MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 11 July 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 10 July): BRATISLAVA - Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka has announced on social media that he's been facing threats that a bomb will be planted not only in the building of the Prosecutor-General's Office but also at his home. A subsequent explosives search at the PG Office's building returned a negative result. According to Zilinka, this is "a sad reflection of the times we live in". Bratislava region police announced on a social network that shortly before 9:00 a.m. on Friday the police were notified via the 158 hotline that employees of the Prosecutor-General's Office in Bratislava had received an email containing a bomb threat. "The police carried out the necessary procedures at the scene, with a dog-handler and an explosives expert performing a search for explosives. Its result was negative, and the building was reopened for the employees shortly before 10:30 a.m.," stated the police. The circumstances of the case are being investigated by officers from Bratislava I District Police Corps Directorate. BRATISLAVA - Financial Administration (FS -the tax and customs office) on Friday received information about a bomb threat targeting its facilities and employees, FS spokesperson Daniel Kovac announced on the same day, noting that FS immediately responded by adopting preventive security measures. According to Kovac, the message containing the threat was forwarded to the operations centre of the FS Criminal Office (KUFS) via Interpol Prague after the message appeared in a note attached to an electronic order placed with a Czech company. "We view the safety of our employees, and of those who visit our offices, as our priority. We're carrying out all necessary steps in cooperation with the police to ensure safety at the facilities concerned, and we've taken the necessary preventive measures. We continue to monitor the situation closely, while evaluating all findings on an ongoing basis," added Kovac. BRATISLAVA - If current Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) wins the mayoral election in Bratislava this autumn, his victory would overshadow all other results in the country, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has told TASR, adding that Raz isn't without a chance. He highlighted the qualities that Raz has shown as transport minister and recalled that he's a native of Bratislava with a strong bond to his home city. "There are several nice projects that he's championed in the past within Bratislava and its region, and he could continue working on further projects as mayor," stated Fico, pointing out that the public also appreciated the steps Raz took as minister in connection with Bratislava, so he doesn't understand the negative emotions sparked by Raz's decision to run for Bratislava mayor. Fico believes that Raz will enjoy considerable support in Bratislava. "Despite the fact that he's not a Smer-SD candidate, Smer-SD voters will vote for him," stated Fico. In this context, he added that there are many left-leaning voters in Bratislava, despite the city being considered a rightist stronghold. "After all, Smer's results in the latest parliamentary elections weren't bad, either," remarked Fico. At the same time, Fico admitted that, as a political pragmatist, he is realistic and can see the support enjoyed by the current mayor [Matus Vallo, supported by Team Bratislava, PS, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), and Democrats - ed.note]. BRATISLAVA - Experts from the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) have officially acknowledged the highest-ever air temperature recorded in Slovakia after holding a meeting on Thursday (9 July) by confirming a reading of 41.3 °C measured in Kamenica nad Hronom (Nitra region) on 30 June of this year, TASR has learnt from SHMU spokesperson Ivan Garcar. "The decision was made after thoroughly verifying the certification, placement and surroundings of the measuring instruments, and based on a detailed analysis of the weather situation on 30 June 2026," said Garcar. The meeting was attended by staff from the meteorological service's departments of climatology and ground meteorological networks, the meteorological services in Kosice and Banska Bystrica, and SHMU's Centre for Forecasts and Warnings. BRATISLAVA - In June 2026, M.R. Stefanik Airport reached an important milestone, as for the first time in its history it surpassed the half-million mark for passengers processed in a single month, spokesperson for the airport Veronika Demovicova has told TASR, adding that a total of 510,152 passengers on all departures and arrivals were handled. This was an 81-percent increase over June of last year, when the airport dealt with 281,000 passengers. "Not only did we handle more than 510,000 passengers for the first time in June alone, but we also expect passenger numbers to exceed half a million at the airport in July and August. Furthermore, on 3 July, we dealt with our two-millionth passenger, which indicates that this year we'll set an all-time record at Bratislava Airport -more than four million passengers processed," said airport director Dusan Novota. "Thanks to monthly triple-digit percentage growth in passenger numbers, Bratislava Airport is currently the fastest-growing airport in Europe in the medium-sized airport category, according to statistics from the international airport association ACI Europe," added Novota. In the first half of the year, the airport operator handled a total of 1,948,630 passengers, a 123-percent increase year-on-year. From the beginning of January through to the end of June, the number of passengers approached the two-million mark, which was surpassed as early as on 3 July. Last year, the airport handled a record 2.4 million passengers for the entire year of 2025; this year, it reached the two-million mark in the first six months. BRATISLAVA - The National Highway Company (NDS) won't extend its contract with SkyToll for managing the collection of tolls for vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes, the motorway operator's communications department told TASR on Friday, adding that NDS is working intensively to take over toll collection on its own next year as this will reduce the cost to the level incurred in neighbouring countries. Last month, the deadline expired for exercising the option to extend the contract with the domestic toll provider until 2027. NDS chose not to exercise this option and is doing its best to take toll collection into its own hands starting as of next year. "Next year, once NDS takes over toll collection, all toll service providers will be placed on an equal footing, including in terms of commission and overall services. However, the state will reap the greatest benefits in the form of lower toll administration costs," said Peter Braska, member of the board of directors and director of the NDS toll collection and IT division. BRATISLAVA - Slovakia's construction output amounted to €773 million in May 2026, up 6.8 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) when adjusted for inflation, the Statistics Office reported on Friday, adding that this was the slowest rate of growth seen so far this year, but the fifth-fastest May growth rate in the past 14 years. Seasonally adjusted, construction output decreased by 2.9 percent from April 2026. The volume of completed work remained above the €700 million mark for the third month in a row, whereas in previous years, similar or higher performances were recorded mostly in the second half of the year, particularly during the autumn season. Construction output growth was driven by a 7.5-percent increase in the dominant domestic new construction, while repairs and maintenance construction work maintained a double-digit increase of 11 percent, reaching a nominal volume of €177 million and representing one of the fastest May growth rates on record. am