Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh claimed a record-equalling fourth high jump victory at the Banskobystricka latka clearing a world lead of 2.01m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Banska Bystrica on Tuesday (18) The world record-holder maintained a win streak that dates back to June last year to beat two previous winners in Banska Bystrica Australia’s Eleanor Patterson and Serbia’s Angelina Topic Olympic and world champion Mahuchikh overcame a wobble at 1.93m to secure victory she failed twice at 1.93m and decided to pass her final attempt at that height to have one go at 1.96m The gamble paid off and she sat second on countback to 2022 world champion Patterson who cleared each of her heights – from 1.85m to 1.99m – on her first attempts Mahuchikh also managed 1.99m on her first try and then clinched the win when she soared over 2.01m at the first time of asking while Patterson knocked off the bar on each of her three attempts who cleared her indoor PB of 2.06m in Banska Bystrica in 2021 then had three unsuccessful tries at 2.04m who opened her season with a 1.94m win in Udine on 6 February and targets both the European Indoor Championships and World Indoor Championships this season becomes the first woman to surpass two metres in 2025 adding 3cm to the world lead set by Poland’s Maria Zodzik at the end of January world U20 champion Topic finished third this time clearing 1.96m – just 1cm off her indoor PB She also had two attempts at 1.99m and one try at 2.01m Hungary’s 17-year-old Lilianna Batori finished fourth the same height that was managed by Great Britain’s Morgan Lake to finish fifth Six athletes remained in the competition at 1.90m while all 11 members of the field managed at least 1.85m Korea’s defending champion Woo Sanghyeok who cleared 2.31m in Hustopece 10 days ago to match the world lead secured his second win of the season with a best of 2.28m in the men’s contest in Banska Bystrica The 2022 world indoor champion started at 2.16m and cleared each of his heights up to 2.28m on his first attempts He went on to try what would have been a world-leading height of 2.32m Cuba’s Luis Zayas cleared 2.25m to finish second while five athletes finished the contest with a best of 2.21m led by Italy’s Manuel Lando who placed third on countback That height was also achieved by Bahamian 2007 world champion Donald Thomas the 40-year-old improving the world M40 masters record with his performance Results This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. 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Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. 25 Apr 2025 16:00:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Trencin vs Dukla Banska Bystrica on Fri Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match The current head to head record for the teams are Trencin 10 win(s) Have scored 6 goals in their last 5 matches 25 Apr 2025 16:00:00 GMT?Trencin vs Dukla Banska Bystrica on Fri 25 Apr 2025 16:00:00 GMT ended in a 2–2 tie.InsightsHave scored 8 goals in their last 5 matches Trencin is playing home against Dukla Banska Bystrica at Stadion Sihot on Fri This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page European U18 best performances by hurdlers Laura Frlickova and Michal Rada were among the standout results at the European U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica from 18-21 July Slovakia’s Frlickova delighted the home crowd on day one as she stormed to a European U18 best in the 100m hurdles heats the 17-year-old took 0.12 off the previous European U18 best set by Cyrena Samba-Mayela in 2017 The performance also moved Frlickova to second on the world U18 all-time list Jamaica’s world U20 champion who clocked 12.71 in 2022 Frlickova returned to win her semifinal in 13.18 (0.4m/s) the following day before securing Slovakia’s first ever European U18 Championships gold medal in 12.97 (0.2m/s) She won ahead of Poland’s Zofia Rojek (13.33) and France’s Auxane Kingue (13.37) “These championships could not have gone better,” Frlickova told European Athletics “To win on home soil - that is a dream of many athletes I am so glad I managed to achieve my target and fulfilled my dream.” There were European U18 best performances at both ends of the championships as Rada achieved his in the 400m hurdles on the final day of competition Czechia’s Rada improved the previous European U18 best by 0.96 and moved to fifth on the world U18 all-time list He was followed by his compatriot Marek Vana (51.12) and Italy’s Tommaso Ardizzone (51.38) Michal Rada on his way to 400m hurdles gold in Banska Bystrica (© Getty Images) Rada’s performance completed a unique double as the previous race – the women’s 400m hurdles – was won by his twin sister Nina Radova Radova got gold ahead of Croatia’s Eva Barbaric (58.85) and France’s Lalie Pouzancre-Hoyer (59.07) I was thinking about my sister,” said Rada “When I figured out that she won I was not stressed anymore “Me and my sister go to the same school You cannot imagine how we appreciate what we achieved.” Czechia secured a third gold on the final day through Adela Holubova who won a dramatic 800m final in a championship best of 2:04.23 to finish ahead of Britain’s Shaikira King (2:04.29) A 200m double by Diego Nappi and Elisa Valensin plus a European U18 best by the women’s medley relay team helped Italy to top of the medal table at the end of the four-day championships First Valensin won her final in 23.09 (1.0m/s) and then Nappi won his in 20.81 (0.7m/s) Elisa Valensin celebrates her 200m win at the European U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica (© Getty Images) Those performances were