Archive of articles - The Slovak Spectator

Kia Motors Slovakia to increase staff salaries by 4.5 percent

As of February, Kia Motors Slovakia will increase the basic salaries of all its employees by 4.5 percent, according to company spokesman Dušan Dvořák, who added that employees' basic salaries could also grow individually throughout the rest of the year in line with the firm’s internal rules, the SITA newswire reported.

Slovak National Gallery fires four employees over ‘overpriced website’

The Slovak National Gallery fired four employees because of what has been called an “overpriced” new website and announced it will take further measures such as amending internal guidelines on financial audits as of February 1, 2012, to follow-up on a partial audit recently conducted, the SITA newswire reported.

Slovak political parties wary of ACTA and some reject it entirely

Even though the co-ruling Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) party supports the concept of protection of intellectual property, it has certain reservations about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in its current form, said SDKÚ MP Ivan Štefanec to the TASR newswire on January 30. "The manner in which this agreement was prepared raises suspicions in how it was submitted to the [EU's] Agriculture [and Fisheries] Council ... We suspect that in the draft there are elements restricting freedom of speech on the internet and elements restricting free competition," Štefanec stated, adding that an amendment to existing Slovak laws would be enough to tackle the perceived lack of protection of intellectual property here.

Bekaert Slovakia to expand its plant in Sládkovičovo

Bekaert Slovakia will invest some €36 million to expand its plant in Sládkovičovo that makes cord and bead wire for tires. The Economy Ministry reported that the project will open 287 new jobs and that the company has applied for state assistance, the SITA newswire reported.

Hackers initiate attack on Slovak parliament's website

The 'Anonymous' hacker movement said it launched an attack against the website of Slovakia’s parliament at 18:00 on Monday, January 30, the TASR newswire reported.

Slovakia’s national football team coach resigns

Vladimir Weiss, the head coach of Slovakia’s national football team, resigned his position following a lengthy discussion with Ján Kováčik, the president of the Slovak Football Association (SFZ), the TASR newswire reported. Weiss's contract ran through December 31, 2013 but according to Kováčik, Weiss will leave his position on January 31 this year and receive severance of €105,000. The national team will play under a new, unnamed coach on February 29 in a friendly match in Bursa, Turkey against the Turkish national team. The new coach will also lead Slovakia into the 2014 World Cup qualifying round that will begin in autumn. Slovakia is in a group that includes Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Lithuania and Liechtenstein.

Prime minister files criminal motion over the MOKYS communications system

Prime Minister Iveta Radičová (Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ)), who also serves as acting Defence Minister, filed a criminal motion with the Interior Ministry in relation to a contract to deliver a mobile military communications system, called MOKYS, on January 30, the SITA newswire reported.

Second Gorilla protest set in Bratislava for February 3

A second protest against the ‘Gorilla political environment’ is scheduled for Friday, February 3 in Bratislava and organisers are predicting as many as 10,000 participants, the TASR newswire reported. "The local authority in Bratislava’s Old Town district received a request to allow a public gathering on SNP Square on Friday between 16:00 and 19:00," TASR was informed by Old Town’s spokesman Tomáš Halán. A Gorilla protest last Friday, with about 2,000 participants, was held in reaction to revelations coming from the Gorilla wiretapping scandal that points to alleged massive corruption within Slovakia's top politics.

Hackers from Anonymous group say they shut down websites in Slovakia

The official websites of Slovakia’s Government Office and the Economy Ministry were inaccessible for a couple of hours on the evening of January 28 evening after apparently being hacked by the Anonymous movement. Earlier the group said it had hacked the webpage of Prima Banka (former Dexia Banka) that is owned by the Penta financial group as well as the internet site of the civic association 99 percent, the TASR newswire reported.

Protests against ‘Gorilla politics’ may expand to other Slovak towns

The first protest against politicians featured in the Gorilla file held in Bratislava on January 27 was attended by up to 1,000 people but it apparently did not significantly catch the attention of politicians, the Sme daily reported. While demonstrators expressed their dissatisfaction with the current political situation by throwing bananas, eggs and firecrackers in front of the Presidential Palace and the parliament building, several MPs told Sme that they do not consider the demonstration a serious problem.

