Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

As anti-pandemic measures are tightening in Slovakia due to worsening situation in hospitals, let us go back in time and bring you interviews with film actor Jean Marc Barr, Oscar nominee Theodore Ushev and film expert Meheli Modi whom we met at the time when they were able to visit Slovakia.

Following the daily news bulletin, we will talk about the organisational aspect of organising Alpine Skiing World Cup. Jasná in Low Tatras hosts FIS World Cup after 5 years. Then we will go to the town of Hurbanovo, which is famous not only for the locally produced beer Zlatý bažant, but above all for the oldest Slovak observatory, history of which initiated in 1871. It is the oldest and best known Slovak observatory, which celebrates these days its 150 years of operation.

With Slovakia facing a significant shortage in its supply of Covid-19 vaccines, Slovak authorities are trying to come up with ways to procure enough vaccines – and procure them fast enough – to have a real impact on the country’s serious current epidemiological situation. One possibility is Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine – which, however, has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), nor has approval even been formally requested. Given that the Sputnik V’s efficacy is now widely recognised, there are voices calling for it to be introduced into Slovakia even before it receives EMA approval, as has already been done in Hungary. Jonathan speaks with Dr Juraj Kopáček, Scientific director of Bratislava's Institute of virology and Biomedical research centre, about why he and some of his colleagues have issued a joint statement opposing this controversial idea. How did a group of castle enthusiasts manage to restore a famous medieval castle while at the same time having a positive impact on Slovakia’s unemployment problem? Romana Grajcarová takes us to the scene of this intriguing story.

News and Topical issue. What has the year that passed since parliamentary elections brought to Slovakia?

News and Topical issue. Romana Grajcarová looks at the psychological impact of the pandemic on the youngest ones, discussing recent research on the deteriorating mental health of Slovak university students. Tourist guide Marián Bilačič explains how tourism fights corona crisis. Citizens of Bratislava shocked after 85 trees were cut down to leave space for controversial project.

Radio broadcasting started in Slovakia 95 years ago, television broadcasting 65 years ago. On the occasion of these anniversaries, RSI is bringing you the Encore! series mapping the phenomenon of radio as well as television programming in this country. The second part is dedicated to the program that has been running on Slovak Radio since 1926 – Good night stories, or in Slovak, Vecernicek.

On the Wednesday edition of Slovakia Today we speak about the relationship Slovaks have to alcohol. This year, the campaign "Dry February" took place also in Slovakia. Slovak tennis Filip Polášek became the first male tennis player in Slovak history to win a Grand Slam title. Together with his Croatian partner Ivan Dodig they won 2021 Australian Open.

Although scientists have found no clear signs that there is any life on Mars at the present time, the possibility that there was life on the red planet in the ancient past continues to intrigue researchers. It is this possibility, in fact, that was the deciding factor in choosing a landing spot for the latest in a series of robotic rovers that NASA has sent to the planet, and the most sophisticated robot ever sent into space – the Perseverance rover, which successfully landed on the surface of Mars just last week after a seven-month journey. Jonathan spoke with Dr Jiří Šilha, a researcher in the Division of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Bratislava's Comenius University, about this historic mission and what scientists hope to learn from it. What is it like for a 55-year-old Chinese native to be living and working in Slovakia? Jonathan speaks with Paul Yung, a native of southern China, who is married to a Slovak woman and has lived in Bratislava for the past 23 years.

News and Topical issue. What does the newly launched European Union's Beating Cancer plan mean for Slovakia?

News and Topical Issue. In the first part of today’s show, scientists Miroslav Šmelko will introduce the second Slovak satellite that is soon going to be launched into orbit, and we know already that its mission won’t be purely scientific since one of its main purposes is in fact to bring scientists closer to radio amateurs and vice versa. And later, in the second part of the show, we will take a close look at the Slovak education and discuss the challenges it faces when it comes to implementing principles of inclusive education.