achieved on day three during a session that also featured a Polish 400m double by Stanislaw Strzelecki (46.50) and Anastazja Kus (51.89) with both athletes also setting championship bests Strzelecki returned the following day to anchor Poland to medley relay victory in a championship best of 1:51.62 That was the last race of the championships and it followed the European U18 best achieved by Italy in the women’s medley relay as the quartet – anchored by Valensin – combined to clock 2:05.23 Kus was also back in action and she anchored Poland to silver in 2:05.54 Croatia’s Vita Barbic set another of the 24 championship bests in Banska Bystrica as she threw a world U18 lead of 61.07m to win the javelin That was the 16-year-old’s second medal of the day as she earlier threw 49.50m to secure bronze in the discus behind Germany’s Nadjela Wepiwe (51.61m) and Spain’s Andrea Njimi Tankeu Djeudji (50.01m).  Estonia’s Tristan Konso won the decathlon with a world U18 lead of 7549 points his series including a championship decathlon best of 13.52 in the 110m hurdles Finland’s Enni Virjonen also set a world U18 lead of 6151 points to win the heptathlon Her performances included a heptathlon championship best throw of 51.59m in the javelin Other athletes to set championship bests during the four days of competition were Great Britain’s Lyla Belshaw who won the 1500m in 4:13.01; Serbia’s Aldin Catovic who claimed 3000m gold in 8:07.03 after getting 1500m silver behind Filip Toul; and Italy’s Serena Di Fabio who clocked 21:50.80 to win the 5000m race walk Results Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh won her second consecutive medal since the start of the season The athlete claimed gold at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Banska Bystrica on Tuesday Mahuchikh started her 2025 international season at the tournament in Udine where she won gold with a result of 1.94 meters Her second competition was the Continental Tour stage in Slovakia Mahuchikh’s competitors in Banská Bystrica included renowned athletes such as Australia's 2022 world champion and 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Eleanor Patterson Also competing were two-time European Championship medalist and Diamond League finalist Angelina Topich 2023 European Indoor silver medalist Brit Veerman Results of the indoor World Athletics Tour in Banská Bystrica: No other high jumper has cleared the 2-meter mark since the beginning of the year This is Mahuchikh's fourth career gold at the tournament in Banská Bystrica and it marks her second consecutive medal of the season after the gold she won at the Udin Jump Development competition in Italy thank you for accepting to answer our questions Can you please give us a brief overview of the Banska Bystrica Ideathon initiative and its objectives Banska Bystriça joined the DG REGIO/OECD programme with the following aim: to involve citizens in the development and prioritisation of the ITS for the years 2021-2027 as it pertains to the functional urban area of the city Suggested projects had to fall under three thematic categories: ‘Green city’ ‘Well-managed city’ and ‘Inclusive city’ The participatory process was based on the Ideathon methodology We consider Ideathon a ‘dynamic participatory format designed to facilitate an intensive brainstorming session involving individuals from diverse backgrounds each bringing unique skills and intentions’ This collaborative gathering serves as a platform for collectively identifying various ideas or action plans centred around specific themes Ideathons typically operate within a defined time frame and can be executed through either online or offline workshops and consultations We used both: the online approach was done with the support of the consider.it platform and we organised several in-person Ideathon workshops we focused on collecting ideas from citizens and in the second phase we focused on prioritising ideas through the online public voting process.  What motivated the City of Banska Bystrica to partner with the Dialogue Centre and participate in the DG REGIO/OECD programme What changes in the governance of your city were you hoping to achieve with this project The City of Banská Bystrica has previously worked with the Dialogue Centre on some projects The centre’s expertise and dialogue-facilitation methodology were very useful when organising group discussion processes such as the Ideathon We were also very interested in gaining some kind of mentorship and expert support from DG REGIO/OECD unit We felt that being in a partnership with DG REGIO/OECD unit would help our team to gain recognition of our work around a participatory/open government agenda and positively influence the attitudes of the city’s top management towards this agenda Our expectations were to learn and experiment with the innovative participation methodology to involve citizens in shaping the strategic development of the city and to increase top management’s interest in this participatory way of working How did you ensure that residents stayed interested in the month-long online consultation What existing structures did you use?  We frequently reminded citizens about theses ongoing processes What did you do to ensure the cooperation of other departments and political leaders We frequently communicated about the Ideathon wherever possible such as at regular internal cross-departmental meetings and ‘mayor’s meetings’ We also invited municipality staff and politicians to our Ideathon workshops and held regular follow-up meetings with municipal staff.  What kind of infrastructure or systems will you put in place to ensure that citizen participation becomes part of the culture of Banska Bystrica?  