MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, 28 June 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, 27 June): BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) expressed solidarity with everyone working in extreme temperatures, including during a personal visit to road workers on the D2 motorway on Saturday, and thanked employers who comply with legal requirements related to high temperatures, describing the current legislation as adequate. Fico made the remarks during a Saturday press briefing. "I want to express my solidarity with everyone in Slovakia working in such extreme conditions as we are experiencing today. The legal framework in Slovakia is adequate. If we look at what the Labour Code says, what the 2009 Public Health Protection Act says, and the specific Health Ministry decree from 2016, there is a sufficiently flexible legal framework that enables employers, within their means, to provide employees with suitable conditions to cope during such demanding periods," the prime minister said. Fico said the legislation requires employers to ensure adequate hydration for workers. It also allows employers and employees to agree on earlier or later starting times and breaks during the working day. He stressed that employees working in extreme heat must also have access to rest areas that are at least partially cooled. More frequent rotation of workers is another available option, he added. "I want to thank all employers who comply with these rules. They do so because if they want to maintain their employees' productivity, they must create such conditions," Fico stated. He also urged employers whose staff work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned industrial halls to review the relevant legislation and, wherever possible, provide employees with the maximum level of support. Working in such conditions is sometimes close to an act of heroism, he said. Fico also called on trade unions to pay greater attention to the issue of rising temperatures. BRATISLAVA - Bratislava recorded its highest-ever daily minimum temperature after the temperature at the Koliba weather station did not fall below 26.3 degrees Celsius overnight into Saturday, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) reported on social media. The previous record of 24.8 degrees Celsius was set on 4 August 2017 The night was particularly warm in the south-west of the country, especially in the Bratislava area. In other parts of Slovakia, however, there were relatively large differences between daytime and overnight temperatures. "In several places, particularly across the northern half of the country, air temperatures remained relatively bearable, falling to between 17 and 11 degrees Celsius," the meteorologists said. They warned that the heatwave will continue. "Today, temperatures in the hottest locations will reach at least 39 degrees Celsius, and tomorrow will be slightly hotter still," they added. BRATISLAVA - The National Cybersecurity Centre (NCKB) recorded 1,650 reported cybersecurity incidents in 2025, with the number standing only at 1,178 in 2024, according to the Report on Cybersecurity in Slovakia in 2025, published by the National Security Authority (NBU) on its website. The number of serious cybersecurity incidents rose significantly year-on-year. Last year, there were 75 such incidents, compared to 23 in 2024. According to NBU, part of this increase can be attributed to changes in legislation. "In 2025, social engineering attacks aimed at gaining access to data or information systems were particularly prevalent. Attackers used persuasive techniques and, with the help of AI, attempted to exploit users' trust, inattention, and lack of security awareness," noted the agency in the report. According to the agency, prevention and proactively raising users' security awareness are considered the most effective long-term approaches to defending against social engineering. Last year, 1,067 cases of social engineering were reported. The second most common type of attack was a suspected successful system breach, including APTs (advanced persistent threats). There were 126 such incidents. In addition, NCKB received reports regarding service unavailability, the existence of vulnerabilities, malicious viruses, threats, attempted system intrusions, and other threats. Slovakia recorded the highest number of incidents by month in October - 173; conversely, the lowest number, 102, occurred in December. BRATISLAVA - The Sustainability Impact Ranking 2026 ranked the Slovak University of Technology (STU) in Bratislava in a shared 601st-800th place in the world, which made it the best-rated Slovak university in this ranking, TASR has learnt from STU spokesperson Juraj Rybansky. The ranking agency assesses the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 17) set by the UN under the 2030 Agenda, which are considered the most comprehensive set of global priorities for achieving sustainable development. According to the ranking rules, each university can select at least three SDGs of its choice, along with the mandatory SDG 17, from which indicators are evaluated. Rybansky said that STU participated in SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), ranking 201st–300th in each of these goals. He added that the university achieved a very high score of 97.6 out of 100 in the number of patents and 93.3 out of 100 in research within SDG 9. In SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), it ranked 401st–600th. According to Rybansky, STU achieved its highest ranking in SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), where it was placed 201st–300th out of 1,610 evaluated universities. mf