Around Slovakia

Bear attacks two hunters
Radio Twist harrassed yet again
Košice football player dies in car accident

ZLATNO
Bear attacks two hunters

A bear attacked two hunters near the village of Zlatno (pop. 306) in central Slovakia on November 20, injuring one of them. The two hunters, Pavel Michálek, 51, and Ján Rechtorík, 43, were patrolling the area for quarry. The bear first attacked Michálik's head, trying to force him to the ground. Rechtorík tried to distract the bear by firing his gun into the air. The bear then turned and attacked Rechtorík, who shot the animal in the head. Michálek was hospitalized with his ear chewed up (Tyson-style) and several minor lacerations on his head. "I can't recall the last time a bear attacked a man," said Pavel Gavalec, the director of the Association of Hunters in Poltár. He explained that the creature probably attacked to protect its two cubs. "Now we are deciding what to do with the bear's fur," he said, adding that it will probably end up in the Poltár museum.


ŽILINA
Radio Twist harrassed yet again

The private radio station Twist had its electricity supply cut off on December 2 in Žilina, the fifth largest Slovak city (pop. 84,000). The electricity was cut off by a Slovenské elektrárne (Slovak electric power utility - SE) branch office temporarily, and was reconnected soon afterwards. However, 45 minutes later Slovenské telekomunikácie (Slovak Telecom) cut Twist off again, preventing broadcast of the independent radio station's news program in the entire region. The station, represented by General Director Andrej Hryc, filed a lawsuit against the unknown perpetrator. The telecom company, which is the owner of the local transmitter, claimed that Radio Twist did not have a signed leasing contract with them, but according to Hryc, "Slovak Telecom does not have the right to decide who should receive electricity and who should not." According to Slovak law, the connector is owned by SE, with which Radio Twist has a contract. "Slovak Telecom is charging us 500,000 Sk annually for supplying us with electricity," Hryc said. "That of course, does not include the price of the electricity. We are not going to agree with that arrangement." The recent incident was the third time Twist has been troubled by ST, which as a state company is linked to the ruling coalition. Twist is well known for being at odds with the Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar's ruling coalition. On October 11 and November 27 it was taken off the air as well, the first time for 25 hours nationwide, the second time for four hours in central Slovakia only. ST has officially denied any political motivation for the shut-downs.


KOŠICE
Košice football player dies in car accident

A football player from FC Košice, Milan Čvirk, died in a car accident on December 2 when his car slipped off the road and hit a street lamp in the eastern part of Košice, a city of 240,000 in eastern Slovakia. The car, a Toyota Supra, was driven by Čvirk's teammate, Albert Rusnák. Both players were rushed to the city hospital where Čvirk died several hours later from injuries sustained in the accident.

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