One initiative we are putting in place is related to the implementation of a digital democracy infrastructure This work includes developing internal support from the elected officials and other staff members allocating some budget to the maintenance and installation costs and building the skills necessary for the coordination team to be fully autonomous with the use of a digital participatory platform and the design of online participatory processes The first online participatory budgeting process will be launched on the city’s platform in autumn 2024 What results did the pilot project achieve We have learned that external support from important organisations such as DG REGIO and OECD is very helpful and has a good influence on shaping the participatory culture of the city office It is very useful to speak a lot internally about results and to meet with different internal staff and the political leadership of the city To increase the attendance of  stakeholders from different sectors at the Ideathon sessions we had to conduct a diligent analysis and send personalised invitations Resources did fall short when it came to communication and the organisation of events The results include implementation of innovative citizen participation methods in the allocation of cohesion policy funds We were able to experiment with the operational aspects of organising and facilitating this participation You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday after a political event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon He was taken to hospital in Banska Bystrica by helicopter after the shooting The Slovakian parliament was suspended on Wednesday after populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova some 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of the capital where the leader was meeting with supporters Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon Police arrest a man after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet’s away-from-home session in the town of Handlova Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon FILE - Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives to a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels 2024 that Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital Rescue workers take Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a press conference after the cabinet’s away-from-home session in the town of Handlova Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured after the away-from-home government meeting in Handlova according to information confirmed by Parliamentary Vice-Chair Lubos Blaha FILE - Leader of the Smer-Social Democracy party Robert Fico addresses the media during a press conference a day after the Slovakia’s general election in Bratislava Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday May 15 Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Slovakia Robert Kalinak speaks during a joint press conference with Slovakia’s Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon according to his Facebook profile.(AP Photo/Denes Erdos) Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Slovakia Robert Kalinak pauses during a press conference at the F The Slovak and European Union flags fly outside the F A police line is placed outside the entrance of the F Police and officials stand outside the entrance of the emergency room of the F The prime minister had been greeting supporters at an event when the attempted assassination took place shocking the small country and reverberating across Europe weeks before an election “I guess in the end he will survive,” Tomas Taraba told the BBC adding: “He’s not in a life threatening situation at this moment.” Doctors fought for Fico’s life several hours after the pro-Russian leader Defense Minister Robert Kalina told reporters at the hospital where Fico was being treated Five shots were fired outside a cultural center in the town of Handlova nearly 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital Fico was shot while attending a meeting of his government in the town of 16,000 that was once a center of coal mining and an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the assassination attempt Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said as he briefed reporters alongside the defense minister Kicking off his fourth term as prime minister his government halted arms deliveries to Ukraine and critics worry that he will lead Slovakia — a nation of 5.4 million that belongs to NATO — to abandon its pro-Western course and follow in the footsteps of Hungary under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Thousands have repeatedly rallied in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s policies A message posted to Fico’s Facebook account said he was taken to a hospital in Banská Bystrica because it would take too long to get to the capital Slovakia’s Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok pulls on his shirt collar after holding a press conference at the F The shooting Wednesday of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in the town of Handlova following a political event sent shockwaves across Europe three weeks before EU parliament elections are scheduled to be held The attack comes as political campaigning heats up three weeks ahead of Europe-wide elections to choose lawmakers for the European Parliament Concern is mounting that populist and nationalists similar to Fico could make gains in the 27-member bloc But politics as usual were put aside as the nation faced the shock of the attempt on Fico’s life “A physical attack on the prime minister is but it is also an attack on