Archive of articles - page 7 - The Slovak Spectator

Sme: War criminal Csatáry charged in Hungary

After efforts of the Slovak side, the Hungarian Prosecutor’s Office charged László Csatáry, aged 98, for war crimes dating back to World War II. “He is accused of illegal executions and torturing people, which he committed partially as a perpetrator and partially as an accomplice,” the Budapest Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Bettina Bagolyová specified, as quoted by the Sme daily.

18. jun 2013

Nearly 200 people evacuated from fire at Economic University

The Monday, June 17 fire at the residence hall of the University of Economy in Bratislava resulted in 193 people being evacuated. Out of the evacuees, 153 were examined but no injuries were found.

18. jun 2013

Police identify man who drowned in Danube during floods

The police have informed that the body of the young man who was fished out of the Gabčíkovo dam on Sunday, June 16 evening, is Patrik R., aged 24, who was reported missing since June 9. Trnava Regional Police spokesperson Martina Kredatusová told the SITA newswire that Patrik R. is probably the person who was seen jumping into the Danube River from Bratislava’s Old Bridge.

18. jun 2013

Median SK Poll: Smer would win election, KDH would top opposition

The results of a poll conducted by the Median SK polling agency in May indicate that if the election had taken place between April 29 and May 26, the Smer party would have won with 47.3 percent of the vote, and five other parties would have cleared the 5-percent threshold necessary for winning seats in parliament.

18. jun 2013

Explosion at U.S. Steel Košice complex, no casualties reported

The No 2 blast furnace in the U.S. Steel Košice plant was damaged from a blast that occurred on Tuesday, June 18.

18. jun 2013

ARDAL sells government bonds worth €213 million in total

The Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL) has recently sold government bonds worth a total of €213 million, Juraj Pekár of ARDAL told the TASR newswire on Monday, June 17. Overall demand accounted for €235 million, including bids worth €140.5 million from non-residents.

18. jun 2013

Slovak stretch of Danube now fully navigable

18. jun 2013

Judge sentenced to five years for accepting bribes

The Specialised Criminal Court sentenced the judge of the Topoľčany District Court, Vlastimil V., to five years in prison for accepting a bribe and abusing the power of a public official. Moreover, he was fined €2000 and banned from serving as a judge for five an additional years.

18. jun 2013

Minister Glváč: Newest document on VSS embezzlement contradicts rest of the file

Seven pages of the file on alleged embezzlement at the Military Intelligence Service (VSS) between 2004 and 2008 that were leaked last week contradict the rest of the document, Defence Minister Martin Glváč told the Special Parliamentary Committee for Supervising Military Intelligence (VS) on Monday, June 17.

18. jun 2013

Capable Logistician 2013 international military exercise starts in Slovakia

The largest international logistics military exercise, Capable Logistician 2013 (CL13), was officially launched in Slovakia on Monday, June 17. Nearly 1,800 troops from 35 NATO member and partner countries are taking part in the exercise at the Slovak Army training facility Lešť in central Slovakia.

18. jun 2013

Smer deputies elect Čižnár to top prosecutor job

AFTER a more than two-year-long tug-of-war over one of the most powerful posts in the country, in a Smer-orchestrated secret ballot, Jaromír Čižnár, a former law-school classmate of Prime Minister Robert Fico, was elected to become Slovakia’s candidate for the general prosecutor on June 18. The opposition parties did not attend the vote in parliament, arguing that the country already has a nominee for general prosecutor - Jozef Čentéš - whom parliament elected back in June 2011, but whom President Ivan Gašparovič has since refused to appoint. A complaint lodged by Čentéš against the president’s refusal to appoint him is pending at the Constitutional Court, with Čižnár saying that he would step down to make way for Čentéš only if the court rules that he violated Čentéš’ civil rights by seeking election.

Beata Balogová 18. jun 2013

Head of General Staff files criminal complaint against Svrčeková

Head of the Slovak General Staff Peter Vojtek submitted a criminal complaint against Lieutenant Katarína Svrčeková, who is allegedly on very close terms with former Military Intelligence Service (VSS) director Roman Mikulec, for avoiding military service. According to him, Svrčeková refused to apply for a security clearance and at a meeting with journalists on June 13 she confessed that she acted with a specific purpose to leave the military, despite still being under valid contract, the TASR newswire reported on June 14.

17. jun 2013

Doprastav might build Višňové tunnel

The state has allegedly chosen construction company Doprastav, which recently had its accounts frozen, to build the most important section of the cross-country D1 highway: the tunnel near Višňové. The company has already received a letter from the National Highway Company (NDS) in which the state has accepted its offer, the Hospodárske Noviny daily reported in its June 14 issue.

17. jun 2013

OSCE report criticises court cases over media coverage in Slovakia

Despite the criticism from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) of court trials over media coverage in Slovakia, the country’s politicians have done nothing to change the current situation, the Sme daily reported on June 17, in response to the organisation’s report, in which Dunja Mijatović, OSCE representative on freedom of the media, criticises the court hearings involving the Slovak media. In the Regular Report to the Permanent Council, which describes the situation and the freedom of the media, journalists and the internet in Europe and the US, published on June 13, she points to, among other things, her communication with Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák.

17. jun 2013

Richter will remain in hospital

Labour Minister Ján Richter will stay in the hospital this week while he recovers from a spinal injury suffered in a car accident that occurred on June 11 near Pata, Trnava Region, the TASR newswire reported.

17. jun 2013

Only one candidate proposed for NKÚ chair so far

Only one MP filed a proposal for a candidate for the election of the chief post of the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ), scheduled for June 25. Mária Ritomská of Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) suggested Ján Vrbacký, about whom she said has extensive experience with managing state bodies. The NKÚ is still led by Ján Jasovský, whose tenure expired last February, as parliament has failed to elect his successor after five attempts, the SITA newswire reported on June 14.

17. jun 2013

Čižnár attends hearing before new GP vote

If the Constitutional Court confirms that Jaromír Čižnár, the only candidate in the election for the post of the Slovak general prosecutor, which will take place on June 18, violated the rights of general prosecutor-elect Jozef Čentéš with his participation in the new vote, he will resign from the post. Čižnár said so during the hearing at the parliamentary constitutional committee, adding that he will not step down in other instances, for example, if the court rules that President Ivan Gašparovič violated Čentéš’ right when he refused to appoint him to the post, the TASR newswire reported on June 17.

17. jun 2013

Family of victims in Hurbanovo shooting submits complaint to Constitutional Court

The family of the victims of the Hurbanovo shooting, in which former municipal police officer Milan Juhász killed three Roma people and injured another two, filed a complaint to the Constitutional Court, saying that the ruling of the Specialised Criminal Court, as well as the trial, violated their rights. The court accepted the complaint on May 27, and has already given it to the judge rapporteur, the SITA newswire reported on June 16.

17. jun 2013