Archive of articles - May 2005, page 2

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Terrorism, fraud focus of intelligence report

IN A CLOSED session May 19, the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) presented parliament with its annual report regarding illegal activity in all areas of Slovak life. According to SIS Director Ladislav Pittner, however, state-sponsored fraud and corruption are not the agency's main concern. Its priority remains firmly with combating terrorism.

Reader feedback: The right to burn

Climbing high

CLINGING to the wall with his left hand, the construction worker strains to reach higher with his right. His feet are fighting for a secure stance and his colleagues are shouting advice. "Put your foot there! No, there!" Suddenly he slips and explodes off the wall. There is no time to brace for the fall.

Tune in to the ivory keyboard

WHEN piano virtuoso Marián Lapšanský was appointed head of the Slovak Philharmonic last year, he found he had to cut down on his own performances. In every cloud lies a silver lining and Lapšanský found that he was able to devote more time to nurturing others' talents.

Poll: flat tax hits pocketbook

Lithuania, Latvia join battle group

World Bank loan helps remove state blindfold

THE WORLD Bank needs precise data on various countries' social situations to be able to assist them in shaping economic policies. In the same way, individual governments need to know about the social impacts of policy changes in order to make proper well-informed decisions.

EVENTS COUNTRYWIDE

Cartoon

Reader feedback: Recipe for disaster

Culture Shorts

Smer prepares motion against Dzurinda

Firms learn to put employees first

WHEN it comes to outsourcing, Slovaks still have a lot to learn. Take human resources. While HR is among those activities that foreign companies outsource the most, many Slovak managers are reluctant to follow suit.

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When should a company consider an outside HR supplier?

Paul Binder, partner of Target Group: Outsourcing can be done at any stage of development. We see different ways how companies do it. Companies can ask themselves the following questions: Do I have the right expertise in-house? If yes, do I fully use the capacities of the persons dealing with a certain topic? If not, what is cheaper: creating the function in-house or buying the services on the market?

Arash breaks cultural barriers

I HEARD the music and thought the words were familiar but at first could not place the language. I turned up the radio and the words hit me smack in the face. They were in Farsi, the language spoken in Iran. On a Bratislava radio station!

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Coalition crisis?

EDUCATION Minister Martin Fronc no longer enjoys the parliament's trust.During a confidence vote on May 25, 59 deputies out of 124 backed Fronc, with 56 voting against. Members of the liberal coalition party, the New Citizen's Alliance (ANO), left the parliament hall during the vote, unwilling to support either the opposition, which initiated the vote, or the coalition and Fronc.