Archive of articles - September 2011, page 13

34 die in Russian plane crash including Slovak hockey legend Pavol Demitra

An aeroplane carrying team members of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed when departing Yaroslavl and heading to Minsk where they were to open their season in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Onboard with the primarily Russian team were several foreign players, including Pavol Demitra (captain of the Slovak national team) and Czechs Jan Marek, Karel Rachúnek and Josef Vašíček, the Sme daily wrote on September 7.

Government proxy: Roma children suffer from attending special schools

The Office of the Government Proxy for Roma Communities introduced its national strategy ‘Roma Inclusion 2005-2015’, whose main aim is to eliminate special schools as part of educating young Roma, the TASR newswire reported.

Sme: Novotný did play role in arranging Osrblie subsidy

A former advisor of Prime Minister Iveta Radičová, Martin Novotný, who has been charged in the alleged corruption case surrounding the biathlon stadium in Osrblie, received information about arranging the subsidies for completion of the stadium directly from the Government Office, the Sme daily has reported.

Galko: Slovakia must face possibility of troop losses in Afghanistan

Defence Minister Ľubomír Galko bade farewell to 16 members of the Fifth Special Task Force Regiment in Žilina on Tuesday, September 6, ahead of their departure for Afghanistan.

Slovak unemployment rising again, daily reports, citing ÚPSVAR

The Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (ÚPSVAR) reports that Slovakia’s unemployment rate declined at the beginning of this year, but is now increasing again, the Sme daily wrote in its Wednesday, September 7, issue.

Dzurinda expresses disquiet over Tymoshenko case

Slovak Foreign Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda has joined critics of the legal process currently underway against Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the Sme daily reported.

Coalition’s chances of limiting Harabin’s power look slim

The ruling coalition in unlikely to succeed in passing a proposal prepared by Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská intended to divide the posts of Supreme Court president and chair of the Judicial Council, the TASR newswire reported. Both posts are currently held by former justice minister Štefan Harabin.

Matovič releases list of ‘suspicious’ nominees

Independent MP and leader of the Ordinary People faction Igor Matovič has published a list of political nominees who have filled posts in the state administration, the TASR newswire reported.

FNM starts to look for advisor on sale of heating plants

The Slovak Property Fund (FNM) will choose an advisor for the sale of six state-run heating plants via an electronic auction, the SITA newswire reported.

Companies connected to the German community

Everything is different here, foreigners say of Slovakia (video included)

Slovakia exceeds expectations, its people are nice and hospitable, and Slovak wines are not too bad either, say foreign tourists in the streets of Bratislava about their experiences of Slovakia.

“Lean production” helps RIBE to stand among the best

RIBE Slovakia, a company operating production plants in Nitra and Dubnica nad Vahom, was founded in 1996 as a daughter company of RIBE Verbindungstechnik, based in Schwabach, Germany.

Statistics Office reports Slovak GDP grew by 3.3 percent in Q2

Growth in the Slovak economy in the second quarter of 2011 slowed to 3.3 percent, from its previous 3.5 percent in Q1, according to Slovakia’s Statistics Office as reported by the TASR. Statisticians ascribe the results to growth in foreign demand and a decline in domestic demand. Exports of goods and services increased by 12.4 percent while imports increased by 9 percent. On the other hand, domestic demand was 0.8 percent lower than the previous quarter.

Poll shows coalition parties would win more voters’ support than Smer

If parliamentary elections had been held in the beginning September, the four parties of the governing coalition would garner more support than the strongest opposition party, Smer, based on the results of a poll conducted by the MVK agency between August 23 and 29 involving 1,038 respondents, the SITA newswire reported. The poll asked respondents which party they would support if a parliamentary election was held on the weekend of September 10-11.

Slovakia's unemployment rate falls to 13.1 percent in second quarter

Slovakia’s unemployment rate fell in the second quarter by 1.3 percentage points from the same quarter of last year to a level of 13.1 percent and is at the lowest quarterly level since the third quarter of 2009, according to data released by Slovakia’s Statistics Office reported by the SITA newswire wrote.

Malacky Roma family moves from their house, which will now be demolished

The Roma family living on Družstevná Street in Malacky, the subject of media reports over the past several months, have moved from their house, which should be destroyed within two months, the Nový čas daily reported.

US embassy dispatches regarding Smer party are released by WikiLeaks

US diplomatic wires that were published by WikiLeaks include several names of so-called sponsors of the Smer party whose influence had been denied by Robert Fico, the party’s chairman, the Sme daily wrote on September 6.

Germany’s Foreign Minister discusses euro crisis while visiting Slovakia

Europe needs of a culture of stability, said Germany's Foreign Affairs Minister Guido Westerwelle on September 2 in reference to the debt crises affecting several eurozone countries, the TASR newswire reported. "We need a strong currency and this can only be achieved via competitiveness and debt discipline," said the German official at a joint press conference with his Slovak counterpart Mikuláš Dzurinda. Westerwelle went on to cite Germany and Slovakia as examples of such prudent fiscal management, adding that the fact that some countries are mulling the introduction of a "debt brake" in their constitutions points to the fact that the crux of the problem has been identified.

Puma with an unknown owner is roaming western Slovakia

As media began to report on September 1, a puma (Puma concolor) has been running freely near Trnava and last week and scared inhabitants of Bíňovce, Smolenice and other municipalities in the Trnava region, with the mayor of Smolenice warning local residents to be wary, the SITA newswire reported.