Honeywell cites ‘high labour costs’ as it shutters Slovak plant that once employed 500 workers Honeywell Safety Products Slovakia will permanently cease production at its factory in the central Slovak town of Partizánske marking the end of the company’s presence in the country will culminate in the dismissal of the remaining 137 employees by September Honeywell Safety Products Slovakia began operations in 1997 manufacturing protective equipment for armed forces The American conglomerate Honeywell is a diversified group operating primarily in engineering with a focus on developing technologies for industrial sectors including energy One of its divisions specialises in the production of personal protective equipment The industrial giant first announced its intention to relocate operations away from Slovakia — and eventually out of Europe entirely — in 2022 citing high labour costs as the primary reason for the move According to Forbes Slovakia production is expected to be relocated to Tunisia where Honeywell operates a manufacturing site and a branch of its Sensing & Productivity Solutions division in the coastal city of Nabeul “The company informed us back in 2022 that it would be winding down its activities in Slovakia and transferring production elsewhere,” said Jozef Božik 137 more will be let go before September.” the Honeywell facility produced protective footwear and safety equipment and employed around 500 people just seven years ago The town of Partizánske has long been associated with shoe manufacturing the company ultimately chose a destination where total employee costs amount to just $400 per month — a stark contrast to Slovakia’s higher wage and social costs comes as the unemployment rate in the Partizánske district remains relatively low the loss of stable industrial jobs is likely to affect the local economy Mayor Božik added that the town is expected to announce a new investment in May one that could bring hundreds of new jobs to the region The decarbonisation of district heating is an important challenge for many coal+ regions in Europe, which calls for regional and local solutions. The phase out commitments made by Member States imply a pressing need to find solutions to decarbonise district heating systems (DHS) that rely on coal and other fossil fuels.  To support coal+ regions face this challenge the Secretariat of the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition set up a Working Group on decarbonisation of fossil fuel-based DHS The Working Group works as a space to share experiences and identify technical options to transition DHS to non-fossil fuel alternatives among regions and/or municipalities that have already decarbonised their DHS as well as experts from industry and academia The District Heating Working Group has about 15 members and will operate from April 2023 to March 2024 four in-person meetings will be organised and facilitated by the Secretariat Read the District Heating toolkit The District Heating Working Group’s primary objectives are: Participants in the District Heating Working Group represent the following organisations: The Working Group’s four in-person meetings each delve into particular sub-topics which make use of the expertise held by the various Working Group members to advance decarbonisation of district heating systems By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Slovakian footwear aficionado Novesta returns for Spring/Summer 2022 to present an updated selection of some of its archetypal silhouettes The label — which hails from the small town of Partizánske when it started out making footwear for the country’s military Since then its durable styles (most notably the Star Master and Star Master Hi-Top) have remained popular across Europe and beyond thanks to their instantly-recognisable vulcanized soles This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Mauro Schmid takes over race lead in punchy stage to Ružomberok Johannes Adamietz (Lotto Dstny) prevailed from a small breakaway on stage four of the Tour of Slovakia beating Corratec-Vini Fantini's Kyrylo Tsarenko and Pierre Thierry (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) on a punchy stage to Ruzomberok Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) assumed the race lead from teammate Anders Foldager and leads the Tour of Slovakia by two seconds ahead of Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quickstep) with Foldager dropping to third at 22 seconds Results powered by FirstCycling during which time he also wrote for Eurosport Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby A selection of short feel-good stories from Slovakia Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent Popular Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds has a piece of Slovakia in his wardrobe For years, he has been wearing sneakers that were produced by the shoemaking company Novesta, situated in Partizánske, western Slovakia, the Dobrenoviny.sk website reported The firm has even published a video showing the actor wearing them The company’s history dates back to the 1930s when shoemaker Jan Antonín Baťa opened a factory in Partizánske (the town was even Novesta shoes have other famous fans abroad they have been worn by musician Liam Gallager rapper Kendrick Lamar and model Georgia May Jagger The sneakers even appeared on the title page of prestigious Rolling Stone magazine A project by a talented young student from a secondary technical school in Dubnica nad Váhom won the Robotics and Intelligent Machines category of the Regeneron ISEF 2024 (Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair 2024) competition