Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, June 21 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Recognition 16 years in the making
Kyiv, Ukraine. (source: AP/SITA)
In 2007, the Slovak parliament approved a declaration on the 1932-33 famine that killed millions in what was then the Soviet Ukraine, but it did not recognise it as genocide, instead calling it an act of extermination.
Now, sixteen years later, MPs have approved a resolution recognising the Holodomor, also known as the Terror-Famine, as genocide.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Slovak parliament for its recognition of the famine this week.
Read more about the situation in Ukraine:
Russia is a terrorist regime, lawmakers say in newly adopted resolution.
First Syria, then Ukraine: A Ukrainian mother’s mission to save her children from wars.
Russian propaganda exaggerates Ukrainian corruption, says future EU ambassador to Ukraine.
Diplomats in Slovakia: Our countries will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
The Ukrainian offensive begins at Považie in Slovakia.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
BRATISLAVA: Mega trolleybuses to be on Bratislava streets by end of summer, hybrid vehicles also expected.
CULTURE: The Bratislava City Gallery (GMB) has started to offer a range of programmes for its English-speaking visitors.
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FEATURE STORY FOR WEDNESDAY
Not your ordinary graphs
Martin Škoviera (first from right) with foreign colleagues. (source: Archive of M. Š. )
What comes to mind when you hear the word "graph"? Is it maybe a bar chart that shows results of elections? The kind of graphs which mathematician Martin Škoviera of the Comenius University in Bratislava studies are completely different.
In fact, although it might seem strange, if you are a budding wedding planner, you could do worse than learn a thing or two about his field – graph theory. Learn more by clicking here.
EVENT FOR THURSDAY
Architecture Night
One of the works students showcased during the last Architecture Night in February. (source: Matúš Beňo)
Starting at 16:00 PM, the popular multi-genre platform showcasing works of students from the Faculty of Architecture and Design, STU in Bratislava, will be held at its premises at the Námestie Slobody (Freedom Square).
For more information click here (in Slovak).
In other news
The Constitutional Court has ruled that Article 363 of the Penal Code is not at odds with the Slovak Constitution. The article allows the Prosecutor General to overturn the final decision of a prosecutor or police officer. The controversial paragraph was challenged by a group of MPs in late 2021 and by President Zuzana Čaputová this January, after a slew of controversial cancellings of indictments by Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka.
Ex-foreign affairs minister Ivan Korčok said on Wednesday that he did not yet know whether he would run in the 2024 presidential election. "I need time to carefully consider all aspects related to whether I will accept a presidential candidacy or not," he said. Korčok said he had not expected President Zuzana Čaputová's decision not to seek re-election.
The government has approved Katarína Kaszasová's candidacy to become a member of the European Court of Auditors. Kaszasová is the country’s top auditor as the head of the Auditing Oversight Authority. Learn more about her by clicking here.
Parliament overrode President Zuzana Čaputová's veto and passed a construction reform bill. The bill is designed to do away with hindrances slowing down construction processes. The head of state had vetoed the bill on the grounds that it goes against European legislation and standards in environmental protection.
Among the 64 countries assessed in the World Competitiveness Ranking, Slovakia finished 53rd, falling from 49th place last year. Among the Visegrád Group, the Czech Republic finished 18th, Poland 43rd and Hungary 47th.
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY:
Several weather warnings have been issued, click here to see the map. A level 2 high temperature warning applies for western- and southernmost Slovakia, with a level 1 warning for the rest of the country. A level 1 storm warning has been issued for the entire country.
Cloudy and occasionally rain, storms. Daily temperatures between 27 °C and 32 °C, rising to 35 °C in the southwest. (SHMÚ)
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