PM Igor Matovič during July 22 press conference, where he explained the plagiarism allegations. (source: TASR)
This is your overview of news from Wednesday, July 22, 2020. To read about what is happening in Slovakia will take you less than 5 minutes.
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Opposition wants to oust Matovič
The parliament will hold a special session to vote on the potential departure of Igor Matovič from the prime ministerial post. Initiated by the group of opposition MPs, the session will take place on Thursday, July 23.
It is already the second vote on dismissal held against a top constitutional representative, but for the same reason: the plagiarism allegations.
Matovič meanwhile held a press conference on July 22, reiterating most of his previous claims about his master’s thesis he sent mostly through Facebook. He has accused the Denník N daily, which broke the story a week ago, of lying, and also promised to leave his PM seat and politics if the MPs decide not to support him in the parliamentary vote.
He also stressed they will be free to decide on how they will vote.
Nitra sees a surge in positive coronavirus cases
Of a total of 78 new cases reported on July 20 and 21, 19 were identified in the district of Nitra.
The regional branch of the Public Health Authority (RÚVZ) specified that most of them are accommodated in a dormitory near Nitra and were returning from Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine. Many of the COVID-19 positive people work for the local Foxconn company and have been on corporate holiday.
See more detailed coronavirus statistics here.
People in Slovakia produce more waste
The recent data of the Statistics Office suggest that an average Slovak generated 435 kilograms of municipal waste in 2019, 35 percent more than 10 years ago.
Most waste is produced in the Trnava Region, Bratislava Region and Nitra Region, where one person generates more than 500 kilograms of municipal waste on average.
A large amount of waste ends up in landfills, according to an analysis of WOOD & Company.
In other news
Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová welcomed her Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor in Bratislava.
The two discussed, among other things, the coronavirus pandemic and deepening mutual collaboration between the two countries, with a focus on green energy. Slovenia is a great inspiration when it comes to the protection of nature while developing tourism, Čaputová said. The presidents also appreciated the outcome of the recent EU summit in Brussels.
The Slovak Academy of Sciences has become the first Slovak scientific institution to receive the HR Excellence in Research Award, granted by the European Commission to recognise the institutions which make progress in aligning their human resources policies to the 40 principles of the Charter & Code, based on a customised action plan/HR strategy. (TASR)
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair launched the first flights from Bratislava to Manchester, which will be operated twice a week, on July 22. It will dispatch the first regular flights to Edinburgh and Birmingham tomorrow. Read more about flights operated from the Bratislava airport here.
The hearing of former judge Vladimír Sklenka at the National Criminal Agency branch in Nitra, which started on June 22, has ended for now as all questions have been exhausted, according to the lawyer of one of the accused judges, detained within the Búrka (Storm) operation in early March. Sklenka’s statements were crucial for the arrests.
Slovakia will send humanitarian aid to Kenya, which will include respirators, disinfectants and COVID-19 testing sets. Slovaks and other EU member states’ citizens who are in the area can catch the flight back. (SITA)
Already the fifth district in Slovakia is struggling with the African swine flu. The disease was recently detected in a wild boar found near the Hungarian borders in the district of Rožňava in eastern Slovakia. (SITA)
The investments in real estate in Slovakia rose by 66 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to €432 million. Although the interest of investors during the pandemic is weaker, it still persists, the CBRE Slovensko company reported. (TASR)
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