(source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)
Good evening. Here is the Thursday, June 9 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Court rules against Republika members - again
Milan Uhrík, chair of the extremist Republika party. (source: SITA)
Another day, another court ruling against a member of the extremist Republika party. The Regional Court in Nitra ordered party leader Milan Uhrík delete parts of a social media post over claims he made about prominent Slovak scientist Pavol Čekan and his company.
It is not the first time Republika members have received similar court orders. Miroslav Heredoš was ordered by a court to delete a post in which he claimed, without any evidence, that Čekan's company did not pay taxes in Slovakia.
More recently, infectologist Peter Sabaka decided to take legal action against Uhrík and Milan Mazurek, another party member, over claims the pair made against him. A number of scientists were targeted by online hate groups and people spreading misinformation during the pandemic. Find out more here.
Lottery boss detained in NAKA raid
CEO of the state lottery company Tipos Marek Kaňka. (source: TASR)
Marek Kaňka, CEO of the state lottery company Tipos, is facing criminal charges after being detained as part of a special nationwide operation by the National Criminal Police (NAKA). The company confirmed confirmed Kaňka had been accused of economic and property crimes. Kaňka has filed a complaint, protesting that he does not understand the charges against him.
A further 24 people and six companies are also facing charges following the NAKA operation.
Police have not given out any further details of its operation, but according to the Aktuality.sk news site, the operation is related to the fuel business, tax crimes and money laundering. Marek Kaňka is the owner of the Oliva petrol stations.
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Refugees from Ukraine
1,481 women, 698 men and 400 children crossed the Slovak-Ukrainian border on June 8. The number of refugees who have come to Slovakia since the war started is almost 496,000 and more than 80,000 have asked for temporary protection.
New episodes of the SlovakForU podcast for Ukrainians are published every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday on all podcast platforms, on the SlovakforU YouTube channel and also on the web. Exercises and transcripts in Slovak are available, as well as translations into Ukrainian and Russian. The podcast is available free of charge. In the future interviews with Ukrainians living in Slovakia are planned.
Children from Ukraine will be able to participate in various summer schools. This applies to not only children attending schools in Slovakia, but children studying online in Ukraine.
Picture of the day
The Beauty of Colour in Nature exhibition presents various relationships and connections between living and inanimate nature.
Visitors to the Tríbeč Museum in Topoľčany can see exhibits from all around the world presenting diverse range of colours, shapes, and structures of living creatures, minerals, and crystals, each of which has a significance and place in the world.
A comparison of structure and colour of a crystal and a butterfly. (source: TASR)
Feature story of the day
After many weeks of waiting, Juraj Sanitra, Slovak coach of Ukraine's men's national biathlon team since 2016, returned to the country for the first time since the war started in late February.
"Ukraine must show it is strong to the outside, at an international level., and biathlon has always been the sport that brought Ukraine into the spotlight," said the Slovak coach. However, some athletes are now serving in the military.
"I could not leave the boys and the team alone and give up on my six years of work with them," he added.
In other news
Occasional intense storms are expected in the coming hours and during night, as well as on Friday, June 10, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute said on social media.
Summer swimming pools including Tehelné pole, Rosnička, Delfín, Krasňany, Rača, Lamač, Matadorka, or lake Zlaté piesky will open on Saturday, June 11. More information will be provided in the coming days. The swimming pool in Ekoiuventa, more commonly known as Mičurin, will open on July 1.
From June 13 there will be more exemptions to rules on where respirators must be worn. These will apply to employees of childcare facilities for children up to three years of age, and employees whose working conditions do not allow respirators to be worn.
The Education Ministry has said all primary and special primary schools, special educational facilities, and joint schools can organize summer schools during the holidays from July 11 to August 26. Teaching cycles will run for two weeks with schools able to run several in parallel.
City police could gain new powers, including carrying out their work in civilian clothes, and greater powers of detention. City police and municipalities may also be able to used static speed radars. The proposed bill is currently being discussed by various authorities and bodies.
Police in the city of Prievidza are investigating several cases of jewellery theft, mostly by girls under 12, who then take pictures of themselves with the stolen items and post them on social media. The items include bracelets, earrings, rings, and sunglasses. Police believe the thefts are being carried out as part of a social media challenge.
Last year, 220 drugs were discontinued on the Slovak market, mostly for commercial reasons. Interruptions in drug supplies were registered 751 times. The most common reasons cited for this were a lack of production capacity, quality deficiencies, logistical reasons, or delays in the delivery of materials or active substances from suppliers.
If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
