Archive of articles - January 2011, page 6
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Saving energy is a global challenge
SEEKING to improve the quality of life does not justify either an individual or a nation gratuitously increasing energy consumption – energy experts as well as ecologists say human progress can be pursued even while putting the smallest possible burden on our fragile environment.
Unemployment rate up in December
THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate in Slovakia at the end of December rose by 0.24 percentage points, month-on-month, to 12.46 percent, according to the Central Office for Labour, Social Affairs and Family.
Steel mill in Košice gets new leaders
THE TOP management of the biggest private employer in Slovakia, steel maker U.S. Steel Košice (USSK), has seen its first major reshuffle in three years. David Rintoul was appointed the new vice-president of European operations and president of USSK, replacing George Babcoke, who is returning to the US to serve as senior vice president of European operations and global operation services at United States Steel (USS) Corporation.
Ancient stories told entirely through a gesture
THE ACTOR walks to the stage with long-drawn-out motions as though he is subordinated to a completely different time and space. His face is motionless. A single frail gesture is expected to tell stories of passion, loss and hope. That particular evening the actor is playing Minamoto Yoshitsune who, disguised as a servant, is escaping from the anger of his brother, the shogun, in a play called Ataka. But the next day, the same actor could very well be a ghost on the stage of the Kyoto Kanze Kaikan Noh Theatre.
Truckers threaten to strike
SLOVAKIA’S system of electronic highway toll collection for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes was launched more than a year ago, but complaints by truckers are continuing to roil the road transport industry. In an effort to demand solutions to what they say are ongoing problems with the system, disgruntled members of the Union of Motor Carriers of Slovakia (UNAS), declared a one-month strike alert in mid January. UNAS is dissatisfied with what it calls the unfair burden placed on road cargo transport in Slovakia.
Voting laws to be unified
WITH the next regular election now years away, the governing coalition has set out on a path to unify the rules for all of Slovakia’s elections and consolidate them into a single law, an Election Code. The move is expected to be one of the government’s most important reform initiatives in 2011 and the prime minister has already announced that she will seek agreement across the political spectrum to pass the legislation.
Japanese institutions in Slovakia
Embassy of Japan
Japan: General facts
Political system: Parliamentary democracy with constitutional monarchy
Social insurer to lay off hundreds
THE STATE social insurance company, Sociálna Poisťovňa (SP), is planning to lay off 600 of its current 5,900 employees by the end of July, SP’s general director, Ľuboš Lopatka, told the TASR newswire on January 17.
Quote of the week
“Fico lied to me so many times about essential things that I have no reason to seek him out now. He made mistakes that sprang out of his self-conceit and his thirst for power.”
Institutions of the Republic of Korea in Slovakia
Embassy of the Republic of Korea
Unions initiate petition on code
SLOVAK trade unions are now wheeling out one of the big guns in their fight against proposed changes to the current Labour Code, which the centre-right government says it intends to make more flexible in order to better meet the needs of the economy. The Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) is now trying to collect the 350,000 signatures needed to trigger a referendum over the issue.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIABratislavaEXHIBITION:THE SLOVAK National Gallery in the Esterházy Palace in Ľudovít Štúr Square in Bratislava has prepared a comprehensive exhibition entitled Maľba po maľbe / Painting after Painting, comprising the work of contemporary Slovak artists including A. Bartošová, R. Bielik, M. Blažo, L. Dovičáková, M. Czinege, M. Gerboc, Ľ. Hrachovinová, O. Chrenková, J. Kollár, D. Lehocká, M. Mališ, J. Mrvová, D. Sadovská, M. Sedlák, E. Šille, V. Šramatyová, Umelá skupina Debili (J. Ballx and P. Stax), and E. Vargová. Until February 6, the works can be seen Tuesdays to Sundays between 10:00 and 18:00, for €1.30 to €3.50. For more information, please visit www.sng.sk.
New horizons for cooperation
THE INFLOW of investments from the Republic of Korea first began only in the early years of the 21st century but since that beginning this dynamic Asian country has become one of Slovakia’s most important investors and trading partners. The aggregate investment of Kia Motors into its greenfield car assembly plant in Teplička nad Váhom has already exceeded €1 billion and along with a large investment by Samsung Electronics, these two companies, plus the dozens of subcontractors they have drawn here, provide jobs for thousands of Slovaks. Cooperation between the two countries currently focuses on industry and commerce but there are also opportunities for joint activities in science and research as well as tourism on the horizon.
Czechs fret over Slovak doctors
QUESTIONS remain over who will treat patients in Czech hospitals if thousands of protesting doctors there fail to reach an agreement with the government and leave hospitals en masse come March. This has recently become a topic across the border in Slovakia after rumours began circulating that Czech hospitals might try recruiting Slovak doctors to fill in.
Smer announces its shadow cabinet
SIX MONTHS after Robert Fico left the prime minister’s office and a centre-right government took over, his Smer party has introduced a shadow cabinet to present a clear opposition to the cabinet of Iveta Radičová. Most of Smer’s shadow ministers are experienced when it comes to cabinet sessions and management of government departments.
Temptations of the photographer
“IT’S like from the movie Last Year at Marienbad,” says Yuri Dojc as, en route to an interview, he takes a picture of a courtyard covered with snow, unable to resist the temptation that a window at the staircase of a Bratislava gallery offers. Dojc, a prominent Canadian photographer with Slovak roots, was referring to the black-and-white movie from 1961.
Official demoted over lobbying
A SENIOR official in the Government Office, Štefan Grman, was demoted at the initiative of the prime minister after he organised a meeting for a telecommunications-firm lobbyist with the head of the Parliament Office, Michal Nižňan of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party.
Tourism and gastronomy fairs kick off at Bratislava's Incheba Arena
More than 700 exhibitors from 24 countries are taking part in the ITF Slovakiatour tourism fair and the Danubius Gastro gastronomy fair, both of which opened at the Incheba Expo arena in Bratislava on Thursday, January 20.
Slovakia has spent €15.5m on arbitration over health insurance profit ban
The Finance Ministry has confirmed that Slovakia has paid more than €15.5 million to lawyers representing the country in its dispute with private health insurers over restrictions on how they use their profits, the SITA newswire reported. The ministry refused to elaborate further.
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- Legendary captain Zdeno Chára inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame Video
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Liberal MP's boxing challenge backfires as far-right MEP seizes the moment
- From eight to thousands of runners. How Košice marathon rose to prominence Photo
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- From eight to thousands of runners. How Košice marathon rose to prominence Photo
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Iconic Slovak barn still draws crowds. Without donors, it might have been lost Photo
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Legendary captain Zdeno Chára inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame Video
- Liberal MP's boxing challenge backfires as far-right MEP seizes the moment
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access More articles ›
