News digest: Bratislava city beach opens, summer may now begin!

Good afternoon. Here is a quick summary of the main news of the day in our Friday, May 27, 2022 edition of Today in Slovakia. Get up to date in less than 5 minutes.

Relax at the Tyršák city beach in Bratislava

The Tyršák city beach has re-opened for the summer season. (source: Courtesy of Tyršák)

A popular summer venue in Bratislava, the Tyršák city beach on the Danube reopened on Thursday, May 26. Known for its laid-back atmosphere and excellent view of the city, it offers food and drinks stands, plus sport and leisure opportunities. This year's novelties include a bigger children’s sand zone with a new playground, a trampoline centre, a mini football arena and yoga classes, all free of charge.

Third man confesses in case of alleged bribe to spy chief

Zoroslav Kollár (source: Sme - Marko Erd)

One of the richest people in Slovakia, high-profile lawyer Zoroslav Kollár, today formally confessed to paying a bribe that was supposed to stop the SIS intelligence agency from wiretapping him. He agreed to admit guilt and accept the punishment proposed by the prosecutor: a €70,000 fine or, if he fails to pay it, 14 months in prison.He is the third person to confess in the case, which involves a bribe that allegedly went to the then director of the intelligence service, Sme Rodina nominee Vladimír Pčolinský.

Kollár formally confessed to the bribe before the Specialised Criminal Court; he also admitted his participation in covering up illegal cigarette production. The information that he had confessed to investigators was first reported a month ago.

War in Ukraine

A total of 2,445 people from Ukraine entered Slovakia via the Slovak-Ukrainian border on Thursday, of which 667 were men, 1,445 women and 333 children, the Interior Ministry has reported. Of the total, 163 have applied for temporary refuge in Slovakia. At the same time, 3,000 people crossed into Ukraine via the same border on the same day. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Slovakia has processed 459,304 refugees from the country. Temporary refuge in Slovakia has been granted to 78,201 of them.
Organizations can receive a grant to help integrate children from Ukraine in Slovakia. The Volkswagen Slovakia Foundation will distribute €15,000 for this purpose within the special grant programme Inclusion for Children from Ukraine. The maximum amount of support per project is €7,500.

If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you!

Photo of the day

Slovak hockey players (from left: goalkeeper Adam Húska, Juraj Slafkovský and captain Tomáš Tatar) commiserate after losing 4-2 in their quarter-final match against Finland at the 85th World Ice Hockey Championships in Tampere, Finland, on Thursday, May 26, 2022. (source: TASR)

Finland beat Slovakia 4-2 at the 85th World Ice Hockey Championships in Finland last night. This was the last game for the Slovak team, which ended the competition in eighth place.

Today's feature story

Since 2007 a Slovak company, Innovatrics, founded by Ján Lunter Jr., has been active in biometrics. On a global scale, the company is a strong player that has already verified the identity of more than a billion people.

Recently, the company launched a project to improve biometric technology. For this purpose, the company has hired five Ukrainians and plans to employ more in the near future.

"We didn't want to be a charity, so we offered Ukrainians a job that would make sense for them, as well as for us," explains Ján Záborský, a Communication Manager in the company.

Anniversary of the week

Jozef Gabčík (source: Sme)

Slovakia is marking the 80th anniversary of the assassination of the third most powerful Nazi, Reich-Protector Reinhard Heydrich, by Slovak Jozef Gabčík and Czech Jan Kubiš. Operation Anthropoid came at a critical moment in World War II in Europe.

“Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš were brave patriots,” said Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok. “They were both ready to lay down their lives for freedom and democracy in their homeland. With their heroism and determination, they left behind a clear message that will forever be written in Slovak and Czech historical memory,” said Korčok.

In other news

Natural gas supplies for Slovakia are secure until the end of next year. State utility SPP has signed a contract for the supply of Norwegian natural gas that should cover some 32 percent of Slovakia’s annual consumption. The company has also signed contracts for supplies via LNG gas tankers to cover an additional 34 percent of gas consumption in Slovakia, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovakia has donated almost 700,000 coronavirus vaccines to other countries via bilateral arrangements. The donated vaccines were delivered to Armenia, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Kenya, Rwanda, Taiwan, Ukraine and Vietnam.
It is too early to think about the nationwide administration of the fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccines, Petra Lániková, Health Ministry‘s spokesperson said, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
Štefan Ágh, a convict who had fled Slovakia but was arrested in the Czech Republic, was driven from Prague on Friday to start serving a 13-year prison sentence for counterfeiting TV Markiza promissory notes, the police reported via a social network.
On Friday, May 27, rescue work was scheduled to begin to stop the pollution of the Slaná River in Rožňava district.The Slaná River turned orange in mid-February. The reason was an outflow of mining water from an iron-ore mine in the compound of the former mining company Siderit, in Nižná Slaná. The work should stop surface water from entering the mine, and thus the polluted outflow.
Sock producer Dedoles, which reached popularity with ads starring hamsters, has prepared a recovery plan and is entering a restructuring process. Dedoles says it faces short-term cashflow problems due to a dramatic decline in the e-commerce market, the war in Ukraine and general consumer uncertainty because of rising inflation, and is temporarily unable to repay its liabilities on time.
Silvia Čechová received the Office Deed (Úradnícky Čin) of 2022 award, which simplified the payment of real estate tax to Bratislava residents. Together with researchers at the Institute of Public Policy, they drafted a letter addressing the city's residents and prepared instructions on how to proceed in paying and filing the tax return.