Good evening. Here is the Monday, March 24 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in a few minutes.
Trying to contain foot-and-mouth disease
One of the affectef farms in the village of Baka. (source: Jaroslav Novák)
Last Friday, foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious disease that primarily affects hooved animals, was confirmed in Slovakia for the first time in 50 years, namely in three cattle farms in the villages of Medveďov, Ňárad and Baka, southern Slovakia. The farms are all located near a Hungarian village where the disease was previously detected.
At its special emergency session on Saturday, ministers were given specific tasks with the aim of preventing the disease from spreading further. Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas), Agriculture Minsiter Richard Takáč and Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanár (both Smer) will ask for technical aid from other EU member states.
In addition to aid from Czechia and Hungary, Austria announced on Sunday that it was sending 70 experts and disinfection equipment to Slovakia. On Monday, a team of experts from the European Commission are to come as well, while the Netherlands also offered help, according to Takáč, who estimated the damages to be €8 million.
Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (Smer) was tasked with allocating finances for the measures. According to PM Robert Fico (Smer), compensation is being sought on both the state and European levels.
Meanwhile, the vaccination of cattle on the affected farms in Medveďov and Narad was completed on Sunday. However, the culling has not started yet as the slaughterhouse in Mojšová Lúčka in northern Slovakia has reached its maximum capacity, since the third affected farm in Baka had already sent livestock over the weekend. About 300 of the latter's cows are being killed there daily, and the process should be over tomorrow.
More than 2,000 animals in total are expected to be killed. The Environment Ministry has rejected burying the animals in the Žitný Ostrov area, where the largest reservoir of drinking water in Central Europe is situated. Four more suitable locations have been identified.
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FEATURE STORY
How to get medical help
The urgent care department building of the National Institute of Children’s Diseases in Bratislava (source: TASR/Jaroslav Novák)
If your health suddenly takes a turn for the worse and your general practitioner is unavailable, you should seek help at an emergency outpatient clinic. Known in Slovak as 'ambulantná pohotovostná služba' or 'pohotovosť' (outpatient emergency service), these clinics are meant for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions. Here is a summary of where to seek emergency medical assistance in the capital.
EVENT FOR THE WEEKEND
Let your inner nerd out
Cosplayers at the AnimeShow festival. (source: TASR)
This weekend, the popular AnimeShow international pop culture festival is back with the 18th edition. Held in the Dom Kultúry Ružinov venue in Bratislava, the programme is jam-packed with anime, comics, cosplay, competitions, K-Pop, film screenings, lectures, workshops, talks with book authors, video-game tournaments, board and card games, and much, much more. Click here to learn more about the programme and tickets.
IN OTHER NEWS
In the coming weeks, self-service kiosks should be added to the Foreigners' Police branches to help with insufficient capacities to deal with the mounting agenda. In addition, Police Academy students will be employed to help with easy tasks such as the filing of applications. The problems at the Foreigners' Police started last year when reports of a defective online booking system first circulated. (TASR)
Slovak NHL ice-hockey player Juraj Slafkovský was named the first star of the match between his Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche. He scored the first and third goals for his team, with the latter helping to cut the down Avalanche's 3-goal lead. However, Avalanche won in a shootout. In the last 13 games, the 20-year old left wing scored 13 points. (NHL)
Over the weekend, Slovak biathlete Paulína Bátovská-Fialková delivered an incredible performance in Holmenkollen, Norway. On Saturday she finished 6th in the women's 10 km pursuit race. On Sunday, she climbed from 44th place at the start of the 12.5 km mass race to the remarkable 6th place. Bátovská-Fialková finished the World Cup in 28th place. (IBU)
Slovak biathlete Paulína Bátovská-Fialková with the number 44 during the women's 10 km pursuit in Holmenkollen, Norway, on Saturday. (source: TASR/AP )
According to Andrej Danko, chair of the coalition SNS party, PM Robert Fico (Smer) has made a political mistake in regards to the resolution of the coalition crisis that will come to hurt him down the line. Danko opines that Fico should have been tougher and that the new ministers - Samuel Migaľ has taken over the Investment Ministry while Rudolf Huliak the Sports and Tourism Ministry - may cause problems in the future. Speaking on the pro-Russian Infovojna channel last week, he also said that as the PM, Fico should be able to hold power and if not, he does not deserve it. While on public broadcaster STVR's Sobotné Dialógy political show on Saturday, he said he was not happy with the resolution of the crisis and that Smer should learn to treat its partner with respect.(Denník N, TASR)
On Sunday, Slovenia beat Slovakia 1-0 in overtime in the UEFA Nations League 2025. The former thus moves into League B, while the latter into League C after both sides drew 0-0 in the first match in Bratislava on Thursday last week. (Sportnet)
The most common cause of death of the Eurasian eagle-owl, the largest owl in Slovakia, is unprotected power lines. However, according to ornithologist Roman Slobodník, the situation is changing for better and visual deterrents, and guards are being installed on towers to protect the birds. (Denník N)
The Eurasian eagle-owl. (source: TASR)
The Bratislava III City Court has rejected the lawsuit filed by the Denník Štandard daily against the Konšpirátori project for including it on the list of controversial and untrustworthy websites. The daily claimed that its reputation was damaged. According to Pavol Hardoš from the project, the daily did not like that they were convicted of spreading far-right propaganda, health, pro-Russian or anti-LGBTI disinformation. (Denník N)
Kofola, the Czech company that produces popular soft drinks, will buy the company ASO Vending based in Banská Bystrica, central Slovakia. The latter is a family company that operates approximately 8,000 coffee, drinks and grocery vending machines across Slovakia and belongs to Miroslav and Soňa Korček, who entered the business in the early 1990s. The deal should be concluded in the second quarter of 2025. (Kofola)
Movie, theatre and voice actor Štefan Kvietik passed away at the age of 90 on Friday, March 21. His first movie was the 1960 war film 'Smrť sa Volá Engelchen' (Death is Named Engelchen). In 1989, he joined politics and served as an MP between 1990-94. He received many awards. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR TUESDAY: Cloudy to overcast skies, occasional showers or rain, snowing on the ridges of the Tatras. Daily temperatures will rise to between 10 °C to 19 °C. (SHMÚ)
MARCH 25 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Marián
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