democracy,” outgoing President Zuzana Caputova The hateful rhetoric we’ve been witnessing in society leads to hateful actions called the shooting “an unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy If we express other political opinions with pistols in squares we are jeopardizing everything that we have built together over 31 years of Slovak sovereignty.” The recent elections that brought Fico and his allies to power have underlined deep social divisions a political journalist at Slovakian news outlet Ujszo.com said Fico’s return to power had uncovered signs that “Slovak society is strongly split into two camps” — one that is friendly toward Russia and another that pushes for stronger connections with the EU and the West I couldn’t imagine that it would lead to physical violence,” Czímer said told reporters outside the hospital that the country was “on the edge of a civil war” from the political tension “Such hateful comments are being made on social networks today President Joe Biden said he was alarmed by the assassination attempt “We condemn this horrific act of violence,” he said in a statement NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg posted on the social media platform X that he was “shocked and appalled” by the attempt on Fico’s life European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a “vile attack.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the violence against a neighboring country’s head of government “Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Simecka called on all politicians “to refrain from any expressions and steps which could contribute to further increasing the tension.” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala wished the premier a swift recovery The Czech Republic and Slovakia formed Czechoslovakia until 1992 Associated Press Writer Justin Spike contributed from Budapest the city's mayor and visiting ambassadors stressed past generations' sacrifice for freedom The contribution of British and American special forces to the 1944 Slovak National Uprising (SNP) was marked at a ceremony in the central-Slovak city of Banská Bystrica on Thursday alongside British Ambassador Nigel Baker and US Ambassador Gautam Rana unveiled a commemorative plaque honouring special forces operatives from Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) and America's Office of Strategic Services (OSS) who were dropped into central Slovakia in September and October 1944 to assist the insurgents Following the collapse of the SNP in late October 1944 most were captured by Nazi forces and later executed Also in attendance was SNP veteran Vladimír Štrmeň who gave an impassioned speech about the importance of the struggle for freedom The OSS was the precursor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Its 1944 mission to Slovakia was later described in an internal CIA publication as "the worst single defeat suffered by US spies in World War II". The British and American officers were sent in as liaison missions. The US operation, which involved B-17 bombers flying from Allied-occupied Italy, was officially launched to evacuate downed allied airmen who had been stranded in Slovakia during the war, but also landed some 50 tons of military and other supplies. The British officers and their equipment were dropped by parachute. By the time the SOE and OSS servicemen arrived, the uprising was already under severe pressure from German forces and would be defeated within a matter of weeks. After Banská Bystrica was occupied, the Americans and British, along with hundreds of Slovak partisans, retreated in small groups to the forests and mountains of central Slovakia at the start of what turned out to be a brutally cold winter. Most were eventually killed or captured. The new commemorative plaque was unveiled at the Národný Dom Hotel in central Banská Bystrica, where some of the operatives were based during the uprising. In a speech at the ceremony, British Ambassador Nigel Baker paid tribute to the Allied servicemen's sacrifice and read a message from James Sehmer, the 81-year-old son of Major John Sehmer, MBE, the leader of the British mission. Major Sehmer was executed at Mauthausen concentration camp in January 1945. "I believe that these memorials ... are very important. It is entirely appropriate that our young people are reminded of the sacrifices that their forebears made for the benefit of later generations. These historical events must not be allowed to be forgotten," James Sehmer wrote. Ambassador Baker credited British expat and long-time Banská Bystrica resident John Skelton with proposing and then pursuing the project to place a plaque in the city. Speaking to The Slovak Spectator, Skelton said the project had been more than 15 years in the making, and had sometimes been a struggle in the light of the resurgence of the far-right in local and national politics. Kotleba lost his bid for re-election as regional governor in 2017, but was elected to the national parliament in 2016, where he remained until 2022. Skelton said the city administration had become more supportive in recent years, which along with the involvement of the British and American Embassies, helped to bring about the September 5 installation of the plaque. In comments to The Slovak Spectator, Mayor Ján Nosko stressed the importance of explaining to young people the SNP's complexity as a historical event, and the hardships endured by those who participated in the uprising. He said that sparking people's interest in the events of SNP was crucial to ensuring the horrors of that time are not repeated. In public remarks at the ceremony to unveil the plaque, US Ambassador Gautam Rana made a similar