Archive of articles - April 2014, page 11
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PPS Group to increase wages, strike cancelled
The labour action that was announced by the trade union of the engineering company PPS Group Detva for April 14 has been cancelled thanks to an agreement between the unions and the company’s leadership on an across-the-board pay rise of €25 per month and on retaining all social benefits. The salary rise represents an increase from 2.6 to 5.9 percent depending on the pay grid. After the rise, the base salary will be €450.58 per month (excluding bonuses), the TASR newswire wrote on April 10. “We are very pleased with being able to arrive at an agreement in all areas, including salary increases,” PPS Group Detva CEO Giorgio Salomoni said. The collective bargaining was marked by the possibility of a strike which the local trade-union organisation last week announced for April 14. “Collective bargaining was successful,” union leader Stanislav Lupták said. “We consider the compromise reached on wage issues to be a solution acceptable to both the employees and the company.”
Police subdue man after car chase in Petržalka
Police gave chase to a car on Bratislava’s Panónska street on April 10 afternoon, and the driver eventually sustained a gunshot wound to his leg and ended up under arrest. The police flattened the tires of the dark blue Opel driven by the fleeing suspect, who was then taken out of the car and handcuffed. Ten police cars were on site then, the pluska.sk tabloid website wrote. Traffic on the road resumed after some 45 minutes. The driver was chased all the way from the borough of Rusovce on the capital’s outskirts, according to pluska.sk. “The man suffered a gunshot injury to his thigh,” spokesman for emergency services Boris Chmel is quoted as saying. “Paramedics took him to the hospital on Antolská street as soon as they could.” University Hospital spokeswoman Petra Stano Maťašovská told TASR newswire that the man is set to undergo an operation. He’s reported to be in a stable condition and his life isn’t in danger. “The situation arisen doesn’t enable us to make any further comments, we’ll provide more information post haste,” said Police Corps spokesman Michal Szeiff.
Slovenské Elektrárne and The Slovak Spectator awarded Via Bona prize
The Via Bona Slovakia award for 2013 for the most responsible big company went to the Slovenské Elektrárne. In the category of middle-sized/small company, the Nadácie Pontis foundation gave the prize to The Rock publishing house, parent company of The Slovak Spectator weekly.
Swimsuit model claims to have killed British millionaire in self-defence
Slovak swimsuit model Mária Kukučová, aged 24, charged with murder of British millionaire and former boyfriend Andrew Bush, 48, claimed that she killed Bush in self-defence, the topky.sk website wrote on April 10. The case of Kukučová has received significant coverage in media abroad. The young model claimed to have entered into a heated argument with Bush who supposedly physically assaulted her before she shot him dead. Kukučová allegedly travelled to his villa in Spain to discuss alimony, as she’s pregnant with his child. Kukučová voluntarily surrendered herself to police on April 8, accompanied by her new boyfriend. After interrogation, she was escorted to Faculty Hospital in Trenčín for a medical examination of bruises supposed to corroborate her version of being physically attacked by Bush.
Sunday Parades to begin in Stará Tržnica, Bratislava
THE OLD Market-Hall / Stará Tržnica is starting to liven up, with more and more events occurring in this venue on the SNP Square in Bratislava. A new regular event called Nedeľná Paráda (Sunday Parade) will be launched, with the first edition taking place during the festival [Fjúžn] on April 13.
Roma chieftain detained for selling EP votes
THE POLICE, in cooperation with the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, have detained a local chieftain of Roma from Dunajská Streda district and his accomplice who were trying to sell the votes of Roma for the specific candidates running in the European Parliament elections. He reportedly asked for money from one member of SaS, the TASR newswire reported on April 10.
Americans award Slovak soldier
THE United States awarded the Hero of the Day prize to Slovak soldier Martin Fiala, who is part of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, the SITA newswire reported on April 9.
Kotleba, regional government caught in criminal enquiry
THE DISTRICT prosecutor’s office is looking into text that allegedly celebrates the wartime Nazi-allied Slovak state and the promotion of the party of the Banská Bystrica regional governor Marian Kotleba in the regional newspaper Our Region, the Pravda daily reported in its April 10 issue.
Industrial production rising
THE INDEX of industrial production rose by 9.1 percent year-on-year in February, as a result of the increase in industrial manufacturing by 11.4 percent. On the other hand, the production dropped in supplies of electricity, gas, steam and cold air by 2.9 percent and in mining and quarrying by 0.6 percent, the Statistics Office reported on its website on April 10.
Residents of Tbilisi burn Slovak ribbon on the wreath after confusion
IN A CASE of mistaken identity, a group of people close to Beso Gazdeliani, deputy governor of the Samgori district in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, burnt a ribbon in the colours of the Slovak flag on a wreath laid by the delegation led by Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák. As it turned out, they thought the ribbon was Russian, Georgian news agency InterPressNews reported on April 9.
