Good evening. Here is the Monday, April 17 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Ukraine receives all Slovak MiGs
A MiG-29 fighter jet. (source: TASR)
All 13 Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets have left Slovakia. After the first four planes were sent to Ukraine in late March, the country has received the remaining nine.
"The transfer of equipment was conducted by road, while maintaining the highest levels of security," said Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď in a press release on Monday.
The aircraft will boost Ukrainian defense against Russian military aggression and protect human lives. "Unlike for our neighbour, the aircraft became unusable for us. It was the right thing to do," the minister added.
On the same day, the Kyiv Post reported that "at least three of the thirteen Slovak MiGs are in such poor condition that they are unfit to fly and only suitable as a source of spare parts." In March minister Naď said that only some of the jets are in flight-worthy condition, the rest to be suitable for spare parts.
In addition to the jets, Slovakia provided Ukraine with part of the KUB air-defence system.
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FEATURE STORY FOR MONDAY
Saving birds from extinction
A vessel towing the floating island to the centre of the Sĺňava reservoir near Piešťany, west Slovakia. (source: Slovak Water Management Company)
After the regulation of the river Váh in the last century, many natural aquatic bird habitats disappeared, the gravel islands where they nested either completely destroyed or overgrown.
Until then, the river meandered a lot, changed its channel, branched out, the banks of its arms overgrown with reeds.
Read about the current effort to create floating island for birds to nest.
SONG FOR MONDAY
Award to Miro Žbirka's last album
The late singer Miroslav 'Meky' Žbirka's last album Posledné Veci (Last Things) received four awards during the Czech Anděl Music Awards last weekend. He was nominated in four categories - album of the year, solo artist, song of the year, and Slovak album of the year - and proceeded to win in all four.
In other news
The Slovak armed forces have received the second of the fifteen Leopard 2A4 tanks Slovakia is set to obtain from Germany, in exchange for giving its Soviet-era infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. The remaining tanks are expected to be delivered by the end of 2023.
Slovakia is set to suspend imports of grain and other selected products from Ukraine on a temporary basis. An inter-ministerial working group will meet to address the matter. Bratislava is thus joining Warsaw and Budapest, which banned Ukrainian grain imports over the weekend, as large quantities of the commodity have ended up in European warehouses. Moreover, Slovakia recently discovered 1,500 tonnes of Ukrainian grain contaminated with pesticide residues.
According to a poll by the Focus agency, the most trusted minister is head of the Labour Ministry Milan Krajniak, with 30 percent of people believing him. On the other hand, 66 percent do not. On the other side of the spectrum in Investments Minister Veronika Remišová, whom 15 percent of Slovaks trust while 82 percent do not.
The results of a new analysis by the National Bank of Slovakia, in combination with the expected future path of inflation and interest rates, strongly suggest a downward trend in house prices going forward. The study can be read online in English following this link.
Sunday April 16 was the opening of the current trout season. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY:
Cloudy, occasional rain. Daily temperatures between 15°C to 20°C expected, with the north of Slovakia a little colder between 10°C to 15°C. Wind will reach a speed of 30 km/h (SHMÚ).
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