(source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)
Good afternoon. Here is the Friday, July 29 edition of Today in Slovakia – the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
For weekend events and news on travel and culture in Slovakia, see the latest edition of our Spectacular Slovakianewsletter.
It's not a ‘mobile bio-project’ and it's got to go, says council: illegal beach hut removed from Zlaté Piesky
Removal of the illegal structure at the Zlaté Piesky recreational area. (source: Facebook profile of Martin Chren)
The physical removal of illegal structures does not happen very often in Slovakia. But the Bratislava borough of Ružinov is the latest public authority to summon up the courage to take such a step. At the popular Zlaté Piesky lakeside recreation venue, council workers demolished a structure that Daniela Kralevich, 35, a well known participant in beauty pageants, built in late 2019 without the proper permits.
Kralevich claims the structure, which was built on the lake shore, was legal and had permits. She argued that the object was not a genuine structure, as it was not firmly connected to the ground. Instead – and despite it looking suspiciously like a beach hut – she claimed it was a “mobile bio-project”. She has filed several complaints in connection with the case.
More stories on Spectator.sk:
VOLUNTEERING: Slovak charity worker Jana Žilková has taken on the challenge of charity work and is now based in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar.
NATURE: Rajecká Dolina valley offers plenty of options to spend your time, including hiking, cycling as well as a spa.
SHEEP: The tradition of herding sheep has returned to the alpine meadows of the Low Tatras.
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Anniversary of the week
The illuminated iconic building of Slovak radio. (source: Sme)
On August 3, 1926, radio broadcasting from Bratislava started. The programme Radiojournal was initially broadcast twice a week.
Feature story for today
Inside the aluminium manufacturer in Žiar nad Hronom, central Slovakia, rumours of layoffs and even an end to production circulated for months. Slovalco CEO Milan Veselý has been warning about such a scenario since last year.
Now, electricity price hikes have brought this key regional employer to its knees. In recent months, the plant has already reduced aluminium production by 40 percent. Three hundred out of 450 employees are to lose their jobs.
Officially, no final decision on closure has been made. The Norwegian majority shareholder, Norsk Hydro, and the Penta investment group should decide within a few weeks. It seems the Heger government has left it too late to make any decisive intervention.
Picture of the day
The manor house in Čunovo, a Danube village that is part of Bratislava, is being turned into an environmental centre. (source: Courtesy of BSK)
In other news
While the world is living in ecological debt as of this Thursday, Slovakia entered its annual ecological deficit already on May 3, points out the Environment Ministry.
MP Juraj Krúpa, who announced yesterday that he would quit the parliamentary caucus of coalition party Ordinary People and Indpendent Personalities (OĽaNO), today joined the caucus of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), another coalition party. He has not yet become a member of SaS, however.
From the beginning of next year, people who owe money to health insurance companies should still get full access to health care. Slovakia will thus join the majority of EU member states, where health care for debtors is not reduced. This follows from the draft amendment to the Law on Health Insurance Companies, which the Health Ministry has submitted for comments.
Reconstruction of the synagogue in Trenčín, at a cost of more than €1 million, was launched.
The standard of living in Slovakia is falling behind the EU average. A few years ago, the country was catching up with the most advanced countries of western Europe. However, the latest data released by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) show that the standard of living here has fallen compared to the EU average.
This year's drought, and particularly low rainfall this month, caused a 41-percent decrease in the amount of electricity produced from water sources in July compared to the same month last year, the power transmission operator Slovak Electricity Transmission Network (SEPS) reported.
The maximum fine for using a mobile phone without a hands-free system when driving will increase to €300 as of August 1.
A further three cases of monkeypox have been detected in Slovakia, the Public Health Office reported on Friday. The number of recently confirmed monkeypox cases in the country thus rose to six.
The European Commission has paid Slovakia the first instalment from the Recovery Plan, amounting to €398.7 million.
If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
