Archive of articles - January 2012, page 11
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Getting out the vote among Slovaks abroad
SLOVAKS living abroad have only a few days remaining to make a request for an absentee ballot if they want to vote in the early parliamentary elections on March 10. Slovak citizens living permanently or temporarily in another country must contact their municipal office by January 20 and register to vote by mail.
Doctors should receive payment for vaccinations, says health minister
Current problems surrounding the vaccination of Slovak children could continue, the Sme daily wrote. These started in December 2011, when a law ordering doctors to buy vaccines became effective. Before then, it was usually the patients themselves who bought vaccines, or else waited for their doctor or nurse to procure them on their behalf based on a prescription. Now many doctors are refusing to purchase vaccines directly, and so parents are facing delays getting their children vaccinated.
Different versions of New Year's race-based brawl in Zlaté Moravce emerge
The civic association People against Racism (Ľudia Proti Rasizmu) says it has information that initial reports describing a New Year's Eve incident which included a mass brawl between local Roma and non-Roma people in the town of Zlaté Moravce may have been inaccurate.
Number of rail passengers fell after fare hike
The number of passengers travelling by train grew for most of last year, but then fell after an increase in ticket prices in November, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovak Telekom sues regulator over ‘retroactivity’ of licensing decision
Slovak Telekom (ST) has launched a challenge at the Supreme Court against a decision by the Telecommunications Office (TÚ), which regulates the sector, to turn down an application lodged by ST in January 2011 to prolong its licence to operate mobile telephone networks. At the time the law did not allow the state to charge a fee for licence prolongation, the Sme daily wrote. A law change, introducing a fee for extension of licenses and cancelling all previous proceedings, took effect in April 2011, after which ST’s renewed application was resubmitted and granted – but only in return for a fee.
Slovak Interior Ministry compensates Czech truck driver
Czech truck driver Zdeněk Pekara, who had to spend Christmas 2010 in a Turkish prison after a failed attempt by Slovak police to net a ring of drug smugglers, has received €25,000 in compensation from the Slovak Interior Ministry for being unwittingly involved in the police operation, the Sme daily reported.
KDH will not back Bubeníková, but she will probably keep her job
Anna Bubeníková will probably remain in her job as chair of the National Property Fund (FNM), a position to which she was appointed by the governing Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ). While two of the governing parties, the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), want her to be dismissed, the remaining two, the SDKÚ and Most-Híd, are backing her, the Sme daily reported.
Growth in industrial production stalled in November
The Industrial Production Index (IPP) rose by only 0.4 percent year-on-year in November 2011, according to data published by the Statistics Office. Compared to the previous month industrial production, after seasonal influences were removed, fell by 2.4 percent month-on-month, the TASR newswire reported.
Price for health-care IT system disclosed
The Health-Care Oversight Authority (ÚDZS) and the German Institute for Payment Systems in Hospitals (InEK) have agreed to disclose the final price for development and implementation of the so-called Diagnosis-Related-Groups (DRG) system in Slovakia. The ÚDZS also posted the contract on cooperation on its website and to the Central Register of Contracts in order to make it valid, the SITA newswire reported.
Cabinet sacks head of privatisation agency
THE CABINET of Iveta Radičová sacked Anna Bubeníková, a nominee of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), from the top post at the National Property Fund (FNM), the state privatisation agency, on January 11. Bubeníková’s dismissal comes after a file purporting to describe an operation codenamed Gorilla conducted by the Slovak Information Service (SIS), the country’s main intelligence agency, in 2005-6 was leaked on the internet. The file states that Bubeníková served as a go-between for Jaroslav Haščák, co-owner of the Penta financial group, and the FNM, where she also worked in 2005.
Central register accumulates 110,000 public-sector contracts in a year
Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská from the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) party lit a single candle on a birthday cake to celebrate the first year of mandatory publication of public-sector contracts on the internet, the SITA newswire reported.
Polis poll in December finds Smer party would capture 75 seats in parliament
According to a telephone opinion poll conducted by the Polis agency among a sample of 1,226 respondents, Smer party would have won a general election in mid December with 40.2 percent of the votes, the TASR newswire reported. The poll was conducted between December 15 and 23. The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) finished second with support from 9.6 percent of those polled, followed by the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) at 8.7 percent. The three remaining parties that would have made it to parliament were Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) with 8.3 percent, Most-Híd with 8.1 percent and the Slovak National Party (SNS) with 5.7 percent.
Sme reports Radičová will clean house at the VOP Nováky state-run company
Prime Minister Iveta Radičová, who is also acting defence minister, has decided that Ľubomír Repčík, the chair of the board of directors of the VOP Nováky military maintenance company, and the members of the state-run firm's supervisory board will be dismissed, the Sme daily reported.
Judicial Council to vote again on a new Supreme Court vice-president
Slovakia’s Judicial Council will vote for a new Supreme Court vice-president once again as this is on the agenda for the next session of the council to be held on January 17, the SITA newswire reported.
Interior Minister Lipšic sets up special police team to review Gorilla case
A special team of 10 investigators was established by Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic on January 9 to review the so-called Gorilla case, the TASR newswire reported.
Galko files criminal complaint claiming official malfeasance
Former defence minister Ľubomír Galko from Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has filed a criminal complaint with the police regarding the Gorilla case, suggesting that political corruption occurred during Mikuláš Dzurinda's second government (2002-06), the TASR newswire reported. Galko said he turned to the police because he believes that malfeasance in office occurred and also said the Gorilla file reveals a failure of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) to act appropriately.
SaS party seeks special session of parliament to review the Gorilla case
MPs from the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party are seeking to collect 30 signatures from MPs to convene a special session of parliament to discuss the Gorilla case, reportedly involving top politicians during the second government term of Mikuláš Dzurinda from 2002-2006, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovakia’s foreign trade balance posts surplus of €327.5 million in November
Slovakia's foreign trade accounts posted a surplus of €327.5 million in November 2011, which was €202.4 million higher than 2010, the Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ) announced on January 9, as reported by TASR. Exports reached €5.254 billion in November, representing year-on-year growth of 7.5 percent while imports grew by 3.5 percent to €4.926 billion. The accumulated trade surplus for the first eleven months of 2011 was €2.526 billion, €1.548 billion more than for the same period in 2010.
Large Slovak holding company to be formed
The owner of the investment group Istrokapitál, Mario Hoffman, businessmen from Slavia Capital, Peter Gabalec and Martin Kvietik, and representatives of Sitno Holding owned by former economy minister Ľudovít Černák will establish a joint holding of eight companies with basic capital of €100 million, the Hospodárske Noviny daily reported.
Orthodox Christians in Slovakia celebrate Christmas
Orthodox Christians living in Slovakia, who observe the Julian calendar, celebrated Christmas during the past weekend, the TASR newswire reported.
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