which took place on May 11-17 in Los Angeles and involved 1,699 students from 67 countries from across the globe “My victory at ISEF means a dream come true for me, but also achieving a goal that I had set before the preparation,” said Lajčiak, as quoted in a press release of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) “New opportunities are now opening up for me either in the form of studies or developing the project further into the business sphere.” Dozens of volunteers have broken a record for the number of trees planted in a single day They managed to plant 10,000 new trees near Malužiná The event was part of the Water for Trees initiative running under the auspices of the retailer Lidl the two millionth tree was planted in the Tatra mountains today as part of this project which has been helping Slovak forests for years,” said record-keeper Igor Svítok the total planting area exceeded 800 hectares Lidl spokesperson Tomáš Bezák added that the project is carried out in cooperation with the state-run company Lesy SR to which they have donated 185,000 young plants this year There are various ways people can start volunteering. But what all volunteers can share is a feeling of fulfilment and reward The Patak Motors company will produce a retro city car at the former industrial premises of Kovosmalt in Fiľakovo The observatory in Hlohovec will invest €2 million into reconstruction and new equipment The institution is to become one of the most modern astronomical facilities in central Europe A manor house once owned by a lady-in-waiting to Sissi – Empress Elisabeth, the wife of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph – now serves as a hotel, but also offers guided tours through its unique premises Two Instagrammers are concealing money all around Slovakia – and people seem to be going crazy for their treasure hunt Caption: Currently the most watched programme on TV Markíza after the management of the broadcaster refused to accept their demands which included that the show be restored with Kovačič as host They say they are ready to strike if their conditions are not met You can send me your tips for good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk Novesta has built on last year’s corduroy-heavy release by dropping an extensive collection of silhouettes for Fall/Winter 2021 The Slovakian footwear makers — who in the past has teamed up with the likes of Stutterheim, COMME des GARÇONS and Les Basics — has reworked a selection of archetypal brand silhouettes this season Set out on Easter hikes or watch Slovakia's best films of recent years Eating chocolate eggs sounds like a good plan for Easter but you will hopefully find even better Easter ideas below You can spend the Easter long weekend at Slovak castles or watch some of the best Slovak films of 2020 and 2021 We also invite you to the post-Easter premiere of a dance performance Easter can indeed be a dangerous time period; as a 2016 story about curious Easter Monday incidents suggests The Slovak National Museum will host Easter events at some of its castles Tours guided by fairy tale characters will also be held in extensive cellars of the castle starting every hour on the hour from 11:00 to 17:00 At the Modrý Kameň castle, which serves as the museum of puppets and toys and is located in the south of central Slovakia, visitors will learn more about Easter symbols and traditions during the weekend including how to make a whip of willows and decorate an Easter egg Spring flowers will blossom during the coming four days and it is promised to be fun for families to find and identify them all they will find a surprise in underground cellars In Betliar, Košice Region, children can look forward to an exhibition of animals in the park outside the manor house on April 16 as well as a fair of traditional crafts and a workshop for the little ones Each child needs to bring two blown-out eggs for the workshop several chocolate and Easter surprises will be waiting for children visiting the manor house and the park Reliving some of Andrew Giarelli’s Easter adventures in Bratislava Easter traditions differ from region to region across Central Europe Five foreigners share their opinions concerning the Easter traditions Easter recipes with Naomi Hužovičová of which the former is in the west and the latter can be found in the east of Slovakia Čierna Skala (Black Rock, 662 m) is a hill in the Small Carpathians that hikers can reach in an hour by following a yellow marked hiking trail from the town of Plavecký Mikuláš What makes it attractive to hikers is its long and narrow rocky ridge and high rock walls they can then observe the forests of the Small Carpathians and the Podunajská Nížina lowland hikers can return to the town or walk further on to the Jahodník recreational area which boasts a wonderful castle and a vast English park The extended version of the hike (13 km) takes four hours to complete In eastern Slovakia, a rock called Folkmarská Skala (915 m) It dominates the northeastern edge of the Volovské Vrchy mountains Although the hill is covered with grass and trees there are places from which people can enjoy nice views that can go as far as the High Tatras It takes about 90 minutes to reach the rock A trail starting in the Ružín-Košické Hámre recreational area is not demanding Church: Romanesque Church of St Michael the Archangel in Dražovce Water: The canoeing experience in the Latorica protected landscape area in eastern Slovakia Hike:Baranec in the Liptov region The Slovak Folk Art Collective (SĽUK) will present the premiere of its new music and dance show “The Passion - The Story of