point, lauding the heroism of Vladimír Štrmeň and drawing a parallel between Allied support for Slovaks' struggle for self-determination in 1944 and today's support by America and its allies, including Britain and Slovakia, for Ukraine in resisting present-day Russian aggression. His government has scaled back support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and is revamping the public broadcaster amid concern from critics about media freedom.Reporting by Bernadett Szabo and Jan Lopatka Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Jan leads coverage of general and economic news from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, from monetary and fiscal policy to mergers and acquisitions, natural disasters, politics and the countries' relations and rifts with EU and NATO partners. He has worked for Reuters in Prague for almost 30 years, having started as a reporter during university studies. Reach him at jan.lopatka@thomsonreuters.com , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved A selection of short feel-good stories from Slovakia Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent Roosevelt University Hospital in Banská Bystrica became the first in Slovakia to apply a special palatal plate to a newborn who suffered from a rare congenital defect that caused her to have severe problems breathing and receiving food “Children with Pierre Robin sequence suffer from breathing difficulties of varying degrees immediately after birth,” said Markéta Abelovská of the neonatology clinic, as quoted by the MY Bystrica regional newspaper others can breathe freely only in the prone position signs of obstructed airways appear only during sleep and are often diagnosed only with a sleep lab.” The treatment was provided in cooperation with the Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Clinic of the University Hospital in Tübingen it printed the palatal plate using a 3D printer in its dental laboratory “A great advantage is that it’s a non-surgical procedure,” said Juraj Abelovský of the Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic adding that until now children suffering from this disease had to be transported to Tübingen The team has already applied two palatal plates and is currently working on a third one for another newborn Young Slovak cyclist Viktória Chladoňová has recently achieved great success in various major cycling races she placed third in the time trial at the European championship and the international Respect Ladies Race held in Nová Baňa As Chladoňová told Eurosport after the race the silver medal came as a surprise to her “I didn’t have any expectations as strong girls from the UK and other countries who were missing at the European championship came,” Chladoňová said after the race The dream of the young Slovak is to win one of the big races and to become a world champion in the women’s category freelance photographer and populariser of astronomy from the Institute of Physics in Opava when the “Harvest” Moon partially passed through the Earth’s shadow “I decided to observe this small but clearly visible partial lunar eclipse close to UNESCO’s Spiš Castle in eastern Slovakia,” Horálek wrote about the picture during an approximately 2.5-hour long sequence the Moon is moving in the sky while the eclipse progresses to the hazy foreground as He admitted that it was very tricky to finish the sequence as the fog was becoming thicker He had to move several times around the original exposure spot to make the sequence complete “Thank you for still believing in me,” Horálek wrote in a Facebook post after NASA picked his photo Mirna Khaleel Majeed Ayshoa Yousif Kaka comes from Iraq studying information management in Bratislava and Jörn Kaufhold fell in love with Slovakia's natural environment workshops and animal tracking events for those wanting to learn more about nature and wildlife Steve Ditko, a legendary American comic artist best known for being the co-creator of Spider-Man, was born into a family with Slovak roots Zolná, now part of Zvolen in central Slovakia, played a crucial strategic role in resisting fascist forces during the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) David Timis believes that brainstorming potential is one of the most underrated ways to use AI-powered chatbots mouldy hospitals and increased VAT plus a transactions tax A notebook has overtaken all the problems of Slovakia far-right Slovak National Party (SNS) MP Rudolf Huliak known for is claim that LGBTI+ people cause climate change declared that an MP advocating abortion “deserves no other name than a bitch” if she does not respect the basic “questions of life given to humans by God” and added that he does not even consider her a woman The opposition called the situation and the behaviour of the SNS unacceptable You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk Journalists worry the shooting will be used as a “political tool” to further clamp down on independent press Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico — the populist pro-Russian prime minister once ousted in 2018 after the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak during his mandate — has undergone emergency surgery after an assassination attempt in a town in the center of the country Fico was shot multiple times following a political event in Handlova, about 120 miles northeast of the capital Bratislava, and was flown to a hospital in nearby Banska Bystrica in what was described as a “life-threatening condition.” Following his operation he was reported to be in a stable condition and expected to survive The police have detained the suspected gunman ICIJ member and founder of Investigace.cz