Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, September 11 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
A lot of raining in the coming days
In 2013, the Danube river swelled to record levels, flooding the banks in Bratislava. (source: TASR)
Meteorologists across Central Europe are sounding alarms as models predict an unprecedented deluge in the coming days, raising the spectre of catastrophic floods reminiscent of the devastating inundations that struck the region in 2013.
Slovak Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba has announced that preparations for the extreme weather have started, adding that the precipitation may be most intense over Slovakia.
Flood measured in Devín are being prepared, and at the Gabčíkovo Hydroelectric Power Plant, seven out of eight turbines will put into operation. According to Taraba, the army will be ready to provide support if necessary.
In total, up to 200 mm of rain is forecast to fall by Sunday, raising concerns about severe flooding. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) has issued level 1 and 2 flood warnings for districts in Bratislava, Trnava, Banská Bystrica, Žilina, Nitra and Trenčín Regions.
Related: Due to the weather, several weekend events have been cancelled or postponed. These include the Dni Vajnor fair in the borough of Vajnory, as well as the Festival Vodníkov fairy tale event in the borough of Karlova Ves. The Bratislava Transport Company is moving its open day event by a week. As for the popular Račianske Vinobranie grape harvest festivities, a decision will be made tomorrow. After first limiting the programme, the town of Trnava, western Slovakia, has eventually decided to cancel the Trnavský Jarmok fair entirely, citing security of visitors as the main reason.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
FASHION: A once-forgotten brand and Paris Fashion Week regular to open first store in Bratislava.
OPINION: From the Velvet Revolution to recent demonstrations against Fico’s government, Slovakia knows the power of peaceful protests.
SLOVAK MEP: Smer MEP Ľuboš Blaha is known for fiery social media posts, now he has assistant with anti-Semitic views.
ARCHITECTURE: Meet the Slovak architect who is currently building a new neighbourhood in Berlin.
If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you.
FEATURE STORY
How to wow German-speaking travellers
Peter Kresánek, left, and his partner Bronislav Michalčák, at a tourist fair in Düsseldorf, Germany. (source: Archive of Peter Kresánek)
Several years ago art historian Peter Kresánek launched the Simplicissimus Reisen travel agency, focusing on German-speaking clients. The travel agency no longer exists. Kresánek closed it in 2019, but he remains convinced that a niche business in cultural and historical tours of sights in Slovakia could play a key role in the country’s wider tourist industry.
In an interview, Kresánek told The Slovak Spectator about his specialist travel agency, what Germans and Austrians often find interesting about Slovakia, and how to get more of them to come to the country.
EVENT FOR THE COMING DAYS
Popular film festival returns
Attendees of the Cinematik festival. (source: TASR)
This week, the 19th edition of the Cinematik International Film Festival in Piešťany is taking place. Almost a hundred films from countries around the world are going to be screened. In addition to movies, visitors will be able to enjoy a variety of accompanying events such as lectures, discussions and concerts. This year the theme is "opening eyes"; in other words, there are times that films, consciously or unconsciously, expand our own horizons and come to new ideas and perspectives. The program as well as other information is available here.
IN OTHER NEWS
Opposition MPs filed a proposal to dismiss Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková (Hlas) from the post. They have blamed her for the situation at the Trenčín Faculty Hospital's cardiology department, which has led to doctors handing in their resignation, as well as managerial failures and the failure to meet milestones stemming from the recovery plan, among other things. (TASR)
Non-alcoholic beverages with added sugar and sweeteners will be subject to new consumer tax as of next year. The parliament approved the Act on Sweetened Beverages Tax on Wednesday. (TASR)
Opposition Progressive Slovakia chair Michal Šimečka has informed the police about the threats and hate-fuelled attacks against himself and his family that he has been receiving. According to Šimečka, the government led by PM Robert Fico (Smer) is sowing "a huge amount of malice" in society, resulting in an increase in attacks against those whom the latter calls enemies. "Since Robert Fico, [SNS chair] Andrej Danko and others started attacking my family with their lies, I've been receiving a lot of extremely hate-fuelled mail, including death threats, anti-Semitism of the worst kind, disgusting attacks on my partner, daughter and mother. The hate-filled words copy exactly what people hear at Robert Fico's press conferences," stated Simecka, calling on government representatives to realise what they are causing with their actions. The government wants to oust Šimečka from his post of Deputy Speaker of Parliament. (TASR)
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini (left) on an official visit to Austria. Together with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen (right), they talked about good neighbourly relations, economic interdependence between both countries and the expansion of transport infrastructure. (source: TASR)
Progressive Slovakia (PS) placed first in a new NMS Market Research agency election model from early September with 24.5 percent, followed closely by Smer with 23.9 percent. Thus, both parties have cemented their position as the strongest parties. Both parties gained 1.4 percentage points. Although the difference is within the statistical margin of error, when it comes to PS a slight increase in voter support since the beginning of the year can be observed. Hlas would end up third with 12.6 percent, followed by KDH with 6.2, SaS with 6.1 and far-right Republika with 6 percent. The Slovensko (formerly OĽaNO) movement and coalition SNS would make it into Parliament with 3.9 and 3.5 percent, respectively. The survey took place on September 5-9 on a sample of 1,001 people.(SME)
All of the bomb threats to date have proven false and have been classified as false alarms. It is believed that they may be part of the hybrid activities of a foreign actor. Similar attacks have been confirmed in other countries, including the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Over the course of the last week, schools, courts, churches in Slovakia received hundreds of bomb threats. According to Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas), they bear the same modus operandi as the bomb threats in May this year. He proposed that camera systems capable of face recognition should be installed in schools, which on Wednesday the government approved. The first three school should be equipped with cameras this year. (TASR)
According to Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer), the supplies of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia have been secured. An agreement was concluded between Hungary's MOL company, of which the Slovnaft oil refinery in Bratislava is a member, the oil suppliers and pipeline operators. (TASR)
On Wednesday, an international sports competition for students of universities of the third age in Europe has started at Zvolen's Technical University. In addition to Slovaks, students from Latvia, Romania, Turkey and the Czech Republic are participating, with more than a 100 in total. They will compete in air rifle shooting, table tennis, archery, goal kicking and other disciplines. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY: Cloudy to overcast skies, especially in the western half of the country rain and showers occasionally expected. Level 1 and 2 rain warning issued for western and northern districts. Daily temperatures will rise to between 15 °C to 25 °C, with lower temperatures in the west. (SHMÚ)
SEPTEMBER 12 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Mária, Marlena
Thank you for subscribing and reading. It means a lot to us.
P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram(@slovakspectator).
