Archive of articles - July 2012
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Stará Ľubovňa: What a difference a loan can make
Once upon a time there was a king who needed money for his invasions. To solve his temporary money shortage he borrowed some cash from another emperor and gave his castle and some nearby towns as a pledge, hoping that his activities would fetch him enough money to settle the loan and get the deposited territory back.
Interior Minister presents plans for new public procurement rules
Some public procurement procedures will take no longer than a few hours – according to the amendment to the public procurement law made by the Interior Ministry. They should be facilitated by a permanent auction, a so-called electronic marketplace. Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák presented plans for the new rules at a press conference on Monday, July 30.
LGBT community will have representation from Government Council
The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) community in Slovakia will see its dream of having a committee at the Government Council for Human Rights, Minorities, and Gender Equality come true. Members of the council voted to establish the committee for the LGBT community at their first meeting, presided over by the new head of the current government consulting body, Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák. None of the members voted against the proposal while nobody abstained from voting, either.
Index of economic sentiment down 1.8 points in July
The Index of Economic Sentiment (IES) fell by 1.8 points on a monthly basis to 90.1 points in July, the Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ) announced on Monday, July 30. The developments were due to negative trends in all areas assessed but the retail sector. The index was 4 points lower year-on-year, while lagging behind the long-term average by 7.5 points, the TASR newswire quoted the ŠÚ.
Employers Union RÚZ: Labour code changes will make up to 50,000 jobless
The proposed changes to the Labour Code constitute an unprecedented assault on the Slovak labour market, vice-president of the Republican Union of Employers (RÚZ) Ľuboš Sirota told a press conference on Monday, July 30. Sirota pinpointed the most negative changes such as those affecting work via employment agencies, overtime and simultaneous severance and notice periods. These changes will destroy the flexibility of the labour market, he opined, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Monday was not a good day for the Slovak Olympic team
The day after Slovak shooter Danka Barteková won Slovakia's first medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the women's skeet competition, her teammate Jozef Gonci did not do nearly as well at the Royal Artillery Barracks on Monday, July 30. Gonci, 38, who already won two bronze Olympic medals in his career, didn't qualify among the final eight in his main discipline - the men's 10m air rifle. The oldest member of the team and Slovakia's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony scored 591, ending 31st.
Fico urges each opposition party to field own candidate for NKÚ head
Each opposition party should submit its own candidate for the post of head of the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ), Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) said after meeting opposition representatives on Monday, July 30.
Borec: We're interested in the extradition of László Csatáry
Justice Minister Tomáš Borec has an interest in seeing alleged war criminal László Csatáry, who served as a senior police functionary and representative of the Hungarian occupation administration in Košice in the 1940s, extradited to Slovakia for prosecution.
Government: Additional measures worth €500 million necessary
The Slovak government must adopt additional measures worth €498.20 million if it wants to stick to its budgetary goals for this year – a 4.6-percent deficit with a goal toward shrinking it to 3 percent in 2013, according to a decision made by the Cabinet at a session on Monday, July 30.
Slovakia’s first medal goes to Barteková
Shooter Danka Barteková won the first medal for Slovakia at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London after she earned bronze in women’s skeet shooting. The gold belongs to US shooter Kimberly Rhode, while Chinese contestant Wei Ning won silver, the TASR newswire reported on July 29.
Lajčák ends his trip to the USA
Meetings with officials from the National Security Council (NSC) and key NGOs as well as Slovaks living in the US marked the end of Slovakia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák’s visit to the US, the TASR newswire reported on July 27.
First cars used new bypass around Banská Bystrica
The northern bypass around Banská Bystrica, the last of four sections of the dual carriageway R1 Pribina between Nitra and Tekovské Nemce, was opened to drivers on Friday, July 27. The 5.7-kilometre bypass built by the construction company Granvia cost about €160 million, the TASR newswire reported.
Belizean minister sends Mello home
The government of Belize is ready to extradite Slovak murder suspect Karol Mello, the country’s Immigration Minister Godwin Hulse has told a journalist in an interview with 7newsbelize.com, published on July 26.
Stalin statue covered with red paint
AN UNKNOWN vandal spilled red paint over a huge statue of Joseph Stalin that was on display outside of the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) as part of its exhibition called An Interrupted Song (Prerušená pieseň). The incident occurred on July 23 at noon and the SNG told the media that its video cameras and constant monitoring of the area in front of the Esterhazy Palace across from Štúra Square in Bratislava could lead to the arrest of the vandal. The museum filed a criminal complaint with the police.
Slovak Paralympic team prepares
SLOVAKIA will field 32 athletes at the Paralympic Games 2012, which London will host between August 29 and September 9. The Paralympic squad consists of 30 physically challenged athletes and two visually disabled athletes, who will compete in nine sports. Another four athletes will stand by as alternates, the SITA newswire reported.
Chambers question labour plans
PARALLEL entitlement to a layoff notice period as well as severance pay, reduced overtime, making layoffs more expensive for employers, shorter temporary work contracts and more power for trade unions: this is how the Labour Ministry envisions fulfilment of one of the main election slogans of the ruling Smer party, namely “More certainties for people”. Several members of the business community nevertheless argue that people can have certainties only when they have jobs and suggest that the changes proposed by the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico to the country’s Labour Code might not encourage job creation – rather, the opposite.
High hopes for medals at the London Olympics
THE SMALLEST team ever, with half its athletes competing for the first time at a Summer Olympic Games: these are two characteristics often stated about the Slovak team competing at the world’s most prestigious sporting event, in London. Over the next two weeks many Slovaks will tune in to watch the 30th edition of the modern-day Olympic Games in the capital of the United Kingdom, hoping that several Slovaks will return home with medals.
Slovak House gets high-profile address
OLYMPIC venues in London will be not the only place where Slovakia is represented in the city. As in previous Olympic years and locations, Slovakia will have a temporary ‘Slovak House’ for the duration of the games. This time it will be sited in the high-profile address of the Institute of Directors, near Piccadilly Circus in central London. While the venue should serve for official celebrations of any medals that Slovak athletes win, as well as for official presentation of Slovakia and as a venue for prominent visits, the general public can get a taste of Slovakia in the nearby Sports Café in Haymarket.
Slovak athletes participating in the 2012 Olympic Games in London
Athletics (11 athletes):1. Matej Tóth (50km race walk)2. Miloš Bátovský (50km race walk)3. Lucia Klocová (800m, 1500m)4. Dana Velďáková (triple jump)5. Michal Kabelka (high jump)6. Martina Hrašnová (hammer throw)7. Mária Czaková (20km race walk)8. Anton Kučmín (20km race walk)9. Katarína Berešová (marathon)10. Marcel Lomnický (hammer throw)11. Jana Velďáková (long jump)
Slovak mobile app for the Olympics
THE SLOVAK Olympic Committee has launched an official free application for mobile telephones. The application, named Slovak Olympic Committee – London 2012, is in Slovak and English and is available for the Android and iOS operating systems. The latter is for iPhones and iPads. The app offers current information and photos from the Summer Olympics as well as a complete list of Slovak athletes competing in London, their events and basic biographical information. Another part of the application includes a list of past Slovak Olympic medallists.
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