Pavla Holcová, who collaborated with Kuciak on stories that came out of ICIJ’s Panama and Paradise Papers reacted with alarm to the news and its potential implications “This is kind of a signal of the extreme situation in Slovakia Since his reelection last fall, Fico and his coalition have put frequent pressure on the independent press, including ceasing communication with several respected outlets and plans to take control of public media “The election in September pretty much returned the old power structures to power and one of the first things they’ve done is to go and shrink the space that free press has,” Holcová said Holcová says the country has seen significant deterioration of press freedom in the years since Kuciak and his fiancee The murder of the journalist— the first ever in Slovakia’s 25 years as an independent state —  triggered mass protests and a political crisis that brought down the country’s government. While four people connected to the crime have been convicted, the alleged instigator — businessman Marian Kocner — has been acquitted twice. asked representatives of the media: “Are you satisfied now?” says many of the largest media outlets are owned by oligarchs — leaving small “It’s kind of an Orwellian situation,” Sabo said “People who were for years saying really hateful words about media and about the opposition about NGOs — now they are telling that the media the opposition and the NGOs are basically the ones who are responsible for hate.” Even though he’s reported extensively on Fico the news of the assassination attempt “hurts to see.” “It sometimes happens that a mess like this just results in a big media war and everything,” he said it can happen that a nation comes just a little bit together.” Yaroslava Mahuchikh’s rise continued – quite literally – at the Banskobystricka latka high jump meeting as the 19-year-old sailed over 2.06m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting in Banska Bystrica on Tuesday (2) The 19-year-old world silver medallist recorded just one failure on her way to clearing the world-leading meeting record height Her winning leap is the best indoor jump in the world for nine years; meanwhile the last time anyone jumped higher than 2.06m indoors was back in 2006 when Kajsa Bergqvist set the world indoor record of 2.08m Mahuchikh opened at 1.85m and got over it with ease After another first-time clearance at 1.90m she recorded her only blemish of the night with the bar at 1.93m From then on it was plain sailing for the world U20 record-holder as she went on to clear 1.96m Fellow Ukrainian and 2017 world silver medallist Yuliya Levchenko was the only athlete left in the competition at this point but she bowed out with one miss at 1.99m and two at 2.01m was still going strong and gave the bar just a slight nudge as she successfully cleared 2.03m Her clearance at 2.06m was even more polished and she appeared to make barely any contact with the cross bar Mahuchikh becomes the youngest high jumper ever to clear 2.06m Her 2.06m leap is also higher than the outdoor Ukrainian record (2.05m set by Inga Babakova in 1995) and adds one centimetre to the meeting record set by Blanka Vlasic back in 2006 Mahuchikh now moves up to equal third on the world indoor all-time list who opened his season last weekend with a world-leading 2.32m leap in Ancona notched up another victory by taking the men’s contest with 2.31m The 2016 world indoor champion from Italy was faultless up to and including his winning height was once again in strong form but needed three attempts to get over 2.28m and 2.31m Ukraine’s Andriy Protsenko and Germany’s Mateusz Przybylko Tamberi went on to unsuccessfully attempt 2.33m twice and 2.35m once It was the first time since 2016 that the 28-year-old had won in the Slovak city The Banskobystrická latka is a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver level meeting Some of the Gold level meetings were unable to accommodate a men's high jump competition – one of the scoring disciplines for this year – due to Covid restrictions so to allow for an extra scoring opportunity the men’s high jump contest in Banska Bystrica will count towards the scoring in the Gold series Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok continued his strong season with another impressive performance while Australia’s Eleanor Patterson was in record-breaking form at the Banskobystricka latka high jump meeting in Banska Bystrica on Tuesday (15) Ten days after his world-leading national record of 2.36m at the Skakani Hustopece Woo was back in action at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver event in Slovakia and again came close to that mark This time the 25-year-old’s best was 2.35m to win ahead of world bronze medallist Ilya Ivanyuk and USA’s double NCAA champion JuVaughn Harrison Woo opened his campaign with a first-time clearance of 2.21m The Olympic fourth-place finisher then needed two tries at 2.33m but achieved 2.35m on his first go later having three attempts at a PB height of 2.37m Ivanyuk had needed all three tries to achieve 2.31m and so passed straight to 2.35m in an attempt to take victory After knocking the bar twice he saved his last attempt for 2.37m but was unable to make it over and so finished second with his 2.31m clearance Harrison’s 2.28m saw him place third ahead of Andriy Protsenko The women’s competition featured a successful indoor debut by Patterson who cleared a world-leading 1.99m to break the Oceania indoor record the 25-year-old matched the height of her outdoor PB to win ahead of Olympic and world medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Olympic finalist Marija Vukovic Olympic and world champion