MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Friday, 28 August 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Thursday, 27 August): BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini asks the government to address the foiled attack on a drone manufacturing plant in eastern Slovakia at its next session or, if necessary, at an extraordinary session of the Slovak Security Council. In his video statement posted on social media on Thursday, the president also calls on the government to seriously assess the potential risks of further attacks and not underestimate the situation. The president wants the government to approve measures that would reassure not only companies but, above all, the Slovak public that the country's security forces and intelligence services are prepared to prevent further potential attacks. The president pointed out that several other companies operating in Slovakia manufacture weapons, weapons systems or components that can be used in the defence industry. "It is therefore imperative that our security forces, intelligence services and the owners of these plants themselves put together a set of measures that will help reduce to an absolute minimum the risk of a potential attack such as the one we prevented in Haniska," he stated in the video. PRESOV/BRATISLAVA - Two foreigners charged with the aggravated offence of endangering the public at the preparation stage will be prosecuted in custody, a pre-trial judge at the Presov District Court ruled on Thursday. TASR learnt the news from Presov Regional Court spokesperson Ivana Petrufova. According to police, the case concerns a planned arson attack on a drone manufacturing plant in eastern Slovakia. Following a motion by a prosecutor from the Presov District Prosecutor's Office, the judge ordered both foreign nationals to be remanded in custody after questioning them. "In the case of the Latvian national, this was on the grounds of so-called flight and preventive custody, while in the case of the Ukrainian national it was on the grounds of so-called flight custody, based on a reasonable concern that he could flee or go into hiding to avoid criminal prosecution or punishment," the spokesperson explained. She added that the parties involved have lodged complaints against the district court's decision, so the regional court will have the final say in the matter. BRATISLAVA - Prosecutor-General (PG) Maros Zilinka will turn to the administrative court over the sanction imposed on Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) director Pavol Gaspar. Zilinka has announced this on social media in response to President Peter Pellegrini's decision not to uphold the prosecutor's protest and to refuse to lift the sanction. According to the PG, the head of state has therefore failed to remedy the breach of the law. Pellegrini on Wednesday (27 August) announced that he won't revoke the penalty imposed on the SIS director for his involvement in a road traffic accident, thereby rejecting the prosecutor's protest. Pellegrini insists that head of the intelligence service bears greater responsibility than an ordinary citizen and the prosecution service had called for a lower financial penalty. KRIVAN - The mayors of the towns of Brezno and Detva, as well as the mayor of the village of Krivan (Banska Bystrica region) have welcomed support from the government which approved funding for regional development at its away-from-home session in Krivan on Thursday. Krivan mayor Imrich Palko told TASR that the village received €130,000 for the repair of local roads, the construction of parking areas near the municipal office, and the equipment of a chemistry classroom at the primary school. According to him, the government's away-from-home session had a positive outcome not only for Krivan but also for the Detva district. "The village of Korytarky received €80,000 for the reconstruction of a local road and the preparation of project documentation for a sewerage system," TASR has learnt from the Government Office's press department. Detva will receive €120,000 for the reconstruction of transport infrastructure at the Korytarsky Hill, as this road also serves as an important route for emergency services. The funding will also help preserve the traditional folk culture in the Podpolanie area, with support provided for folklore ensembles Podpolanec, Detva, Hrinovcan and children's troupes. Detva mayor Branislav Baran also highlighted the fact that the government distributed funds throughout the entire region. BRATISLAVA - The introduction of private foundations based on the example of other countries could help family businesses in Slovakia, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party vice-chair Marian Viskupic told a briefing on Thursday. "Our goal is not to prepare a single proposal and pretend that we've solved all the problems of family businesses. We want to proceed step by step, addressing specific problems that family businesses may encounter in practice. We have already submitted the first legislative proposal, a bill on illegal work and illegal employment through which we are expanding the possibilities for family labour," he explained. "The state should not create unnecessary obstacles to this kind of natural family assistance simply because a company has more than two family members involved. That simply makes no sense," stressed Viskupic. "We're now taking the next step and we'll submit a bill on private foundations. The reason is simple: the Slovak economy has reached a stage where the first major generation of entrepreneurs who started their businesses after 1989 is ageing and gradually handing their companies over to their children," he said. TRNAVA/BRATISLAVA - A serious incident occurred at Trnava railway station around noon on Thursday when a rapid train passed a stop signal and entered the path of a freight train, but no collision occurred and nobody was injured, spokesperson of the state-owned railway passanger carrier ZSSK Jan Bacek told TASR on the same day. "Immediately after the incident, ZSSK focused on the passengers, ensuring they could safely leave the train and arranging options for them to continue their journey. The driver did not continue performing his duties. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation," Bacek said. The train involved was R 747 Ponitran, which entered the route of freight train Pn 65810. "At present, trains between Nitra and Trnava are cancelled on the Leopoldov-Trnava section and in the opposite direction. Depending on the operational situation, selected R and Ex trains will also make unscheduled stops to provide passenger transport on this section," he explained. ko