Slovak Spectator

Chief hygienist: We knew infections would go up, we have no plans to close borders now
We know more about coronavirus today than in March, that is why we do not need to take nationwide measures for now, says Ján Mikas.

Foreigners’ Police respond: Report by the ombudswoman not objective
Foreigners cannot require a servile approach of a state body and demand communication in English by default.

Armed man detained by police in the centre of Bratislava
He was detained near Prepoštská Street.

Part of the castle in Stará Ľubovňa received a new facelift
Accessible to the public in 2021.

Owners may check rents, plots and who receives subsidies at one website
Should bring more transparency to the system.

Police seized a record amount of meth from Mexico
The value amounts to some €300 million, according to Financial Administration estimates.

People took wooden spoons to the streets and protested against stricter abortion laws
Four towns hosted the protests. Meanwhile, a survey shows most people do not think current rules should change.

Coronavirus in Slovakia: 31 new cases confirmed (graphs)
The total number of cases has neared 1,800.

COVID-19 temporarily slowed some real estate projects
Contrary to the previous crisis, the real estate market is healthy.

New attraction in Bratislava divides opinion
The Bratislava Zhora wheel offers a bird’s eye view of the city.

Coalition upholds Kollár, continues as speaker of parliament
Critics from coalition parties SaS and Za Ľudí did not attend vote.

Foreigners' Police gets feedback from ombudswoman, Kollár stays as speaker (news digest)
Here's your July 7 overview of news from Slovakia.

Brussels has high hopes for Slovak economy despite sharp downturn
The EC has published its summer 2020 economic forecast.

Outdoor Mičurin pool in Bratislava opens
Open for bathers all week long, from 9:00 to 19:00.

Nice but also aggressive. Immigration experience in Slovakia often depends on the officers handling it
Ombudswoman looks at the Foreigners' Police. She sees room for improvement in personal capacities, general information in foreign languages, language skills of officers and use of the electronic system.

Summer train takes tourists to spectacular places near Bratislava
Záhoráčik is back on the railway.

Slovaks take less antibiotics than they used to
The consumption of antibiotics in Slovakia is the lowest it has been in the last 13 years; there are hopes the resistance of some bacteria to antibiotics might decrease too.

OĽaNO pre-selected heads of district offices, wants people to report on them now
PM Igor Matovič called it a depoliticisation of the public administration. There is a special website for people to report moral failures of the pre-selected candidates.

Speaker of Parliament to face no-confidence vote. He proposed it himself
Kollár said earlier that if he is removed from the seat, his movement will leave the coalition.

Coronavirus in real estate: Investors have opted for a wait-and-see tactic
Real estate market to handle slight decrease in activity.

The prettiest castle in Slovakia (from our archive)
A fairy-tale castle with peach-coloured outer walls and impressive neo-gothic turrets, Bojnice castle is a Slovak jewel.

Court releases a corrupt suspect, while more flights are dispatched from Bratislava (news digest)
Read your overview of news from July 6, 2020.

New head of a Labour Ministry’s body considered controversial by some
The minister hopes for open, professional discussions. Some doubt it.

Ryanair restores regular flights from Bratislava
The renewal of flights will depend on how Slovakia opens borders with other countries.

Health Minister pledges to make cancer a top health priority
Krajčí says he wants more done to ensure lives are saved and cancer patients get better treatment.

Slovakia is missing from UK's travel corridor exemptions
Slovakia was removed from the ‘all but essential’ travel list, but those travelling to the British Isles have to go into self-isolation.

Coalition shakes, Matovič twists and shouts
Plagiarism scandal is not over yet, but few believe it could be fatal for the ruling coalition.

Lingering in memory: Levice castle and its surroundings
Discover a unique castle, a water mill, the great wall of Slovakia or rocky dwellings.

Corruption suspect with alleged ties to Kočner was detained, but later released
Norbert Bödör has been charged with money laundering in one of the largest corruption schemes in Slovakia.

The Orava region has become a coronavirus hot spot
Twelve children were reportedly infected during a sports camp.

Crisis shaves off wages
Pressure to increase wages has been reduced in the aftermath of anti-pandemic measures

Nový článok
Questions of morality must be answered before we put autonomous vehicles on the road.

People were living near Piešťany in the Neolithic age
Among the newest findings is a circular burial, where the individual was interred in a crouched position.

