Archive of articles - January 2014, page 2
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Attackers from Nitra detained, soon to be charged
THREE months after a group of neo-Nazis brutally attacked patrons at a bar in Nitra, the police have detained the five perpetrators and are likely to arrest another three people in connection with a later attack at the same bar on New Year’s Eve. The arrest came on the heels of the Sme daily breaking the story on January 28.
ECHR: Rent control violates property owners’ rights
RENT control, applied to certain properties in Bratislava and Trnava, infringes on the rights of property owners, the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on January 28.
NBS releases more optimistic economic outlook for 2014
The Slovak economy will do better than originally expected in 2014 according to the Slovak central bank’s (NBS) latest forecast released January 28. “Compared to the December forecast, in the medium-term horizon the outlook for macro-economic developments has improved moderately due to the faster growth of the domestic economy and the expected better export performance in 2015,” informed NBS, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Visegrad 4 prime ministers to meet on Ukraine
Prime ministers of the Visegrad Four countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) will meet late on January 29 at an extraordinary summit in Budapest to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, along with several ministers from his cabinet, are also due to meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his ministers to conclude a number of intergovernmental agreements, the Government Office press department informed the TASR newswire. Orbán and Tusk will be joined at the working dinner by their Slovak and Czech counterparts Robert Fico and Bohuslav Sobotka. Ukrainian Parliament has annulled most of the legislation passed January 16 that significantly restricted freedom of speech and fuelled the anti-government protests. According to official sources, street violence has claimed three lives, with dozens injured.
Smer to vote in favour of special parliamentary session on Dubovcová
The ruling Smer party will vote in favour of the agenda for an opposition-initiated special parliamentary session on Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová, enabling the parliament to hold the session January 29. “I think this topic is serious enough... and deserves to be debated. And we are ready for that,” said Smer caucus head Jana Laššáková for the TASR newswire, adding that the session will be attended by Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák. The session was initiated by the People's Party platform (Slovak democratic and Christian Union-SDKÚ, Christian-Democratic Movement-KDH, and Most-Híd) after the government at a regular session refused to allow Dubovcová to express her concerns regarding a brutal police raid at a Roma settlement near Moldava nad Bodvou last June. Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed that Dubovcová overstepped her powers by addressing the cabinet directly, failing to appeal to its subordinate bodies - the Interior Ministry and the police. The ombudswoman maintains that she’s appealed both to the ministry and the Police Corps - to no avail. Dubovcová views the crackdown as an example of the use of inappropriate force. The aim of the People’s Platform is to express its grave concerns over the failure of the government to let the ombudswoman speak at the session, to get parliament to discuss her special report on the potential violation of human rights and freedoms, and to oblige the government to tackle the lack of adequate premises for the ombudswoman’s office.
Head of the Slovak National Museum is leaving
One of the key cultural institutions in Slovakia, the Slovak National Museum (SNM), will see a change at the post of general manager. The incumbent head, Rastislav Púdelka, asked Culture Minister Marek Maďarič to release him from the position of statutory of the SNM for health reasons as of January 31.
Kešjar to lead new regulatory office
The recently formed Office for Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services should be led by Vladimír Kešjar who until recently was the vice-chair of the Slovak Telecommunication Office (TÚ). The office was established as of January 1, 2014, by merging of two regulatory offices falling under the remit of the Transport Ministry: the TÚ and the Postal Regulatory Office.
Survey: One quarter of people encounter extremism every month
ABOUT 23 percent of Slovaks are confronted with some expression of extremism once a month, according to a survey on public opinion towards violence and extremism in society, carried out by Mediaresearch Slovakia on 1,320 respondents aged 16 and up. Respondents cite hooliganism and vandalism as the most frequent forms of extremist behaviour, the TASR newswire reported.
Some firms prefer hiring graduates with experience
HANDS-ON practice in the field in which a person studied is important for 7 percent of companies looking for new employees. Moreover, these firms would prefer not to hire fresh graduates, according to the survey carried out the company AKO, titled The Most Required Working Position in 2013.
Poll shows ĽSNS making it into parliament
IF parliamentary elections had taken place in the second half of January, People’s Party – Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) led by Marian Kotleba, the new far-right governor of Banská Bystrica Region, would make it into parliament with 7.6 percent of the vote, according to a survey carried out by the MVK agency between January 15 and 21 on 1,106 respondents.
TIS: Hospitals paying more for electricity
SOME state-run hospitals paid more for electricity last year than they should have, according to an analysis by the ethics watchdog Transparency International Slovensko (TIS), which surveyed nine of 10 hospitals with the highest number of public tenders. The organisation says that the facilities should be able to negotiate lower prices, the SITA newswire reported.
Police investigate Nitra neo-Nazi attack three months late (video included)
LAST OCTOBER a group of skinhead youths brutally attacked customers in front of the Mariatchi Bar in downtown Nitra, a popular student hangout, and broke the leg of the bar’s owner.
Work-free Sunday supported by tens of thousands
OVER 55,000 people signed the petition to support legislation that would ban working on Sundays, the civic association Alliance for Sunday - Slovakia, which ran the petition, announced on January 27.
Ethical rules for judges to be codified
JUDICIAL councils at Slovak courts can now comment on the working material on the principles of judicial ethics prepared by the Slovak Judges Association, the Slovak Judicial Council decided on January 27, as reported by the TASR newswire.
Parliament to discuss Gov’t treatment of ombudswoman
AN EXTRAORDINARY session will be convened by parliament on January 29, devoted to the government’s conduct towards Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová, Parliament’s Speaker Pavol Paška decided.
Funding for minorities reduced this year
MINORITIES living in Slovakia will receive some €420,000 less for cultural activities than last year, former government proxy for minorities Laszlo Nagy from Most-Hid said on January 27.
Poll shows Fico facing Procházka in run-off
IF PRESIDENTIAL elections had taken place between January 15-21, Prime Minister Robert Fico would have advanced to the second round with 40.1 percent, along with independent candidate Radoslav Procházka with 13.6 percent, according to the results of an MVK poll that were released on January 27.
UPDATED: Bank operations limited between January 31 and February 2
SEVERAL banks will offer only limited services during the weekend of January 31-February 2 as they will transit to the new SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area). Many have already published the warnings on their website, the TASR newswire reported.
Yanukovych lied to the EU, his trustworthiness suffered, Lajčák says
THE TRUSTWORTHINESS of the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych suffered after it turned out he lied to the European Union (EU) when he claimed he wanted to sign the association agreements and then suddenly changed his mind, said Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák on the public-service RTVS televised debate Janaury 26.
Scientific centre to be built in east
A NEW scientific centre for biomedical research will be built in the eastern-Slovak village of Šarišské Michaľany. The Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) will build it using an EU grant and additional resources from the state budget.
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- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
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- The compass points to Kúty, and people are starting to follow
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
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- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