Mariya Lasitskene was among the four athletes to clear a best of 1.93m Patterson had entered the competition at 1.80m clearing that height and 1.85m on her first attempts She needed three tries to make it over 1.90m and managed 1.93m on her second go before soaring clear at 1.96m on her first attempt Ukraine’s Mahuchikh had a perfect scorecard up to that point but couldn’t go any higher and when Montenegro’s Vukovic was also unable to make it over 1.99m who stepped away from the sport in 2018 but returned the following year and went on to finish fifth at last year’s Olympics in Tokyo Her 1.99m clearance adds two centimetres to the Oceania indoor record which had been set by Alison Inverarity in 1993 The 1.96m was a season’s best for Mahuchikh who won in Banska Bystrica last year with a clearance of 2.06m – the highest indoor jump in the world for nine years it was another national record mark to edge closer to her outright best of 1.97m achieved outdoors last year Safina Sadullayeva finished fourth on countback ahead of Mirela Demireva Full results Swoboda speeds to world-leading 7.00 over 60m.. we're happy to send you some reminders Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications Home> News> Sport but let Jake Odey-Jordan's mishap remind you that you can't take your foot off the gas until you're over the finish line The track star, who is just 16-years-old, got off to a flying start at the European Athletics U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, in the men's 200m heat - but ended up completely flunking it in the end The 6ft Brit was leading the pack at the start of the race and made sprinting in the sweltering heat look easy with commentators pointing out that he was 'blusting his way around the bend' just seconds after it began It seemed that it was a dead-cert that European U18 leader Odey-Jordan would take home the crown as he made light work of pacing towards the finish line The young athlete - who boasts an impressive 200m personal best of just 20.55 seconds - then had what sports pundits described as an 'absolute disaster' at the tournament as he suddenly began to slow down dramatically viewers watched with baited breath as Odey-Jordan began to decelerate when he hit the home stretch and appeared to glance over his shoulder to check where his opponents were Before he barely had a second to react and get his legs over the line before anyone else his sure-fire victory was snatched away from him as his fellow runners stormed straight past him The Brit commentators put it best when they said: "What's happened here far too early and half the field swept past him before the finish line "This is going to be a lesson learned the very way too early and they all came past." Unfortunately for the teenager, Sweden's Bram Persson ran fastest and won the heat in 21.79 seconds He was closely followed by Denmark's Samuel Kaerhog who did it in 21.95 seconds and Switzerland's Mathieu Gabioud who took the three automatic qualifying spots It meant that Odey-Jordan did not bag a spot in the top three to qualify it is my fault so I cannot be sad about anything but myself it was not the fastest run but it felt good nothing hurts me or nothing like that." The runner also shared two screenshots of some positive messages he received from his nearest and dearest following his loss on his Instagram story One read in part: "Things truly happen for a reason Another said: "God said: #notyet." but let's hope it fuels the fire in his belly for his next big race Topics: Sport, UK News, News, Viral Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary. InstagramXThreadsSnapchatTikTokYouTubeLAD Entertainment Here's what to do during the weekend of November 22-24 towns around Slovakia are about to open Christmas markets with several in Bratislava actually this weekend Check the dates further down in the article The end of November once again sees the town of Nitra hosting the traditional Vysoké Hory Nitra festival dedicated to travelling and mountains. On Saturday, you can treat yourself with film screening, talks and discussions with film makers, climbers, travellers, and adventurers. Find out more here November 22-24: The Svetlo Noci Vianočnej (The Christmas Night Light) event in Smolenice November 24: Plastic model exhibition and bazaar in Poprad November 29-December 22: The Advent market in Trnava November 29-December 31: The Christmas market in Žilina November 29-December 31: The Christmas market in Nitra November 29-January 1: The Christmas market in Banská Bystrica November 30-December 22: The Christmas market in Piešťany (only during weekends) December 1-31: The Christmas market in Košice WHAT TO DO FOR FREE: Tune into the festive atmosphere with two Christmas carol concerts WHAT TO READ: Hoping for a world that wouldn’t need to be reminded of the importance of science WHAT TO LEARN: A language guide to independence. Although written over 20 years ago, this article is surprisingly relevant to politics still today WHAT TO BE HAPPY ABOUT: A young Slovak dancer makes it to top 8 in a major global dance competition Pro-government conspiracy theorist to 'protect' journalists locals urge PM Fico to halt a battery factory Hello. Here is the Friday, September 20 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes A bridge that passes over one of central Slovakia's main arterial roads, the R1 expressway near Banská Bystrica, has been unexpectedly declared to be in a critical condition and will have to be demolished If that weren't bad enough, a member of Banská Bystrica City Council, Matúš Molitoris, has taken to spreading a baseless hoax on social media claiming that the bridge was damaged by tanks and heavy