New murals in Prievidza will transport its inhabitants to the past
Artist from Handlová started to paint pictures based on period photos on a block of flats in Zapotôčky four years ago.

Like London? A new temporary attraction has sprung up near the Danube in Bratislava (news digest)
Read your overview of news on Friday and weekend reading tips from The Slovak Spectator.

Police raid Nitra security firm with ties to Fico
Businessman Norbert Bödör who also featured in the case of illegal surveillance of Jan Kuciak and other journalists, is charged.

Roundup: Bees housed on Bratislava roof; Hossa becomes a living legend
Read this week’s overview of culture and travel stories from Slovakia.

Slovakia opens to non-EU countries, but is also reproached by the EU (news digest)
Read the overview of news from July 2, 2020.

Slovakia faces lawsuit over decline of rare bird species
European Commission moves against Slovakia over wood grouse protection.

Slovakia needs to remove restrictions in the food retail sector
The EC has criticised the request to promote mostly Slovak-origin products in leaflets.

Less risky countries added to open list, some conditions for mass events change
Some rules will change from July 6. But wearing masks or face coverings is still required.

How to handle coronavirus problems while in Croatia
Croatia remains the most popular sea holiday destination for people from Slovakia, but the number of cases in the country is on the rise.

Slovakia has one of the richest collections of gothic art in Europe
The excellence of the preserved buildings is evident in the number of surviving works of art, winged altars, sculptures and the murals and architecture

Situation after the coronavirus crisis: help companies and the self-employed
The respondents of a recent poll also consider unemployment and health care a matter of urgency.

Self-driving vehicles developed in Slovakia. A university joins forces with companies
The project is an opportunity to improve the quality of education and give students hands-on experience.

People will protest against plagiarism in politics
The organisers call on Speaker of Parliament Boris Kollár to step down.

Foreigners can have their say in the future look of Bratislava's iconic old bathhouse
Almost 80 architectural studious from 17 countries enrolled in the competition for refurbishment of the Grössling bathhouse.

Slovakia's 'rare' fascist monuments escape wave of statue removals
As the world takes disputed statues down, locals in Rajec and Čakajovce are not bothered by 'rare' fascist statues.

More hot water for parliament's speaker and an international scandal brewing (news digest)
Read the stories that resonated in the news from Slovakia on the first day of July.

Volkswagen scraps plans in Turkey and might look at Bratislava instead
Reports suggest the German carmaker might widen its production in its plant in Slovakia.

Pressure mounts on parliament's speaker to step down
SaS MPs want Boris Kollár to resign. He has not ruled out leaving the coalition if he is forced to step down from the speaker post.

Alien black pines give way to original nature at Bratislava’s Devínska Kobyla
Planting trees is not always a good idea, say nature conservationists.

Buongiorno Slovacchia

Il governo approva assestamento al bilancio: il deficit per il 2020 passerà da 3 a 12 miliardi di euro
Il consiglio dei ministri ha approvato oggi un assestamento al bilancio statale per quest’anno che prevede un nuovo deficit di 12 miliardi di euro, [ ... ]

“Cammina Italia”: pubblicata la nuova guida tra le regioni italiane
Dalla “Via degli Dei” al “Cammino dei Sibillini”, dalla “Via Francigena” al “Cammino dei Briganti”, dal “Cammino Materano” alla “Traversata del Finalese”: ecco l’Italia [ ... ]

Cosa ha in mente Angela Merkel per salvare l’Unione europea
Dal 1 luglio la presidenza del consiglio dell’Unione europea è passata alla Germania. Lo stato membro che a turno ricopre l’incarico ha il potere di [ ... ]

La pandemia di Covid-19 non ha ancora raggiunto il picco, dice l’OMS
Nel mondo ci sono 11,5 milioni di casi, mentre le vittime sono salite a 535mila. Eppure, il peggio deve ancora arrivare: il picco della pandemia del nuovo coronavirus, infatti, [ ... ]

Commissione UE: il PIL della Slovacchia nel 2020 perderà il 9%
Secondo le previsioni d’estate pubblicate oggi dalla Commissione europea, quest’anno il Prodotto interno lordo (PIL) slovacco dovrebbe scendere del 9%. Una cifra ben più [ ... ]

