Good evening. Here is the Monday, July 29 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
How are Slovaks faring so far at the Olympics?
Slalom canoeist Matej Beňuš. (source: TASR)
Although Slovakia's Olympics team is the smallest in its history, the country's medal hopes are still high.
The first hope came to fruition on Monday afternoon with slalom canoeist Matej Benuš winning the bronze in the C1 category. Beňuš's run in the finals was flawless and ended up first, but ultimately was beaten by France's Nicolas Gestin and Great Britain's Adam Burgess.
Slalom canoeist Eliška Mintálová made it to the K1 discipline finals, but in her run she touched the first gate and was penalized. In the end, she placed 9th.
On Monday, Skateboarder Richard Tury was the only European athlete as well as the oldest to make it to the skateboard finals. After a good run and landing tricks, he surprisingly placed third, but ultimately was surpassed and placed 5th.
Sports shooters Juraj Tužinský and Patrik Jány, who competed in the air pistol and air rifle discipline, respectively, did not make it to the finals. The latter was among the favourites for the medal. He will compete in small arms discipline on Wednesday.
Trap shooter Marián Kovačócy's qualification is far from over as it has been interrupted, but so far it would seem that the finals are out of his reach.
In the women's 66 kg boxing, Jessica Triebeľová is out after a 0:5 loss to Alcinde Lucas dos Santos from Mozambique.
After beating Great Britain's Katie Boulter on Sunday and favourite Beatriz Haddad Mai from Brazil on Monday, tennis player Anna Karolína Schmiedlová made it to the round of 16.
In the men's table tennis singles, athlete Wang Yang representing Slovakia lost to China's No. 1 Wang Chuqin. Although the former won the initial set, the latter ultimately triumphed with a 4:1 score.
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FEATURE STORY
Slovaks, economic prospects, and cars
Illustrative image. (source: TASR)
Whatever Slovakia's economic prospects, many people here are living well.
I was reminded of this recently after seeing a second Lamborghini Urus SUV (yours for several hundred thousand euros; a used model is currently on sale for €640,000) parked on the street in Bratislava, writes The Slovak Spectator's James Thomson, who photographed well over half a million euros' worth of SUVs during a 3-minute walk around central Bratislava in late June.
EVENT FOR THE COMING DAYS
Olympics festival
An Olympics festival at Kuchajda lake in Bratislava's Nové Mesto borough. (source: TASR)
Between July 26 to August 11, an Olympics festival is taking place at Kuchajda lake in Bratislava's borough of Nové Mesto. Open every day, the event allows visitors to experience an Olympic-like atmosphere. In addition, they will be able to try out almost 30 different sports discipline themselves, as well as participate in several races and tournaments.
Admission to the festival is free. Find out more here.
IN OTHER NEWS
The EU Council decided to initiate an excessive deficit procedure against Slovakia and six other member states during its meeting on Friday, following recommendations previously issued by the European Commission. The countries will have between 4 to 7 to carry out corrective actions. The procedure is launched when a member's deficit exceeds 3 percent of its GDP and debt surpasses 60 percent of its GDP. All members must adhere to these values. (TASR)
A total of 83 percent of people do not believe that the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico's life was staged, according to a new survey by the Ipsos agency for the Central European Digital Media Observatory and published by the Denník N daily. The number includes people who stated that they consider the statement "The assassination of Robert Fico was staged and the perpetrator used blank bullets" somewhat unreliable and completely unbelievable. The survey was conducted between July 14 and 27, with a sample of 1,792 respondents. (Denník N)
If the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine is not resumed in a short time, the Slovnaft refinery will not continue supplying diesel to Ukraine, announced Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) who added that he has personally informed the Ukrainian ambassador to Slovakia, Myroslav Kastran. (TASR)
A total of 150 students from 31 countries are to attend the 60th annual Studia Academica Slovaca (SAS) Slovak language and culture summer school, which opened on Monday at Comenius University. The school will last until August 16. The attendees, primarily students of Slovak or other Slavic languages who study at foreign universities, as well as translators, interpreters, cultural workers, and other people interested in Slovak, will undergo language courses and conversations. (TASR)
Facing personnel shortages and high fluctuation among professional soldiers, the Defence Ministry plans to introduce measures to support the recruiting of new soldiers and stabilise the numbers of existing members of the Slovak Armed Forces. The ministry plans to introduce regular salary hikes of 1-5 percent, pay activation bonuses in full to new soldiers, grant to personnel more vacation days, extended parental leave and child bonuses, and more. (TASR)
Self-picking of plums in the village of Cabaj-Čápor, Nitra Region. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: Mostly sunny, daily temperatures will rise to between 26 °C to 31 °C, with up around 24 °C occasionally in the northern parts. Light breeze. (SHMÚ)
JULY 30 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Libuša
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