Good evening. Here is theThursday, January 11 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Speaker: Slammed goalie suffers like dying Ukrainians
Slovak goalkeeper Július Hudáček. (source: TASR)
Several days after the media reported that Slovak hockey player Július Hudáček, who kept playing hockey in the KHL after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was sacked from a Czech club two days after he signed the contract, Speaker of Parliament Peter Pellegrini (Hlas), a presidential hopeful, made a video.
In it, he condemned the war conflict in Ukraine, in which thousands of innocent people have died, but also the attacks on the Slovak. He said that the player’s life and career are being destroyed even though he has nothing to do with the war.
“Yes, we live in hypocritical times. A Russian can play in the NHL, a Slovak cannot play in the KHL. And when he plays, he’s done,” the speaker said.
During this week’s PM’s Questions on Thursday, PM Robert Fico (Smer) shared the speaker’s view and talked about the ‘politics of one mandatory opinion.”
Hudáček: “I have always been against the war in Ukraine. I want to stress that I have never, verbally, with any gesture or anything else, expressed support for the Russian regime,” the player said in a statement on Wednesday. He added that his life in Russia was ‘good’ and ‘normal’.
More stories from The Slovak Spectator website
Politics: Lockheed Martin, a US firm, has produced two Slovak F-16 jets. All the 14 F-16s, which Slovakia ordered in 2018, were supposed to arrive in Slovakia by 2023.
Business: More than a million cars were produced in the country last year, said the Slovak Automotive Industry Association.
Culture: Winners of the upcoming World Cup ski races in Jasná resort, central Slovakia, will take home a specially designed crown.
Sport: Slovakia denies the reported plans of playing games against Russia.
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FEATURE STORY FOR THURSDAY
Smer’s EU funding scandal officially ends
Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency's HQ in Bratislava in 2020. (source: TASR)
In 2014, a firm with a confident vision, but without employees and money, falsified a loan promise from the bank and other documents, submitted a grant application, and eventually got €2 million from EU funds approved. But in the end, nothing came of its projects.
TOP 10 BRATISLAVA EVENTS
Bratislava will face Košice on Friday
Matej Giľák (Dukla Trenčín), goalkeeper Denis Godla and Michal Sersen (both Slovan) during the match HC Slovan Bratislava - HK Dukla Trenčín on January 5, 2024 in Bratislava. (source: TASR)
For the first time in the 2023/24 season, the most famous hockey derby between the West (HC Slovan Bratislava) and the East (HC Košice) is coming to Bratislava. If you are not into hockey, there are other events to choose from.
In other news
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán will meet with PM Robert Fico, his ally, on Tuesday, January 16, in Budapest. (Hvg.hu)
President Zuzana Čaputová may join MPs in the debating chamber in the days to come. She wants to explain to MPs why she doesn’t agree with the proposed changes to the Criminal Code. MPs have been debating a bill that would enable the adoption of the amendments in a fast-track procedure for the past four days.
Charges that were brought against charged Smer MP Tibor Gašpar and oligarch Norbert Bödör last December concern the illegal wiretapping of Café u Krajniaka in Bratislava’s Old Town. Milan Krajniak, a former labour minister for the Sme Rodina party, owned the cafe. The goal of the wiretapping was reportedly to eliminate Sme Rodina’s political ambitions.
Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba (SNS nom.) has laid off NAPANT (Lower Tatras National Park) Director Marek Kuchta. He wasn’t told the reason. TANAP (Tatras National Park) Director Peter Olexa has stepped down, the ministry also announced. A local website has written that Olexa was convicted of wolf poaching in 2014. Despite the fact that the wolf is a protected animal, it is still classified as a game animal. But Olexa killed the animal outside the season. Taraba appointed Olexa to the post two months ago.
Minister Taraba and Economy Minister Denisa Saková (Hlas) want to go to Japan. They want to meet with the Japanese investor that wants to buy the Košice steelworks. “We need to know from the potential investor what they intend to do with the steelworks. Many people work there,” said Taraba. (TASR)
Another wave of anti-government protests took place around Slovakia, including in Banská Bystrica, on January 11, 2024. In Bratislava, about 20,000 people protested against the government. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: Partly cloudy or cloudy, occasional snowfall. The highest daytime temperature will range from -2°C to 3°C. (SHMÚ)
JANUARY 12 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Ernest.
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