Archive of articles - February 2011, page 12
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Sulík says Košice heating plant managers will not receive severance pay
The former managers of Tepláreň Košice, the central heating plant in that city who had been nominated by the Freedom and Solidarity party (SaS) have not received any of their anticipated severance payments, the SITA newswire wrote.
State health insurer VšZP to reduce staff and sell property to lower debts
Slovakia’s state-owned health insurer, Všeobecná Zdravotná Poisťovňa, which ended last year with a €55 million deficit, is planning to cut its debts partly by selling redundant property, the TASR reported. "We're mapping properties that could be classified as surplus and then sold off. The first round of sales should take place in the closing weeks of the first quarter of 2011," said the insurer's head Marián Faktor.
Labour Ministry is ready to propose changes to Slovakia’s second pension pillar
Slovakia’s Labour Ministry has already prepared a list of proposed policy changes for Slovakia’s so-called second (capitalisation) pillar of the pension system, the TASR newswire wrote "What urged us to compile the list is the fact that the second pillar isn't working in the way it should at the moment, with savers' deposits increasing in value only minimally," Daniela Šulcová from the ministry press department told the TASR newswire.
Slovakia’s women tennis players beaten 2:3 by the Czech Republic
Slovakia's women tennis players lost 2:3 to the Czech Republic after all five matches of the World Group’s first round were played in Bratislava over the weekend, the TASR newswire reported.
Hungarian tourist dies in avalanche in High Tatras
A Hungarian mountaineer was killed in an avalanche in the High Tatra mountains on the afternoon of Saturday February 5, Prešov Regional Police spokesperson Jana Karnišová told the TASR newswire. Two other tourists, also Hungarians, were injured in the incident, which took place in an area near Lomnický Štít mountain. Another climber from Hungary was also injured but was able to walk to safety unaided. Mountain rescue teams of 12 professionals and 4 volunteers were reported operating at the scene. According to the Mountain Rescue Service, the four Hungarian mountaineers triggered an avalanche while they were climbing down Lomnický Štít. The plunging snow swept them down a steep and narrow mountain valley.
SaS party urges its managers at Košice heating plant to void severance pay
The co-governing Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party's parliamentary caucus is calling on the party’s nominees who managed the Košice-based TEKO heating plant to cancel the exorbitant severance payments they are to receive, Jozef Kollár, the party’s head of caucus, told the TASR newswire on February 4. "We're hereby expressing our outrage and disapproval of their remuneration for their short managerial tenures," he said, while urging TEKO's former heads, Ján Podhorský and Ivan Zich, to also give up their generous severance payments. Podhorský and Zich have received €100,000 and €90,000, respectively, in severance payments. The former headed TEKO for 40 days while Zich's tenure lasted four months. Speaking on February 3, SaS leader Richard Sulík called such severance payments “plain outrageous”.
Trnka departs, GP job now vacant
THE TERM of Slovakia’s general prosecutor, Dobroslav Trnka, elapsed on February 2. However, a final decision on who will fill one of the country’s most powerful positions is still not in sight, with the ruling coalition and opposition continuing to quarrel over the how the next top prosecutor should be selected. Trnka has said he might return, but the ruling coalition led by Iveta Radičová is going to considerable lengths to ensure that he does not win re-appointment.
A treaty on citizenship?
DESPITE rather frequent meetings between Slovak and Hungarian leaders during recent weeks, the issue of dual citizenship – which has became a bone of contention in the two countries’ bilateral relations, even though governments changed on both sides of the Danube during 2010 – still remains unresolved and never fails to produce strong emotions among both Slovaks and Hungarians.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Innovation as way of life
JUKKA Leino very much hopes that the grand finale of the Ice Hockey World Championship on May 15 in Bratislava will feature a match between Slovakia and his homeland Finland. The Finnish ambassador sees many more bridges between the two countries than merely ice hockey, saying, for example, that Finland’s Turku, which is currently a European capital of culture, is sharing its experiences with Košice as it prepares to assume that title in 2013.
Banks double their profits
BANKS operating in Slovakia reached an important turning point during 2010. After a deep drop in profits in 2009 the banking sector recovered throughout last year and its end-of-year taxed profits are expected to reach €513.87 million, according to preliminary data released by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS).
Norway shares its CSR know-how
SLOVAKIA, a small country in the middle of Europe, is being eyed from several angles by businesses from Norway, a Nordic country which is not a member of the EU.
Righteous Slovaks are named by Israel
ON February 2 another 19 Slovaks were recognised for helping Jews survive during the Holocaust by being awarded the Righteous Among the Nations title, given each year by the Israeli government and the Yad Vashem museum to people of non-Jewish origin.
Free legal aid attracts 1,950 clients
Free legal services offered since 2006 by the Žilina Region have been used by 1,950 people since that time. The vice-president of the Žilina Region, Jozef Štrba, said the free legal advisory centre operates twice a month, adding that in 2011, residents will be able to visit every second Thursday to receive legal advice in civil, labour, trade, social security and criminal law. Those who announce their visits in advance by telephone, e-mail or personally are served first. The Kancleária prvého kontaktu (Office of First Contact) is located on the ground floor of the Žilina Refion (ŽSK) Office on Komenského Street 48.
Norwegian institutions in Slovakia
Royal Norwegian Embassy
Some Norwegian companies in Slovakia
Slovalco, Žiar nad Hronom, www.slovalco.sk
Danish institutions in Slovakia
Embassy of Denmark
Crazy shop
PARENTS who are starting to panic over of the sudden spread of “crazy shops”, selling synthetic substances with effects similar to marijuana or cocaine, should find it easy to calm down. Firstly, before the arrival of crazy shops, buying drugs was just as easy. No need to get excited now. And if that doesn’t work, there are scores of politicians to keep one amused with their anti-drugs rhetoric. “We will do everything in our power to put an end to these shops,” said Bratislava Self-Governing Region head Pavol Frešo. Health Minister Ivan Uhliarik is preparing new legislation to make it easier to ban new substances which are not yet illegal.
Bringing everyone inside
INCLUSION is one of the words that surfaces often during discussion with Trine Skymoen whenever she is asked to talk about the best traditions of her homeland. The Norwegian ambassador to Slovakia says that Norway is able to sit atop various human development indices because the Nordic social model is characterised by pulling all people inside society and leaving very few outside of its embrace. She believes that gender equality in Norway, for example, did not just happen – that the government as well as Norwegian women and men had to work hard to achieve this aspect of social inclusion.
Snoozing marmots
Tatra marmots, a subspecies of the Alpine marmot (Marmota marmota) and one of the most popular animals in the Tatra mountains, spend the entire winter sleeping in a den. “In October, the animals go to their dens to hibernate,” Jozef Hybler, a zoologist with the State Forests of the Tatra National Reserve told the SITA newswire, adding that until then the marmots eat as much food as possible so their fat reserves are sufficient to survive without eating until May. But the zoologist said some young marmots can have trouble if they do not manage to build enough body fat or fail to find a proper place to spend winter.
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