Lajčák: Government gives me mandate to talk with Kiev on gas
Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák announced that he has received a clear mandate from the government for talks with Kiev on the reverse gas flow via Slovakia to Ukraine. He didn't want to reveal any details to journalists after the government session on April 9, adding that he will present the official stance of Slovakia to Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan later this week. Lajčák reiterated that Slovakia has several objections to Prodan’s recent statements. For example, the Ukrainian minister accused Slovakia of blocking the launch of reverse gas flows to Ukraine. “We’re ready to talk and provide our capacities, but this must have certain rules,” Lajčák said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “It [the agreement] can’t run contrary to our international commitments, but I’m convinced that we’ll reach an agreement.” US Vice President Joe Biden discussed the issue with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on the telephone on April 8. “It was a superb opportunity for the Slovak side to clarify the issue, which is being discussed at length, but often very superficially,” said Lajčák. Fico told Biden that Slovakia will be ready to make all necessary moves to ensure the reverse gas flow if Ukraine fulfils its financial commitments and observes the contracts on ensuring supplies of Russian gas to Slovakia, according to the press department of Government Office. Lajčák is scheduled to attend a security forum in Kiev on April 10 and 11 as one of the speakers. He said that it will be a good opportunity for bilateral talks with interim President Oleksandr Turchynov, Yatsenyuk, Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia and Petro Poroshenka, a leading candidate in the May 25 presidential election.
“Angel of Death” gets 20 years again, will appeal
The Bratislava I District Court on April 9 confirmed its May 2013 conviction of nurse Jaroslav Dobiaš on charges of murdering a hospital patient in June 2011. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Record foreign trade surplus for first two months of 2014
Slovakia’s foreign trade posted a surplus of €393.3 million in January of this year which represents a rise of €29.3 million year-on-year, according to a report by the Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ) released on April 9. When the figures are broken down, Slovakia recorded the largest surplus with Germany (€525.5 million), the United Kingdom (€255.1 million), Poland (€232.8 million), the Czech Republic (€209 million) and Austria (€166.5 million). Conversely, the largest deficits were measured in trade with Russia (€399.8 million), South Korea (€ 364.4 million, China (€260.2 million), with Japan (€61.4 million) and Ukraine (€27.7 million), the TASR newswire quoted the ŠÚ. Goods worth €5.153 billion were exported from Slovakia in January, with the figure swelling by 6.8 percent on the year. As much as 85.7 percent of Slovakia’s exports were destined for EU countries, and exports rose by 6.8 percent. OECD countries as a whole accounted fo 88.1 percent of Slovakia's exports. Imports to Slovakia reached €4.759 billion in the first month of this year in what was an annual rise of 6.7 percent. Imports from EU countries rose by 9.3 percent on the year, and they accounted for 61.5 percent of total imports. Imports from OECD countries took 57.7 percent of the total.
IMF projects Slovakia’s GDP growth at 2.3 percent in 2014
The pace of growth of Slovakia’s economy is forecast to accelerate markedly in 2014, according to the latest World Economic Outlook released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Based on the IMF forecast published on April 8 in the US, Slovakia’s GDP is likely to grow by 2.3 percent in 2014 - up from 0.9 percent in 2013, with the figure predicted to rise to 3 percent in the following year.
Dvere
“IT’S useless asking where the door (dvere) is shut,” former justice minister Lucia Žitňanská said when explaining why she didn’t even consider joining the new right-wing party announced by Radoslav Procházka and chose to join Most–Híd instead. But the quote could serve to illustrate the state of the political right in general.
Smer's judicial picks disputed-corrected
RESUMES featuring experience on the European Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights did not impress the ruling Smer party, whose MPs on April 3 instead nominated several candidates without any previous experience in constitutional law for 12-year seats with the country’s Constitutional Court.
Kotleba turns regional paper into propaganda pamphlet
CELEBRATING the wartime Nazi-allied Slovak state, praising the new regional governor for taking down the EU flag and hateful rhetoric have become typical in the official newspaper of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region, financed from public funds.
Maďarič to leave deputy chair post
CULTURE Minister Marek Maďarič will give up his post as the ruling Smer party’s deputy chair as a reflection of the failure of the party’s official presidential candidate, Prime Minister Robert Fico, to become elected as the country’s president.
Roma kids in Kecerovce get new books
STARTING on April 8, the International Day of Roma, Roma children and youths in Kecerovce will find 200 new books in the local community centre.
Biden and Fico discuss Ukraine over phone
US VICE President Joe Biden discussed the crisis in Ukraine with the leaders of Montenegro and Slovakia on April 8, the AP newswire reported.
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