Good evening. Here is the Monday, February 13 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Strike to limit Košice transport on Valentine's Day
Volvo’s is the first large-scale manufacturing investment in Košice since the steelmaker U.S. Steel arrived in the city almost 25 years ago. (source: SME-Marko Erd)
Trade unionists of the Košice Public Transport company (DPMK) announced a strike for February 14. With the exception of selected lines to hospitals, schools and the U. S. Steel company, all remaining lines will not operate.
The goal of the indefinite and voluntary strike is to address the critical situation at the DPMK and the lack of funds to ensure its operations.
Many of the taxi services operating in the city have been booked in advance by people who want to be sure they will reach work on time.
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REMINDER: From Monday February 13, the capital's public transport is operating on the Request Stop Only policy. The change does not apply to trams.
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THE NETHERLANDS: Dutch King and Queen to visit Slovakia in early March.
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Feature story for today
A political animal who put Slovakia back on the map, Mikuláš Dzurinda wants to save the country all over again with his newly formed Blue Coalition.
Claiming that he feels the imperative and responsibility to be of service to his country once again, Dzurinda hopes to pull off another historic win in this year's early election like he did back in 1998, when he rescued democracy from the clutches of the then PM Vladimír Mečiar.
Music tip of the day
Singer Zea is another musician who is going to perform at this year's Pohoda Festival. Zea has Slovak and Romani roots, a fact she is proud of. In her music she deals with social issues such as racism and feminism.
In other news
A total of 37 MPs have signed a letter to the Slovak Olympic Committee, asking it to express disapproval of participating Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
On Monday, a traditional campaign dedicated to blood donation, entitled the Valentine’s Blood Drop, has been launched. Any healthy person aged between 18-60, and regular donors up to 65, can give blood. In order to do so, donors must not weigh less than 50 kilograms, they must not be receiving treatment for any chronic disease, and women must not be menstruating or given birth recently. The campaign will run until March 10. More information can be found in Slovak on the Red Cross website.
The Council for Budget Responsibility improved the estimate of the Slovak economy's growth for 2023. The economy should grow by 1.8 percent. On the other hand, the prediction for next year worsened - growth should slow down to 1.5 percent.
The University of Economics in Bratislava reports that 112 foreign exchange students will study in the summer semester. The students come from 17 countries in Europe and Asia, most from France and Spain.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, a total of 1,208,564 people from that country have entered Slovakia. Temporary refuge in Slovakia has been granted to 108,985.
A man donating blood during last year's Valentine's Blood Drop. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: Sunny with occasional fog. Daily temperatures will be between 4°C to 9°C.
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