Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, April 10 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Weather service head dismissed
Former SHMÚ director Martin Benko. (source: SME ARCHIVE)
Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba (SNS nom.) dismissed Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) director Martin Benko on Tuesday. According to the latter's social media post, Taraba did not give a reason for the sacking.
Benko added that he served as the SHMÚ head for 11 years, during which time six ministers came and went from office.
"And I had to explain to almost all of them what SHMÚ is actually here for," he noted.
On Wednesday, the minister said that there were several reasons for Benko's dismissal, citing "an absolute failure to manage IT projects, informatisation," adding that "we will probably file criminal charges," public broadcaster RTVS reports. Further details will be provided later at a press conference.
The ministry plans to announce a standard selection procedure for the post.
SHMÚ is irreplaceable for the functioning of the Fire and Rescue Corps (HaZZ), the Interior Ministry's crisis management section, the Mountain Rescue Service, the Slovak Armed Forces, and air and road transport, among other things.
The Denník N daily noted that head of Environment Ministry analysts Ján Dráb, head of the climate change and air protection section Milan Zvara were also dismissed without being told why. The ministry has not announced their replacements.
Before Taraba was appointed to head the ministry, SNS had nominated climate change denier Rudolf Huliak for the post. MP Huliak now heads the environment and agriculture parliamentary committee.
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FEATURE STORY FOR WEDNESDAY
Unique monument has uncertain future
Sculptor Alojz Rigele's studio. (source: SME - Jozef Jakubčo)
Studios of sculptors and artists are often important sites in cities, for example part of the attraction of the Montparnasse and Montmartre localities in Paris are that artists lived there in the past.
With the exception of sculptor Alojz Rigele's wooden studio, Bratislava has no such sites. Similar objects have already been demolished. And the future of this studio is uncertain too.
EVENT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS
Festival of dance
(source: TASR)
The 19th edition of the Nu Dance Festival starts today and over the next four days will showcase the work of both Slovak and foreign choreographers and performers.
This year's theme is symbiosis, meaning "performances that have emerged as a common result of the collaboration between domestic and foreign creators, some of them even in direct co-production with financial donors from multiple countries". Learn more about the programme and get your tickets here.
IN OTHER NEWS
"I can assure people who have been spreading information about me aiming to get into some high post and going into politics that I have no such ambitions at the moment," said President Zuzana Čaputová after her Wednesday meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels. Foreign media listed Čaputová as one of Stoltenberg's potential successors last year. (TASR)
Deputy PM for EU Funds and the Recovery Plan, Peter Kmec, criticised Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková (both Hlas) for complying with the Penta financial group in moving the deadline for the completion of a hospital in Spišská Nová Ves, eastern Slovakia, using money from the recovery plan. The minister signed the controversial amendment anyway, which could give the hospital an advantage over others. (Denník N)
Slovakia's industrial output in February 2024 remained at the same level as the same month of last year, despite 10 of the 15 sectors experiencing year-on-year drops. The decline was covered by energy and manufacture of electrical equipment, the Statistics Office reported on Wednesday. (The Statistics Office)
Slovak NHL player Juraj Slafkovský, a forward for the Montreal Canadiens, has scored his first career hat trick. It came against the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the former's 9-3 win. The feat earned him a standing ovation and he was named the first star of the game. (RTVS)
Carmaker Renault Slovensko has dropped sponsorship of Slovak mixed martial artist Attila Végh for voicing support for President-elect Peter Pellegrini. The French parent company demands its ambassadors remain apolitical. (startitup)
On Thursday, a joint Slovak-Ukrainian government session is to be held in the town of Michalovce, eastern Slovakia. Both countries will discuss cross-border projects, transport links, as well as cooperation in demining Ukrainian territories. (TASR)
A man takes a photo of blooming cherry trees in the village of Brdárka, Rožňava district. Several thousand cherry trees are blooming in the village. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY: Partly cloudy, occasional fog before noon. Daily temperatures between 20 °C and 25 °C expected. Windy, with a level 1 wind warning issued for the night in southeastern Slovakia. (SHMÚ)
APRIL 11 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Július
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