MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, 16 August 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, 15 August): BRATISLAVA - European Council President Antonio Costa will visit Slovakia next week, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has announced on social media, adding that the reason for his visit is the EU budget. The premier also outlined his working programme for the upcoming weeks. According to him, the government's 'marathon' will begin on 26 August, when the cabinet will meet in Bratislava to discuss a plenty of bills. Subsequently, the government is due to hold an away-from-home session in Krivan (Banska Bystrica region) on 27 August, followed by the one in Hlinik nad Hronom (Banska Bystrica region) on 28 August, where they will restart the aluminium production at the Slovalco company. The cabinet members will conclude their visit to the region by attending the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) celebrations in Banska Bystrica. Fico is also scheduled to visit the nuclear power plant (NPP) in Jaslovske Bohunice (Trnava Region) on Monday (17 August). "On Monday, I will pay a working visit to the Jaslovske Bohunice NPP to talk to experts about the resilience of our reactors and the new nuclear unit we are preparing against extreme drought," said Fico. He pointed to measures that are currently being taken in Hungary and Romania to maintain at least minimum output of their NPPs. "Fortunately, our cooling technology is different and we're not dependent on river levels. Electricity comes above everything else. You cannot produce anything without it," stressed Fico. BRATISLAVA - As part of the operation codenamed Vendor, charges have been pressed against two individuals and one corporate entity in connection with the crime involving the illegal possession and trafficking in firearms, Zuzana Hrabovska of the Police Presidium has informed TASR, adding that one of the charged persons was remanded in custody on Saturday. The charges were pressed by an investigator of the Anti-crime Unit of the Police Presidium's Office for Combating Organised Crime (UBOK). "The investigator filed a motion for one of the charged individuals to be remanded in custody. The prosecutor supported it and subsequently filed a motion with a respective court. A pre-trial judge of the Zilina District Court took one charged person into custody today," explained Hrabovska. MOCA - A naval mine found in the Danube River in the municipal area of Moca in the district of Komarno (Nitra region) will be disposed of later on Saturday, Nitra Regional Police Directorate has confirmed for TASR. Bomb disposal experts from the Police Emergency Response Unit, in cooperation with employees of the Police Corps' Criminal Investigation and Expertise Institute, transported the ammunition to a nearby island on Friday (14 August) evening. It will be disposed of on Saturday in a safe location and with the necessary safety measures in place. The relevant units remain at the scene, overseeing the safe conduct of the operation. Police received a report of the discovery on Friday afternoon. The munition was located some 20 centimetres below the surface of the Danube River. Is is approximately 2 metres long and has a diameter of 50 centimetres. Police officers, bomb disposal experts, the Police Corps Presidium's river unit and the Navigation Authority were responding to the discovery. Vysoke Tatry, 4 August (TASR) - Firefighters are busy tackling a forest fire in the High Tatra mountains on Saturday, a duty officer of the Fire and Rescue Corps (HaZZ) Regional Directorate in Presov confirmed for TASR on the same day, adding that the fire broke out in the locality below the Popradske pleso mountain lake. Professional firefighters from the stations in Poprad, Mengusovce and Vysoké Tatry (all Presov region) are currently responding at the scene, along with volunteer firefighters from nearby municipalities. The fire has affected an area of some 50 by 100 metres. It hasn't yet been brought under control, as it is burning in difficult-to-access terrain. ko