Europe Slovakia Fathers will be entitled to 2 weeks of paid leave, even if the mother receives maternity or parental allowance; the innovation was adopted by the EU directive into Slovakia's national legal system and will enter into force on 1 November
Europe Slovakia Pensioners entitled to the thirteenth pension will receive this benefit for the second time this year, but the amount will be reduced in November by a coefficient of 0,7, according to an amendment to Thirteenth Pension Law that was approved by Government
Europe Slovakia The past two years have seen an increase in extremism cases and the police initiated 28% more prosecutions for extremism in 2020 than in the previous year, the Slovak Interior Ministry said in its annual report
Europe Slovakia Slovakia's gas reserves are sufficient throughout the winter, said the executive director of Slovakia's main gas supplier SPP Richard Prokypčák, even if Russia completely blocks supplies
Europe Slovakia In the Slovak village of Blatná nad Ostrovom, a pilot project to mix hydrogen into the natural gas infrastructure has yielded positive results
Europe Slovakia The government has approved a proposal that aims at reducing and simplifying the residency procedures that foreigners have to follow; the simplified course will be applied as of January 2023
Europe Slovakia Cardinal Jozef Tomko, the Holy See's most influential Slovakian, has died at 98 in Rome; under Pope John Paul II he became prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and was the third most influential person in the Catholic Church
Europe Slovakia The average inhabitant last year drank 120 large beers, or an average of 60,2 litres, in a 30-year low and a 12% on 2020, the Slovak Statistics Office reported on August 5, which marks International Beer Day
Europe Slovakia According to the Hydro-meteorological Institute of Slovakia (SHMÚ), extreme drought currently affects more than half of Slovakia's territory, with a state of emergency declared in 11 municipalities due to the lack of drinking water
Europe Slovakia Ministry of Agriculture expressed reservations about the new legal framework for pesticide use proposed by the Commission in June as part of the Nature Restoration Act to reduce use by 50% by 2030
Europe Slovakia 28 Slovak academic institutions, including public universities, the Slovak Academy of Sciences and its various research institutes, have at least 136 links with China, according to a study by the Central European Institute of Asian Studies in Bratislava
Europe Slovakia Slovaks agree that climate change is happening, but are not willing to pay higher taxes or prices nor change their life habits to protect the Earth, according to a survey conducted by Environmental Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic
Europe Slovakia Slovak scientists are playing a key role in an international project for a new European solar telescope to unlock the Sun's secrets using what has been described as the "most powerful instrument ever conceived to observe it"