Archive of articles - May 2012, page 4
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Damage to cultural monuments mounts
GENERALI Slovensko insurance company has received claims for many thousand of euros because of damage to cultural and historical monuments caused by natural disasters over the last two years. The insurer said the castles and chateaux of Červený Kameň, Bojnice, Zvolen and Krásna Hôrka were among the most-damaged historical monuments, the TASR newswire reported in late March.
Rare eagle undergoes surgery
VETERINARIANS from Košice, environmentalists from the Raptor Protection Society of Slovakia (Ochrana dravcov na Slovensku) and Východoslovenská energetika (VSE), an electricity distribution company with headquarters in Košice, worked together to save a male Eastern imperial eagle, about four years old, which was electrocuted at the end of March.
Court rules on access to Gorilla file
THE SO-CALLED Gorilla file, which describes alleged corrupt practices in Slovak business and politics, will not be pulled from Slovak-hosted websites, the Hospodárske Noviny daily wrote on May 23 as the Regional Court in Bratislava has rejected a request for an interim ruling to do so sought by Jaroslav Haščák, a co-owner of the Penta financial group. His lawsuit sought the removal of the Gorilla file from 13 Slovak websites that host it. The file is purportedly based on transcripts from an undercover investigation by the Slovak Information Service (SIS) spy agency in 2005-6 in which Haščák’s name is frequently mentioned.
Minorities post could go to Most-Híd
THE government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose Smer party controls a majority of seats in parliament, looks set to make an unprecedented decision and appoint an opposition representative to a government post. However, the post of government proxy for national minorities is currently under discussion and it is still not certain that it will be offered to Most-Híd party, which has a strong base among Slovakia’s Hungarian-speaking population, or how much power the holder would wield.
Slovakia's food aid effort hits major bump
THE FOOD AID plan put in place in 2011 was supposed to ameliorate the effects of rising food prices for socially vulnerable groups in society, such as infants, seniors, people with lower incomes and people living below the subsistence level. What seemed last year to be a well-meaning gesture has since turned into a controversy, even resulting in a criminal complaint being filed with the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Chamber Column: Damage from natural disasters rises
MORE AND MORE media headlines cover huge losses caused by natural disasters around the world. This is not only because of the media’s natural appetite for reporting sensational news but also a result of the objective reality of higher losses due to natural disasters in recent years. Some experts claim that the rising number of natural disasters is a consequence of global climate change as well as continuing economic growth.
Institutions and associations in the insurance sector
Ministry of Finance, www.finance.gov.skMinister: Peter Kažimír
Fico: I expected more from EU summit
The talks between EU leaders at an informal leaders' summit in Brussels on Wednesday, May 23, had a general character and, based on the content, Slovakia cannot expect the European Union to be able to agree on specific, resolute pro-growth measures within a short time, Prime Minister Robert Fico has said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Harabin sends open e-mail to judges endorsing specific Judicial Council candidates
Supreme Court chairman Štefan Harabin sent an open e-mail to Slovak judges on Thursday, May 24, in response to what he alleges have been various "conspiracy meetings of regional court chairs and circulating notes", the TASR newswire reported, citing the Supreme Court press department. The message, which contains the names of Judicial Council candidates, is displayed on his private website and clearly indicates which of the candidates enjoys his confidence.
After hockey triumph, Slovakia suffers Eurovision disappointment
Less than a week after winning silver at the Ice Hockey World Championship, Slovakia has failed to make it through to the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest. At Thursday's second semi-final of the contest, which this year is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Slovak contestant, Max Jason Mai, failed to make the cut for the final on Saturday, May 26, the TASR newswire wrote.
Slovak companies and people on high incomes to pay more in taxes
Companies in Slovakia are set to pay tax at 23 percent on their profits instead of the current 19 percent, Prime Minister Robert Fico said after a session of the Council for Solidarity and Development held on Thursday, May 24. The government hopes the hike will raise an additional €366 million in tax revenues.
Striebro
NEITHER the Greeks, nor the Gorillas, nor the union bosses. The only ones able to bring the masses onto the streets are the members of the national hockey team. No matter that the world championships are in no way truly global, and that even in many of the participating countries people don’t have a clue the event is going on. Time and time again a medal causes a national craze that even sceptics find hard to resist. This year’s silver (striebro) is no exception.
Slovak consumer confidence improves
Consumer sentiment in Slovakia increased considerably throughout April as measured by the consumer barometer survey conducted by the Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ). The index increased by 11.5 points in April to reach a level of minus 20.8 points.
Government approves extension of Microsoft agreement
The Slovak government agreed on May 23 that a multi-million euro licence agreement between the state and Microsoft will be extended for another three years, the TASR newswire reported. The state will pay €17.53 million in 2012, €16.83 million in 2013 and €17.18 million in 2014 for Microsoft's services under the extended contract. The government of Prime Minister Robert Fico took action to extend the agreement after the previous cabinet in March decided to leave the decision up to the new government. Radičová justified her decision because of the large amount of money involved. Prior to its decision the government had prepared a detailed analysis of how many licences are needed and how the licenses are being used in state offices, TASR wrote. "The outcome of the negotiations with Microsoft is that there is a possibility to terminate the contract each year throughout the duration of the contract without any sanctions," according to a statement from the Finance Ministry. "At the same time if the agreement is signed before the end of May, we are entitled to a discount of 2 percent," the statement says.
Karol Mrva retains seat on the board of Slovakia’s central bank
Karol Mrva will return for a third term as a member of the board of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) as Prime Minister Robert Fico's cabinet appointed him again to this position on May 23 with an effective date of June 1, 2012. His previous term ended in January this year and Mrva will now be serving his third term on the board of Slovakia's central bank.
Five people charged in eight-year-old Čongrády murder case
The murder of an alleged member of the Bratislava underworld, Peter Čongrády, nearly eight years ago has finally resulted in charges being brought against five individuals, the SITA newswire reported.
Amnesty International reports on segregation of Roma children
The annual report of Amnesty International (AI), a human rights’ watchdog, criticises Slovakia for segregation of Roma and non-Roma children that it wrote starts as early as nursery school, the Sme daily wrote on May 24.
Zita Táborská selected to head Public Procurement Office
Zita Táborská will become the new head of Slovakia’s Public Procurement Office (ÚVO) if approved by parliament, the government recommended at its session on May 23. Proposed for the post by Prime Minister Robert Fico, Táborská has experience in the public procurement sphere and is considered a non-partisan appointment. She is one of the candidates shortlisted by the previous coalition government for the post.
Speaker of Parliament Paška removes ‘Sulík's camera’ in parliament
Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška (Smer) followed through with his promise and removed the camera near the entrance to the parliament chamber on May 23, Paška's spokesman, Pavel Chovanec, informed the media as reported by the TASR newswire. Paška said on TV Markíza's 'Na Telo' political talk show on Sunday that the camera, which had been installed by his predecessor Richard Sulík from Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party to monitor the place where MPs sign an attendance sheet, would be removed, calling it demeaning to MPs. Sulík responded that some MPs cheat by signing the attendance sheet for absent colleagues – and that is what is demeaning. The former speaker of parliament insisted that the camera has an important purpose.
Foreign Minister Lajčák to visit Serbia on behalf of EU officials
Slovakia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák will visit Serbia today, May 24, after opposition Serbian Progression Party leader Tomislav Nikolic won the country’s presidential election held last weekend. Lajčák will travel to Serbia also on behalf of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, as Lajčák knows a number of Serbian politicians from his earlier post in Bosnia.
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- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