Economic sentiment indicator in Slovakia improves in January

The economic sentiment indicator in Slovakia improved at the beginning of 2012 as it went up by 1.1 points month-on-month and reached the level of 90.2 points. The Statistics Office attributes the upswing to more optimistic outlooks of industrial businesses as well as consumers, the SITA newswire reported.

A scene from a film made by the IOM that describes the crime of human trafficking and how to combat it.

Alert: human traffickers

FALLING into a trap set by human traffickers changed his life. Július, a man in his fifties, accepted an opportunity to leave a region of Slovakia with high unemployment to earn some money abroad. Everything seemed to be all right, his future employer even drove him by car to Italy. Upon arrival, however, he was confronted with the reality that rather than the promised job on a construction site he was forced to beg and collect money for his captors. Having no place to sleep, living on the street in the same clothes with little food, and under permanent threat from his captors, Július suffered greatly until he was rescued by Slovak tourists who took him to a local police station.

Microsoft deal draws criticism

THE STATE will pay €52.6 million to prolong its software licensing agreement with US-based Microsoft for another three years. Though the Finance Ministry said that the final sum will be lower than that agreed by the previous government, political ethics watchdogs have warned that the contract is being signed without detailed analysis.

Campaigning hit by early blizzard

POLITICAL parties are lining up their campaign artillery in preparation for the March 10 general election – and some of the weaponry looks very similar on both sides of the line. The centre-right parties, for instance, are using some of the left’s traditional big guns, such as the promise of new jobs and solutions for the country’s high unemployment. However, none of the parties are likely to find an issue big enough to immediately divert attention from the ongoing debate over the Gorilla file, an as-yet unverified document containing the alleged results of a covert investigation by the country’s intelligence service suggesting there was high-level corruption during the second government of Mikuláš Dzurinda in 2005-6. The file has been dominating politics since Christmas.

Thermia Palace Hotel in Piešťany celebrates

The world-famous spa in Piešťany marked an anniversary recently: the town’s art nouveau Thermia Palace Hotel celebrated its 100th year. Located on the landscaped Spa Island in Piešťany, which is known for its healing mud-spa, this five-star hotel is directly connected to the Irma spa. Both facilities represent the architecture and art of the beginning of the 20th century.

Easy targets of campaigning

THE CAMPAIGN machines of the parties are now marching across the country, hoping to win the support of anyone still willing to listen to any politician after the waves of disillusionment that have washed over so many Slovaks. The first wave came with the collapse of the centre-right government last October when the EU bailout vote killed the hopes of many citizens to see initiatives such as Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská’s efforts to sweep the cobwebs of secrecy from the judiciary come to full fruition.

A long way from Slovakia: the Malagasay countryside.

Madagascar square named after Slovak explorer

THE TOWN of Antalaha on the north-eastern coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean has named a new public square after Móric Beňovský, the 18th century Slovak explorer who for a short time was a ruler of part of the island.

Harabin seeks €150,000 in ECHR case

IN A complaint filed with the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR), Štefan Harabin, the president of Slovakia’s Supreme Court, is demanding €150,000 in compensation for disciplinary action taken against him in 2011. Though the ECHR accepted Harabin’s complaint, it has made no ruling on the case, the TASR newswire reported.

A cost-saving way to make snow

WHILE natural snow does not cost ski resort operators anything, most of them cannot totally rely on Mother Nature. When natural precipitation fails, they must reach for their snow-making machines and that is not a cheap process.

Budget deficit falls to 4.6 percent

SLOVAKIA’S public finance deficit fell from 8.1 percent of GDP in 2010 to 4.6 percent at the end of 2011, the Finance Ministry announced at press conference on January 26. The result was better than expected: the ministry’s had previously predicted that the deficit would fall to 4.9 percent in 2011, the TASR newswire reported.

Archive of articles - January 2012