Cittadinanza: membri della coalizione chiedono il doppio passaporto senza esclusioni
Alcuni parlamentari della coalizione – Ondrej Dostál e Radovan Kazda di SaS e Ján Benčík di Za ľudí – intendono riportare la legge sulla [ ... ]

Presentato un volume sulla rinascimentale “Veduta di Bratislava” a Palazzo Vecchio a Firenze
Si è svolta giovedì 2 luglio a Bratislava la presentazione del libro “Veduta di Bratislava a Firenze. Una storia celata”, che si occupa di [ ... ]

Matovič a Varsavia. La Polonia assume la presidenza V4: “Vogliamo aiutare le riforme dell’UE”
Con il motto “Back on Track” (ritorno in pista) il 1° luglio la Polonia ha assunto ufficialmente la presidenza del gruppo Visegrad 4 (Repubblica [ ... ]

Oleodotto Bratislava-Schwechat, no definitivo al percorso nell’area protetta di Žitný ostrov
La regione autonoma di Bratislava, così come l’amministrazione del distretto di Bratislava-Petržalka, si sono già chiaramente opposte alla costruzione di un oleodotto attraverso Bratislava, [ ... ]

Turismo organizzato, nel 2019 per gli slovacchi Italia quinta destinazione
L’Ufficio di Statistica slovacco ha pubblicato in via eccezionale i dati preliminari sulle attività delle agenzie di viaggio e dei tour operator per il [ ... ]

UE, in Europa nel 2020 PIL a -8,3%. Peggioramento per l’Italia: -11,2%
  Nella zona Euro il Pil scende dell’8,7% nel 2020, con una risalita prevista al 6,1% nel 2021. La previsione precedente era quella di [ ... ]

Farnesina: aggiornamento per i connazionali in rientro dall’estero e per gli stranieri in Italia
Dall’1 luglio valgono nuove regole e si ampliano ulteriormente le possibilità per gli spostamenti da e per l’estero alla luce dell’evolversi dell’emergenza Covid-19. In un approfondito focus, la Farnesina illustra a cittadini italiani [ ... ]

Quegli strani sintomi del Covid-19 che durano mesi
Di Linda Geddes, New Scientist – Quando ho chiesto ai componenti di un gruppo di sostegno online sul covid-19 se qualcuno avesse sintomi prolungati [ ... ]

Pandemia e proteste. I movimenti sociali chiedono più democrazia
Contro ogni previsione, le prime fasi della pandemia hanno dato luogo a una nuova ondata di proteste. Mentre la paura del contagio e le [ ... ]

Ripresi i voli dall’aeroporto di Bratislava, Ryanair riduce il suo calendario del 60%
Dopo quasi quattro mesi è ripartito il traffico aereo dall’aeroporto di Bratislava. Sospesi completamente a marzo in concomitanza con l’arrivo della pandemia di coronavirus [ ... ]

Record di indagini e arresti nella prima metà del 2020 per l’agenzia anticrimine NAKA
Secondo una comunicazione arrivata dal Presidio del Corpo di polizia, l’Agenzia nazionale anticrimine NAKA ha indagato nei primi sei mesi dell’anno il maggior numero di [ ... ]

STU e Siemens firmano un memorandum di cooperazione per la ricerca sui veicoli autonomi
“Il futuro della Slovacchia oggi più che mai dipende da come possiamo passare dalla produzione industriale ad attività economiche con un valore aggiunto più [ ... ]

Da oggi le frontiere slovacche aperte a Italia e altri trenta paesi
A seguito della decisione pubblicata il 3 luglio dall’Autorità di salute pubblica (ÚVZ) slovacca, sono stati aggiunti diversi paesi alla mappa di quelli “meno [ ... ]

I ricavi del commercio al dettaglio nel maggio 2020 scesi dell’8,9%
Secondo un annuncio odierno dell’Ufficio slovacco di Statistica, nel mese di maggio 2020 i ricavi al dettaglio nel paese hanno registrato un calo dell’8,9% su [ ... ]

Il cane di Dubček. Un e-book di Francesco Bonicelli Verrina
Esce in formato e-book per Infinito Edizioni “Il cane di Dubček” (€ 1,99 – pag. 20) di Francesco Bonicelli Verrina. Dubček era stato un [ ... ]