Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, March 15 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
'Dangerous' Slovak detained in Colombia
Stock image. The Slovak man caught in Colombia was wanted by police in relation to drug trafficking charges. (source: SME - Ján Krošlák)
An alleged Slovak drug-trafficker considered "dangerous" by Slovak authorities was caught in Cartagena, Colombia. Michal Píš is said to be one of the most wanted criminals in Europe.
The man, who was charged with drug crimes in the Bratislava, Trenčín and Žilina Regions, as well as the Czech Republic, had gone on the run after facing a possible 20-year jail sentence.
Colombian authorities are now waiting for an extradition request from Slovakia.
More stories on Spectator.sk
HISTORY: A battle between Hungary and Austria took place on Slovak soil in 1849. Slovaks fought on both sides.
PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY: Slovakia's parliament building, located near Bratislava Castle, sports several interesting features.
SANCTIONS: Evidence found in Slovak records of Russian oligarch and Wagner group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin's links to company evading sanctions.
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Feature story for today
The calm and silence are strange. Walking through some abandoned buildings can give the impression that everybody suddenly just packed up and left overnight.
INDEX magazine presents ten such abandoned places in Slovakia, including former pioneer camps, spas and factories.
Culture tip of the day
The 30th Febiofest Bratislava international film festival begins on Wednesday.
The five-day film festival will open at the Slovak National Gallery with Ukrainian movie Pamfir, directed by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk who will present the movie himself.
Click this link to see the program in English.
In other news
Monthly inflation in Slovakia stood at 1.1 percent in February 2023, while consumer prices rose 15.4 percent year-on-year, according to the Statistics Office. Rising food prices had the biggest impact on inflation last month.
The Slovak government has not yet decided on donating the country's decommissioned MiG-29 fighter jets aircraft to Ukraine. The matter was only discussed informally on Wednesday, according to interim Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď. A final decision will be made once international talks are finished, says Interim PM Eduard Heger.
Interim Defence Minister Naďconfirmed plans to increase ammunition production in Slovakia.
The damaged pipe that caused a flood in Bratislava's Janko Kráľ city park on Sunday has been repaired, reports the capital's water utility company BVS.
On Wednesday, upper secondary education students in Slovakia took the written school-leaving exam, called 'maturita', in their selected foreign language. The exam consists of a test and an essay. Nearly 35,800 students chose English, around a thousand chose German. Topics for the essay part can be found in Slovak on the Education Ministry website.
From January to November 2022, illegal migration into Slovakia was up 602-percent higher than in the same period in 2021, according to an Interior Ministry report. Among detained foreigners, the majority were migrants in transit from the Western Balkans.
Onion planting in the village of Veľký Grob, Trnava Region. According to the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber, there is no need to worry about the onion shortage and do not have to stock up on the vegetable. Slovakia is around 94 percent self-sufficent in this regard, says the chamber. Due to the shortage, some countries expressed interest in buying onions from Slovakia. (source: TASR)
Weather for Thursday
Throughout the day, cloud cover over Slovakia will change. North and east Slovakia will see occasional rain. Temperatures will be between 3 and 11 degrees Celsius. Level 1 wind warnings apply to some districts in central, north, north-eastern and south-eastern Slovakia.
If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
