Iran on Sunday confirmed the arrest of several Slovaks two days after Bratislava announced that a group of paragliders had been apprehended, reportedly accused of espionage.

Tehran did not confirm how many Slovaks had been detained, but Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said eight Slovaks were under arrest in Iran.

Iran has freed a Slovak citizen who was arrested last year on allegations of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and paraded on state television.

"I am no spy and Iran only knows why they accused me of spying," 26-year-old Matej Valuch told reporters at a press conference in Bratislava on Friday after his release.

Slovakia's foreign ministry said Tuesday its diplomats in Iran have been denied access to a Slovak citizen arrested in Tehran last week for alleged espionage.

"Our diplomats in Iran have been trying to visit him, but they have not been able to do so," the ministry spokesman Boris Gandel told Agence France Presse.

Disillusioned Slovaks are turning to the power of prayer in the hope of cleaning up politicians widely regarded as corrupt.

More than 400 people have vowed to pray for the politician of their choice for at least five minutes a day for six months since the Internet initiative was launched on Tuesday by Slovakia's Christian Youth Communities Association.

Their homeland was split in two 20 years ago, but political and economic ties between Czechs and Slovaks remain tight and many insist they feel as if they still live in the same country.

"I still keep thinking about us as Czechoslovakia," said Marek Odrobina, a Slovak-born lawyer living in Prague since the "Velvet Divorce".

The Slovak parliament passed on Thursday a 2013 budget aimed at slashing the public deficit to 2.94 percent of output from this year's estimate of 4.6 percent.

The center-left government is applying an austerity program and is counting on boosting revenue from higher taxes on the rich, banks and corporations as well as on changes to the pension system.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said Monday he was looking for the owner of a wallet crammed with cash and credit cards he found during his morning jog in the capital Bratislava.

"I found a wallet full of money and credit cards when I was jogging this morning by the Danube river," he told journalists at a press conference.

Slovakia said Monday it has summoned the Syrian ambassador over recent violence in Syria, particularly the Houla massacre, which claimed 108 lives including those of 49 children, according to UN figures.

"The ministry is deeply concerned about the continuous violation of human rights in Syria and calls for an early and full implementation of the peace plan of international envoy Kofi Annan," the Slovak foreign ministry said in a statement.

Andy Murray had Ivan Lendl in his corner and another ATP final in his sights when he beat Australian teenager Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday in the Brisbane International semifinals.

A two-headed turtle with five feet is raising eyebrows in Slovakia after the bicephalic reptile hatched in the northern town of Zilina seven weeks ago, local news agency SITA reported.

"I call it Magdalena or just Magda and Lena. Magda, is the larger head and the smaller one is Lena," explained owner Roman Gresak.