military vehicles that took part in a military parade in the city in August held to mark the 80th anniversary of the wartime Slovak National Uprising (SNP) and says the bridge should be demolished in time to reopen the R1 by Monday Thebridge was recently found to be in a state of serious disrepair but the city of Banská Bystrica has denied claims that it was damaged by military equipment stating that no such equipment used the bridge during the August parade or rehearsals for it "The city had issued a negative statement on the passage of heavy military vehicles over the bridge; claims that tanks crossed it are lies," officials said adding that suggestions that the closure was an excuse to store NATO weapons at Sliač airbase are equally absurd Banská Bystrica Mayor Ján Nosko declared a state of emergency on Thursday, 19 September, following a structural report that indicated the bridge, connecting the suburb of Kremnička, was at risk of imminent collapse. It is set to be demolished over the weekend during which the R1 route will remain closed LIVE: The Kremnička bridge is being demolished "The work will focus on protecting the [R1] road surface with a geotextile and creating a safety cushion before the bridge is demolished aiming to reopen the R1 by Monday morning," Mayor Nosko said A sudden crack was discovered in the bridge "It indicates a possible collapse of the structure; the question is when," said structural engineer Milan Krajči Police are advising drivers to avoid the area until the R1's reopening is confirmed MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE Journalism: The dismissal of former investigative journalist Zuzana Petková, who heads the Let's Stop Corruption Foundation, and the controversial appointment of Dominik Papala to the Platform for the Support of Press Freedom has sparked concerns over journalistic integrity and the platform's credibility as Papala is associated with slavishly pro-government media and has faced criticism for promoting disinformation and targeting journalists Weekend: Don't miss out on this weekend's happenings! Check out Matúš Beňo'slist of events and choose your favourite from wine festivals to comic and anime salons Good news: A Big Bang Theory star reveals her Czechoslovak heritage, a Slovak paraglides from the top of Kilimanjaro, and a new fungus species (sadly, inedible) is discovered on the territory of the Tatra National Park (TANAP). Here comes your weekly selection of feel-good news Business: A €1.2-billion battery factory in Šurany faces local opposition over pollution and traffic concerns Thousands have signed a petition urging Prime Minister Robert Fico to halt the project despite investor assurances of compliance and economic benefits If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, consider buying our online subscription with no ads; a print copy of The Slovak Spectator will be sent to your home in Slovakia every month He moved to Slovakia from Germany and has transformed his love for nature into a thrilling career in the heart of Slovakia's mountains Jörn Kaufhold is an environmental education specialist who uncovers the secrets of Slovakia's captivating nature and shares them with the world Fun fact: it was partly filmed in Bratislava led by businessman and politician Boris Kollár Bratislava updated its rules for allocating municipal rental apartments to ensure a fairer and more transparent process including those with disabilities and essential city workers The city currently has 1,923 rental apartments with demand significantly outpacing supply as around 600 applicants are waiting for available units Manchester United have signed Slovak teenager Samuel Lusale. Lusale, a 17-year-old Slovakia youth international who plays on the wing The club has received the necessary clearances from the Premier League and the FA and the Slovak player is being included in United's under-21 squad for the 2024-25 season Lusale is eligible to represent Slovakia through his mother and Zambia through his father and has played at under-18 level for Slovakia The recent amendment to the Penal Code has resulted in the release of over 400 individuals according to statistics from the Prison and Judicial Guard Service including eight on remand and 409 sentenced prisoners The Justice Ministry has rejected media claims of higher release figures stating that the changes decriminalised offences involving damages between €266 and €700 Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer) previously estimated that 158 individuals would be released due to the amendments but the ministry clarified that this was only a provisional estimate with final decisions resting with the courts Slovakia faces legal action from the European Commission for failing to pay hospital invoices on time, with an average payment delay of 397 days, far exceeding the EU's 60-day requirement. The European Court of Justice confirmed that Slovak hospitals violate EU directives and Slovakia now has a limited time to rectify the situation or risk penalties of €800,000 plus €50,000 per day until compliance is achieved The Danube River in central Bratislava began to recede on Thursday night after reaching a peak of 985 centimetres, which was about half a metre below the record level from 2013. By morning, the water level had dropped to 938 centimetres and continued to fall throughout the day dropping below eight metres after previously peaking at 839 centimetres Local flooding affected several regions in western and northwestern Slovakia following heavy rainfall that also impacted the Czech Republic September 21 - Matúš; Sunday If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram (@slovakspectator).