Good evening. Here is theThursday, June 13 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Journalist quits Pravda over alleged censorship
The Pravda daily is one of the best-selling serious papers in Slovakia. (source: TASR)
Business journalist Tomáš Bakoš decided to quit the Pravda daily, one of the major serious newspapers in Slovakia, after three years. He cited censorship as the reason.
"I had to remove an entire paragraph from the article, in which I provided space for experts who criticised the government's changes to the Penal Code," he wrote on social media earlier this week. "I was not alone."
Ľuboš Kamenistý has been the editor-in-chief of Pravda since May 2022. He had run the Plus 7 dní magazine, owned by the Penta financial group's News and Media Holding publishing house, for two years before he joined the Pravda daily.
Pravda's in-house commentator Marián Repa also left the daily a few weeks ago, along with commentators and former left-wing politicians Boris Zala and Peter Weiss. Censorship was again the reason. According to omediach.com, more journalists are considering quitting Pravda, the daily owned by Czech entrepreneur and politician Ivo Valenta.
Bakoš will join the Forbes magazine in mid-June.
Related: After 25 years, Miro Frindt, a long-time presenter and former news director at Slovakia's public broadcaster RTVS, decided to leave the broadcaster. "Since January, I haven't been involved in any of RTVS' premium news formats... When a company doesn't value you, why linger?" Frindt said. He is an outspoken critic of the new bill on Slovak Television and Radio (STVR). (omediach.com)
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
Opinion: Boris Zala, a former Smer party member who served as an MEP, has written an eye-opening opinion about PM Robert Fico and his latest speech.
Business: There are so many amazing firms in Slovakia, but only some will walk away with an award later this month. Meet the finalists - responsible employers and partners in business - of the Via Bona Slovakia Awards.
Travel: An exceptional tourism attraction has opened in the Košice Region, with no parallel in Slovakia to date: a system of self-service kayak rental on the Hornád.
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FEATURE STORY
Pellegrini era is about to begin
Future Slovak president Peter Pellegrini. (source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)
President-elect and ex-Hlas party leader Peter Pellegrini will assume office this Saturday. For Bratislavans, it means traffic restrictions. For the nation, it means the start of a new era. Here's the full inauguration programme.
3 FREE EVENTS
Hungarian weekend in Bratislava
A still from a previous edition of the Hungarian culture festival. (source: TASR)
A festival celebrating Hungary's culture will take place this weekend, beginning Friday. Come and indulge in Hungarian music and culinary delights.
IN OTHER NEWS
The influence of the commissioner investigating coronavirus pandemic management and MP Peter Kotlár (SNS) at the Health Ministry is increasing. Most recently, his acquaintance and neighbour, Matej Turzo, became the head of the crisis management section at the ministry led by Zuzana Dolinková (Hlas). Turzo replaced expert Ildikó Kukanová, who held this position for several years. Anti-vaxxer Kotlár recently represented Slovakia in Geneva, where he refused to support the new WHO's International Health Regulations.( SME)
"In the next period, I would very much like to focus on something I call growth support. The area closest to this is education, possibly the academic field," President Zuzana Čaputová said about her future during her last official foreign visit to Prague. Her term will end this Saturday.
In Donaustadt, the 22nd district of the Austrian capital Vienna, a street will be named after the former Czechoslovak reform communist Alexander Dubček. According to the social democratic mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, Alexander Dubček Street will be located between Lackenjöchelgasse and Pfalzgasse.
Slovak actress Zuzana Fialová in the performance 'We Are Fine' during the Divadelná Nitra festival in Nitra on June 12, 2024. (source: TASR )
The company Haleon, operating in the industrial park in Levice, manufactures known toothpastes like Sensodyne and Parodontax, which are sold worldwide. Today, they plan to build a €19 million development and testing centre in the town. Additional positions will also be created in production. Haleon will relocate production lines from a plant in Great Britain, which will be closed, to Levice. (SME)
Two stories about bears appeared in the media this week. A bear mauled and tore apart a sheep from a shepherd's hut in Liptov and ate it by a stream (video), and near Banská Bystrica, a female bear and her three cubs were shot. According to conservationists, the four bears posed a threat to people in Poniky. (Aktuality)
On Wednesday, parliament advanced to the second reading an amendment to the law on publishers, submitted by MPs from the nationalist party SNS. The proposed right to correction will allow anyone, including politicians, to request the publication of corrections to untrue or incomplete factual statements that affect their reputation. If the media do not publish a correction, they face a fine of €15,000. The Slovak National Party (SNS) also proposes that news websites obtain and verify in advance the identification details of individuals participating in discussions under their articles. (TASR)
WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: Mainly cloudy, with mostly clear skies in the morning. Some fog possible in the early hours. Daytime temperatures between 18°C to 24°C. (SHMÚ)
JUNE 14 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Vasil.
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