MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, 12 September 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, 11 September): BRATISLAVA - Everything must be done to ensure that tragedies such as the terrorist attacks that took place in the USA in 2001 are never repeated, House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) stated on social media on Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks that caused the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in New York. "The 11th of September 2001 - a day that changed the world forever. We respectfully remember those who lost their lives. We must do everything possible to prevent such tragedies from ever happening again," stated Rasi. On 11 September 2001, 19 members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network hijacked four commercial aircraft and flew two of them into the World Trade Center towers in New York, which subsequently collapsed. Another plane struck the Pentagon, while the fourth crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members attempted to regain control of the aircraft. The attacks and the collapse of the Twin Towers directly killed almost 3,000 people from around 90 countries around the world and have resulted in more than 6,000 additional deaths to date. BRATISLAVA - Social-insurer Socialna poistovna (SP) is radically modernising its services, launching 36 new digital solutions for both the public and employers, SP director Michal Tariska stated on Friday, adding that a key pillar of the transformation is a shift towards proactive services, whereby Socialna poistovna will itself inform the insured of their entitlement to benefits and, in some cases, provide them automatically. The changes are being funded through the recovery plan. "Thanks to Slovakia's Recovery and Resilience Plan, we're moving Socialna poistovna's services into the digital environment so that both the public and employers can manage their affairs more easily, quickly and conveniently. Thirty-six specific improvements across six life situations are a visible result of this modernisation. You can access the services in a way that suits your lifestyle," said Tariska. According to him, the insurance company is following up on electronic sick leave with proactive electronic maternity, pregnancy and sick leave benefits. The system works on the basis of doctors making a direct entry in the eZdravie system, thereby creating entitlement to benefits without the need to submit paper applications. In the area of pension insurance, local jurisdiction is being abolished, so applications can be made at any branch regardless of permanent residence. "If a citizen's employment ends, Socialna poistovna will notify the citizen that their employer has taken them off the social insurance register. The notification that they receive will therefore also include information and guidance on what to do in the event of losing their job," said director of the unemployment insurance and guarantee insurance department Janette Trudmanova. BELGRADE - The most fruitful years of cooperation between Slovakia and Serbia are yet ahead, Serbian caretaker Foreign Minister Marko Djuric stated on Friday at a reception at the Slovak embassy in Belgrade that marked Slovakia's Constitution Day and Armed Forces Day, TASR has reported, citing Serbia's Tanjug agency. According to the Serbian minister, the relations have been built, layer by layer for centuries. "For us in this generation, it is, therefore, relatively easy to continue to build upon such a rich legacy. We want to do everything in our power to continue to advance this partnership and take it to an even higher level," he noted. Djuric attributed the successful continuation of the cooperation to the "careful guidance" of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian Government, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister Robert Fico, and his "counterpart and friend" Juraj Blanar (both Smer-SD) in his capacity as Slovak Foreign Minister. "He's an outstanding partner, a great friend and a strong advocate of the Slovak-Serbian partnership, and we're very grateful for your support for Serbia on its path to the EU. We're deeply grateful for your support and your understanding for Serbia's position when it comes to our territorial integrity and sovereignty - a matter that's very close to the hearts of so many Serbs," added Djuric. The Serbian foreign minister announced the Serbian and Slovak embassies in Washington will soon host a joint exhibition that will present the rich cultural heritage of Serbia's Slovaks to the US and the entire world. Djuric also hopes that a new Slovak House in Serbia will be opened soon as an important hub of Slovak culture and economy, and overall Slovak life in the country. MNICHOVA LEHOTA - A passenger train was derailed on the Trencin–Chynorany railway line on Friday morning after hitting a fallen tree, passenger rail carrier ZSSK's communications department has informed TASR, adding that no one was injured in the incident. The incident took place at 10:35 a.m. on the rail section between Mnichova Lehota and Banovce nad Bebravou (both Trencin region). "Firefighters and other emergency services are currently responding at the scene. Due to the difficult terrain, they are helping passengers to get off the train safely. ZSSK will arrange a replacement bus to take the passengers to the final destination of Chynorany," said ZSSK. SUMIAC - The project to build an asphalt road from the village of Sumiac (Banska Bystrica region) to Kralova hola mountain in the Low Tatra mountains has been completed, said Banska Bystrica region governor Ondrej Lunter and Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) during the opening ceremony for the iconic road on Friday. The route will host the final stage of the Tour of Slovakia cycling race in just a few days. The project to build an asphalt road to the summit of Kralova hola began in 2024, with the first phase involving the construction of the route from Sumiac to Predne sedlo. Work on the final stage leading to the summit, which is situated some 1,946 metres above sea level, began in June and lasted exactly 100 days. As part of this stage, a 5.35-kilometre section was renovated, with features designed to allow marmots to migrate, while benches, bicycle racks, information boards and traffic signs were added. The entire route from Sumiac to the Low Tatras ridge stretches some 12 kilometres. According to the governor, the project has made Kralova hola the highest accessible point in Central Europe by road bike. He expects it to provide a significant boost to tourism throughout the Upper Hron area. "The preliminary figures already speak for themselves. If you ask entrepreneurs operating in Sumiac, Telgart [Banska Bystrica region] and other nearby villages about their revenues, they'll tell you that they've seen a steep increase. If you look at the bicycle counters monitoring the number of cyclists using this road, or at the statistics on the number of overnight stays, these figures clearly show that this road is and will continue to be of enormous importance to the region," stated Lunter. am