MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 28 July 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 27 July): BRATISLAVA – There is an agreement in the coalition to increase the election deposit for parties running in elections, MP Roman Michelko (Slovak National Party/SNS) said on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday in connection with an amendment to the law on political parties and political movements. On the other hand, he stated, there is no consensus on increasing the quorum needed for a political party to make it to Parliament. MP Gabor Grendel ('Slovakia', 'For the People', KU) stated that in the event of an increase in the deposit, the 'Slovakia' party is in favour of allowing as many political parties as possible to participate in parliamentary elections. The discussion also touched on the salaries of state officials. Michelko expressed the opinion that the remuneration of various state officials is currently "distorted" in Slovakia. According to him, a debate should be opened on their salaries. He pointed out that some civil servants have a higher salary than the prime minister and said that their salaries should be appropriate to the demands of their position. BRATISLAVA – Slovakia has dispatched a Black Hawk helicopter to Bulgaria to help local firefighters with extinguishing forest fires, TASR learnt from the press department of the Interior Minister's office on Sunday. "Bulgaria requested the deployment of the helicopter on Saturday (26 July) and Slovakia immediately accepted the request," said Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD). The helicopter will be based in Plovdiv in central part of the country, where it will arrive in six and half hours. Two pilots, two mechanics and two firefighters from the aerial firefighting module flew to Bulgaria. The expected duration of the deployment is approximately seven days. BRATISLAVA – A new tram line has been launched into operation in Bratislava's borough of Petrzalka on Sunday, with the tram now running all the way to the end of the borough. This happened after more than 3.5 years since the beginning of the construction of the tramway in the Jungmannova-Janikov dvor section and after nine years since the launch of the first stage of this chief transportation system. The new tram line in Petrzalka is the largest transportation project in Bratislava. "The launch of the new tram line in Petrzalka is a great thing for our city. After 50 years, Petrzalka has received its chief transportation system, which will radically change the life of the inhabitants of Bratislava's largest borough," said Bratislava mayor Matus Vallo at a press conference on Sunday. However, the launch of the tramline is not the end of the work. According to him, some parts of the construction should be completed in a few days, some within weeks and some will need months. TVRDOSOVCE - A small engine plane crashed near the village of Tvrdosovce in Nitra region, spokesman for the Nitra region police Tomas Havetta told TASR on Sunday, adding that all rescue forces are intervening on the scene. There was one person in the aircraft at the time of the accident, who showed no signs of life after the arrival of first-aid responders. Havetta added that the plane was piloted by an 81-year-old man. The plane crashed into a cornfield. An investigator from the Transport Ministry's Aviation and Maritime Investigative Unit has taken over the case to find out the exact circumstances and causes of the accident. ko