MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 14 August 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 13 August): BRATISLAVA - Ethnographer, folk song performer and radio editor Darina Lasciakova has died at the age of 94, with President Peter Pellegrini receiving the news of her death and informing the public about it on social media. Lasciakova was born in Tvrdosin (Zilina region) on 23 November 1931. She studied music at the Faculty of Arts of the Bratislava-based Comenius University. While still at university, she was a soloist in the Lucnica folk ensemble from 1951 to 1954. From 1961, she worked as a music editor at Czechoslovak Radio in Bratislava. She produced many programmes and series on folk songs and music in which she also performed herself. She became famous thanks to her qualities as a performer of folk songs, as well as her distinctive voice. She was a multiple winner of the Prix Bratislava radio contest. She made many recordings for radio and television and on records, and she gave numerous concert performances both at home and abroad. She was best known for her renditions of songs from her native Orava area, including the famous wedding farewell song 'Goodbye, stay well, mum's threshold'. She also appeared in several films. In 1975, she was awarded the title of a Merited Artist. She was also the holder of several international awards for recordings of folk music. BRATISLAVA - The Environment Ministry will scrap all of the eight zones originally identified in a document called 'Acceleration Zones for Wind Energy in Slovakia' except for one, located in eastern Slovakia, which will be divided into two zones, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) told a news conference held on Thursday with several local government representatives in attendance. Wind farms will only be built in the zones if the local authorities agree to it. The minister doesn't expect this to happen, however. The change should be made as part of a strategic environmental assessment (SEA), which is carried out by the Environment Ministry and which also issues a final opinion. Taraba noted that the document itself is sponsored by the Economy Ministry. He believes that Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) will submit it to the government in time so that the deadline under Slovakia's Recovery and Resilience Plan is met. The locations selected in the document included Prietrzka–Sobotiste, Gbely–Stefanov, Vrakun–Dolny Stal (all three Trnava region), Okoc–Zemianska Olca (Trnava and Nitra regions), Palarikovo–Nove Zamky, Komjatice–Mojzesovo, and Podhajska–Dvory nad Zitavou (all three Nitra region). The pilot zone in the Michalovce district (Kosice region) called 'East' should be retained. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) have once again called on the government to take action instead of remaining passive, calling for the financial transaction tax to be scrapped, a reduction in the hourly cost of labour through changes to mandatory levies to social and health-care funds, and incentives for reinvested profits. The party also wants the government to ensure that energy prices for industry are competitive and to publish the parameters of the 2027 budget without delay. The Christian Democrats believe that this is the only way to boost investment, preserve jobs and make the Slovak economy competitive again. "For many years, industry has been the driving force behind salary growth in Slovakia. Today the Statistics Office's data show real salaries in the sector stagnating and employment falling, with half of the monitored industries losing jobs. When companies leave [Slovakia], jobs leave with them. And this isn't just something that the opposition is saying. The labour minister himself admitted that there have been more mass lay-offs this year than last, while the central bank [NBS] reports that a record number of people made redundant in mass lay-offs signed on with labour offices in June," said MP Rastislav Kratky, vice-chair of the parliamentary economic affairs committee, who ascribes this to the absence of an economic strategy. According to Kratky, Samsung in Galanta (Trnava region), Mata Automotive in Velky Krtis (Banska Bystrica region), Mubea in Kezmarok (Presov region) and Askoll near Nove Mesto nad Vahom (Trencin region) are the specific names behind these figures. "This is the bill for the consolidation that the government is pursuing almost exclusively via higher taxes and levies instead of cutting its own spending. It still doesn't have a credible plan for measures to stimulate growth," he stressed. BRATISLAVA - Chair of the SNS parliamentary caucus Roman Michelko expects Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee) to leave his post by 15 September, TASR learnt on Thursday. Speaking for television channel TA3 earlier in the day, Michelko didn't rule out the possibility that Taraba might be offered another post, but he said that this would be up to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD). He confirmed that the new SNS nominee for environment minister is expected to be current State Secretary Filip Kuffa. Taraba declined to answer directly when asked about his ouster. Michelko also referred to remarks by Environment Ministry State Secretary Peter Dedo, an SNS nominee. "I cannot imagine the prime minister keeping a minister who doesn't have the support of the nominating party. Of course, the party has tools and means to, so to speak, earn respect," stated Michelko, while refusing to specify what these could be before the coalition partners are informed. He also said that he doesn't understand where reports that Taraba won't leave are coming from. According to Michelko, there are three options: Taraba could resign, the prime minister could dismiss him, or Parliament could pass a vote of no confidence in him. A fourth option, he said, could be to terminate the coalition agreement. The deadline previously set by Taraba, SNS leader Andrej Danko and Fico during their talks — the end of September — remains in place, added Michelko. BRATISLAVA - MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia'-For the People) has launched a petition to protect Slovakia's water, land and strategic infrastructure, calling on citizens to deliver their signatures, TASR learnt on Thursday. With respect to the government moves concerning a deal at the Bratislava port, she also announced she filed a criminal complaint and submitted complaints to the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) and the Public Procurement Office (UVO). "We're asking people to sign the petition and make it clear to the government that we will not allow Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to hand control over water, land and strategic infrastructure to Arab sheikhs," Remisova declared at a press conference on Thursday. According to Remisova, the prime minister is grossly misleading the public by claiming that EU funds are unavailable for the renovation of irrigation systems and that investors from the United Arab Emirates are therefore needed. "Robert Fico has misled people again. He claims that we have neither state budget funding nor EU funds for irrigation renovation. Yet his own agriculture minister has published an approved document on the ministry's website which clearly allocates €32 million specifically for irrigation. The problem is therefore not a lack of money. The problem is that the government has still not made the funds available to Slovak farmers. I ask whether this is being deliberately sabotaged so that control over irrigation can be handed to Arab sheikhs," she said. BRATISLAVA - Prosecutor-General (PG) Maros Zilinka, writing on social media, has pointed to a trend of growing serious premeditated crime committed by juveniles in recent years. Zilinka believes that crime among young people is a serious problem affecting society as a whole and a reflection of the overall 'health of society'. He sees several factors behind this, including the influence of social networks. "This negative trend isn't just a manifestation of individual failings among young people. It's primarily a consequence of the neglected influence of the family and school environment, the influence of the media and social networks, peers and the atmosphere in society as a whole. It's also a result of the state's failure. We must bear in mind that the phenomenon of juvenile crime cannot be resolved through repression alone," stated Zilinka. He presented statistics and data from the PG's Office. In 2025 a total of 103 robberies were recorded, 12 percent more than in 2024, 23 percent more than in 2023 and 47 percent more than in 2022. The number of cases of blackmail also increased, from 23 in 2022 to 33 in 2025, as did those of dangerous threats, going up from 21 in 2022 to 42 in 2025. jrg