(source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)
Good evening. Here is the Friday, June 10 edition of Today in Slovakia – the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
For weekend events and news on travel and culture in Slovakia, see the latest edition of our Spectacular Slovakia newsletter.
Volunteers helping again
Volunteers at the Centre for Families in Dúbravka, Bratislava. (source: Pontis Foundation - Marek Mucha)
Thousands of people have decided to use their time to clean up numerous places in Slovakia and help people in need during the Naše mesto (Our Town) event, which is organised by the Pontis Foundation.
The largest corporate volunteering event in central Europe kicked off on Friday, June 10, and will run for a week. "Naše mesto is an ideal gateway to the world of volunteering," explained Pontis Foundation's Michal Kišša. Nearly 9,000 volunteers are taking part in the event in 48 Slovak towns.
They are helping out in schools and community centres, or are cleaning up forests, rivers, parks and castles. A total of 19 castles and monuments will get a brush-up, including Devín Castle, Hračovský Castle and Zobor Monastery, thanks to the volunteers.
In Bratislava, almost 300 activities are due to take place during this year's event, but most of them are happening today, June 10. Volunteers have cooked for people without a home and prepared a summer reading place in the Medical Garden park, to name just a few of the activities.
"The most popular activity is the cleaning of the Little Danube – volunteers sail from Vrakuňa to Zálesie and collect waste out of the water," the foundation said.
Next Friday, volunteers will help out at Bratislava Zoo by repainting the enclosure fencing for the gibbons, macaques and antelopes.
In the regions: See what volunteers outside Bratislava did this year.
In Bratislava: Most volunteers are helping in Bratislava. Are you one of them?
Death of Ukrainian student in Bratislava
The Bratislava dormitory where Ukrainian student Mariia was found dead on June 3, 2022. (source: STU)
One week after the death of a Ukrainian university student in a Bratislava dormitory, the police have charged one of her friends with murder.
Mariia, 21, was found dead in a room at the Mladá Garda dormitory in Bratislava on Friday, June 3. She had been studying at the Slovak University of Technology.
The suspect, a Ukrainian student named by police as Volodymyr, was the person who originally reported Mariia's death. He has now confessed to killing her, but his motive remains unclear.
In other news:
Opposition party Smer has officially launched a petition to collect signatures to instigate a referendum. Smer needs 350,000 signatures. If it collects them, the party will ask President Zuzana Čaputová to call a referendum which would seek popular approval for the dissolution of the current government and a change in the constitution. Smer wants the referendum to be held on October 29, 2022, the same day as municipal and regional elections.
Police officers in Trstená, northern Slovakia, saved the life of a small doe.
More than 90 Slovenian soldiers have joined an international combat group under Czech command at the Lešť military training centre in central Slovakia.
The coronavirus situation is likely to worsen in the autumn, according to infectious diseases expert Peter Sabaka. However, he does not expect the collapse of the hospital care system or the adoption of tough measures. (TASR)
FEATURE STORY FOR FRIDAY
Slovak paleontologist names reptiles after important historical figures
Paleontologist Andrej Čerňanský (source: Archive of A.C.)
Amber is like a window into the prehistoric world. The small animals that are trapped in it are frozen in time. The conditions within the substance sometimes allow for the exquisite preservation of organisms, offering a glimpse into the distant past.
Such was the case with the recent, rare discovery of a Mesozoic-era reptile. "The preservation of a complete skin with individual scales and eyelids, and thus the full external appearance, is like science fiction," says Slovak paleontologist Andrej Čerňanský, from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University in Bratislava, in an interview with The Slovak Spectator.
"We are talking about a 110-million-year old reptile!"
Good news before you go:
DISPLAY: The Jewish Community Museum, housed in Bratislava's synagogue, has launched a new exhibition of photographs documenting the story of the Chatam Sofer Memorial, which opened 20 years ago. The memorial is one of Europe's most significant Jewish sites.
RUN: On Saturday, June 11, the traditional Záhorácky Marathon will take place in Senica, western Slovakia. It will also be possible to register to run on the day, in front of the city swimming pool on Továrenská Street in Senica.
Prešov Days, a week-long city festival, takes place in Prešov, eastern Slovakia, this week. (source: TASR)
MARKET: A local open-air market in Trnava took place at a new location for the first time in several decades on Friday, June 10: the city's central square, Trojičné námestie. The market had been placed near an ice-hockey stadium outside the city centre before. The market will be open every Friday and Saturday until 11:00.
You can read and culture stories on The Slovak Spectator website.
If you have suggestions on how this news digest can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
