Good evening. Here is theThursday, October 24edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Bratislava’s tram dream
Bratislava plans to extend the Ružinov tram line to Avion and then further to M. R. Štefánik Airport. (source: imhd.sk)
Bratislava is set to enhance its public transport infrastructure with a planned extension of the Ružinov tram line, connecting the main railway station to the city’s international airport. Currently, passengers can only reach the airport from the railway station via a direct bus service, while a direct link from Mlynské Nivy bus station to the airport is unavailable.
Peter Bubla, spokesperson for Bratislava City Hall, said, “We are still in the process of selecting a contractor for the project documentation.” The tram extension is particularly crucial in the Ružinov district, where the first phase will reach the business zone on Galvaniho Street, followed by a second phase connecting to the Avion shopping centre. The third phase aims to extend the line directly to the airport. The immediate focus is on the first two phases, which promise to deliver a faster and more efficient transport option to Ružinov, one of Bratislava’s busiest areas.
The total investment is estimated to be between €131 million and €137 million. Construction cannot commence until the project documentation is completed and all necessary permits are obtained, with the timeline currently uncertain.
“Given all the required preliminary processes, it is not possible to estimate a construction timeline at this moment,” Bubla remarked.
Related: In addition to this tram extension project, the city is also working on a separate initiative to modernise the existing tram line in Ružinov. The reconstruction is expected to begin in 2026, covering the section from Bajkalská to the Astronomická terminus, with plans for the main line reconstruction from Americké námestie to Legionárska projected for completion in 2027. The city is also extending the Petržalka tram line, with completion expected this year.
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SPORT
Foreigners reveal their favourite running routes
The Slavín war memorial is a popular destination of running tours. (source: Courtesy of Michal Ajpek)
Bratislava offers joggers a diverse landscape that caters to every preference, featuring long trails, parks, and hilly terrain. Nature is never more than a 15-minute run away from any point in the city.
FREE EVENTS IN BRATISLAVA
Lantern parade at Devín Castle
Lanterns. (source: Pexels)
Join the lantern parade at Devín Castle this Friday, or enjoy a concert by a quartet that has impressed BBC Radio 3.
IN OTHER NEWS
As part of Operation Coldplay, police have charged a 24-year-old man from the Zvolen area, central Slovakia, with money laundering. The man allegedly sold tickets for events such as the Ice Hockey World Championship, Champions League matches, and Coldplay and Taylor Swift concerts, which buyers never received. It is estimated that more than 2,000 people were defrauded, with total damages exceeding €500,000. Victims are from both Slovakia and abroad. Police had been investigating the case for several months.
The Constitutional Court has rejected complaints filed by Prime Minister Robert Fico and Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák (both Smer) in the Súmrak (Twilight) case in October 2022. Fico and Kaliňák, then opposition politicians, argued that a judge from the Specialised Criminal Court had improperly referred their appeal in August 2022 to a prosecutor from the Special Prosecutor’s Office (abolished by Fico’s government in March 2024), rather than ruling on it himself. The National Crime Agency (NAKA), which was disbanded by Fico’s government on September 1 this year, had charged Fico, Kaliňák, and two others in April 2022 with establishing a criminal group, abuse of power, and endangering tax secrecy. However, in November of that year, the General Prosecutor’s Office annulled the charges, citing alleged procedural violations. Before the Constitutional Court, they claimed breaches of their rights to an effective remedy, a fair trial, the right to defence, and access to the details of the charges. One of the Constitutional Court judges issued a dissenting opinion, arguing, “In my view, the matter should have been accepted for further proceedings, and the Constitutional Court should have referred a preliminary question to the Court of Justice of the European Union.” (TASR)
On Thursday, police stopped and inspected a group of around 30 Indian nationals travelling into Slovakia via the Čunovo-Rajka border crossing in Hungarian taxis. The immigration police found no violations. (Aktuality)
Lukáš Machala, chief of staff to the culture minister and a known supporter of Vladimir Putin, has earned an average monthly salary of over €5,700 since joining the ministry in November 2023. Machala is regarded as the de facto head of the ministry, driving personnel purges both within the department and in cultural institutions under its remit. (Aktuality)
Slovakia delivers 16 ambulances as part of humanitarian aid to Ukraine on October, 24, 2024 in Bratislava. (source: TASR)
Health Minister Kamil Šaško (Hlas) has defended the current policy that temporarily disqualifies men who have had sex with other men in the past 12 months from donating blood. Šaško called the measure “legitimate, proportionate, and justified by the public interest in safeguarding the health of blood recipients.” Speaking during today’s Question Time in parliament, the minister announced an amendment to the blood donation regulation. He intends to introduce testing for blood-borne infectious diseases with every donation.
Slovakia’s healthcare system ranks as the fifth worst in Europe, trailing only Romania, Latvia, Poland, and Bulgaria, according to the 2023 Healthcare Readiness Index published by the international organisation Globsec. One key issue cited is the frequent turnover of health ministers, with the average tenure between 2000 and July 2024 lasting just 537 days.
The construction of a new manufacturing plant by Neways Slovakia in Nová Dubnica, western Slovakia, is set to create over 1,000 new jobs. The investment, valued at €28 million, will see the completion of the facility and the start of production of components for the medical and automotive industries by next September. Neways ranks among the nine largest electronics companies in Slovakia.
President Peter Pellegrini has visited Germany. In addition to meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he also spoke with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. There were no joint press statements scheduled following either meeting, which the German-language edition of Politico described as striking, linking it to what it characterised as a sharp turn to the right by the Hlas party, one of the coalition parties in power. Pellegrini was the party’s leader until recently. However, in an interview with journalists, Pellegrini dismissed such claims as a misinterpretation. (ČTK)
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini meets German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on October 24, 2024. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: clear skies, daytime temperatures from 11°C to 19°C. (SHMÚ)
OCTOBER 25 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Aurel.
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