group leaves Petit Press six years after hostile takeover Read more Coronavirus and vaccination news:
- People who have recovered from Covid-19 in less than 180 days will have an exemption from testing, whereas previously, the time limit was set at 90 days. The new measure was approved by the government. Those people will, instead of providing proof of a negative test, have to show confirmation that they have recovered from the disease that is no older than 180 days.
- Altogether 987,555 people have received their first Covid vaccine, and 382,953 have been vaccinated with the second shot as of April 21.
Photo of the day
Skiers returned to slopes at Štrbské pleso ski resort in the High Tatras.
Feature story for today
Quite often we hear intimate stories. A student told us his father would just bang on the table and make a decision for everyone, without discussing the matter any further. But once I have a family of my own, the student said, I will sit my children at the table and we will talk everything through and try to agree on what is best for us.
Dagmar Horná, the chairperson of the National Commission of the Human Rights Olympics, pointed out how varied the approach of different families can be. The Human Rights Olympics may be a way for some to experience something completely different from what they've been used to at home or at school.
Every school should be school of democracy. Slovakia lags behind Read more Other news
- Joe Biden may visit Slovakia in two months time, the Pravda daily reported. They claim they have the information from an American diplomat in Washington. Biden will decide between Bratislava or a Balkan state and his decision will be made public in two weeks. He might be considering participating in the security Globsec conference which will take place in Bratislava between June 3 and 5. President Zuzana Čaputová confirmed earlier this week that she has invited Biden to visit Slovakia.
- Comenius University in Bratislava was ranked among the top 400 universities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021 in the field of sustainability. This is a global ranking that measures the sustainable goals of the United Nations. Comenius University was ranked 29th, the only Slovak university in the top 400 and is the second-best among the neighbouring countries.
- President Zuzana Čaputová has formally dismissed the rector of the Slovak University of Technology (STU) in Bratislava, Miroslav Fikar. The President's Office received the decision of the district court, which rejected the proposal for a preliminary injunction regarding Fikar's dismissal from the post by the Academic Senate of the university. The head of state thanked Fikar for his efforts to protect academic freedoms and the reputation of the STU.
- Volkswagen Slovakia has confirmed partial suspension of production in Bratislava due to shortage of semiconductor components. Some of its production lines will probably be stopped as of the end of next week.
- Environment Minister Ján Budaj (OĽaNO) has signed a decree enacting the year-round protection of the grey wolf in Slovakia. The grey wolf will thus be put on the list of protected animals.
- The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) has reported that a tornado probably occurred in the village of Ploské in eastern Slovakia. Meteorologists reported that there was a storm in the afternoon and they observed a funnel-shaped cloud which also caused some damage. They are seeking more information.
Do not miss on Spectator.sk today
Employers offer more remote work Read more
First eco-truck will arrive in Slovakia Read more
Location of coronations of the Hungarian Kingdom Read more If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.