Man and the Earth” “We tried to put together the Christian theme and the theme of traditional folk culture and customs tied to spring,” SĽUK’s choreographer and artistic director Stanislav Marišler told the TASR newswire which is directed by Alena Weisel Lelková does not intend to transcribe traditions or confront the Easter liturgy “The aim of our show is to interpret the story of man and the earth the living tradition and biblical motifs by contemporary artistic means.” spectators can recognise the burning of Morena dancers will portray the stories of Judas’ betrayal “There is no spoken word,” said the artistic director “all stories and scenes are portrayed through dancing.” Admission: €19 (buy a ticket) The Zechenter’s House in Kremnica Coincidence or not, the national film award, Slnko V Sieti, for best picture has been given to a story set in Ukraine The country is still being ravaged by the Russians The award ceremony took place the past weekend Ivan Ostrochovský’s black-and-white drama “Servants” was a strong candidate for winning the main prize The film speaks openly about how representatives of the Catholic Church were forced to collaborate with the communist regime in Czechoslovakia However, the Slovak Film and Television Academy decided that “107 Mothers” would be named the best feature film. Director Peter Kerekes filmed it with Ukrainian women serving sentences in an Odessa prison You can reach Peter at peter.dlhopolec@spectator.sk Slovakia is grappling with the presence of two invasive bird species the rapidly spreading ruddy duck and the Egyptian goose Slovakia has confirmed new sightings of two invasive bird species: the ruddy duck and the Egyptian goose The ruddy duck is currently the fastest-spreading bird species in the country, and has lately been observed nesting near Partizánske, Trenčín Region, reports the news agency TASR The ruddy duck's rapid spread is causing alarm among conservationists including Jozef Ridzoň from the Slovak Ornithological Society/BirdLife Slovakia Ornithologists have recently observed the ruddy duck which originated in North America but was imported into the UK in the 1940s The species is known for its aggressive behaviour in nesting grounds by which it displaces other species and even poses a threat to people walking their dogs Problems with ruddy ducks have also been reported at Kuchajda Lake in Bratislava leading to the regular need for state nature protection officials to capture ducks based on visitor complaints Similar aggressive behaviour has been noted in other locations close monitoring is underway prior to the implementation of counter-measures such as the mandarin duck and the black swan have started nesting in Slovakia without displaying similarly invasive behaviour a more significant concern applies to invasive mammal species like the American mink and common raccoon dog which have had a detrimental effect on local wildlife populations and also require control measures "The American mink destroyed the colony of dozens of nesting common terns in the protected bird area of the Dunajské Luhy several times," said Ridzoň was one of the industrial centres of shoe mogul Tomáš Baťa But today there are only a few feeble reminders in the Trenčín region - such as the big shoe made of flowers the symbol of Partizánske - that Slovakia was once one of the biggest players in the European shoemaking industry Partizánske's giant shoe made of flowers has kept its shape for almost 40 years was one of the industrial centres of shoe mogul Tomáš Baťa But today there are only a few feeble reminders in the Trenčín region - such as the big shoe made of flowers the symbol of Partizánske - that Slovakia was once one of the biggest players in the European shoemaking industry The tanning industry basically no longer exists in Slovakia and the shoemaking industry has been struggling for a while František Krähenbiel of the Rialto shoemaking company told The Slovak Spectator he said - shoemakers have been wrestling with several problems Partizánske lost its clout in the shoemaking world after the collapse of the centralised economy in Slovakia truly everything in Partizánske and its surroundings depended on the shoemaking industry," Krähenbiel said "Local companies usually provided all the supporting products and services for the main production Maintenance and supplies were also well developed The shoe warehouse handled marketing and sales while the Exica storehouse ran the exports Each company had its own retail outlets as well "In the former ZDA (Závody 29 Augusta the name given to the Baťa company after the communists took power) almost 30 million pairs of shoes were produced and about 10,000 people worked for the company," Krähenbiel told The Slovak Spectator "Today only a fraction of that is left." Several companies emerged out of the failed privatisation of ZDA The smaller ones remained in the hands of Slovak owners while the bigger companies now have foreign capital a former rubber subsidiary of ZDA Partizánske Foreign ownership helps companies invest in new production here and develop export networks Only long-term cooperation and good business ties can help companies win bigger and more regular contracts and for a relatively unknown producer it is hard to access these contracts without foreign support which are more expensive because our market is so small," Krähenbiel said Rialto's production focuses on exports to western European countries a dominant focus on exports caused some problems last year due to fluctuations in the SKK/EUR exchange rate which is quite unusual within business relationships "Shoemaking has never been a lucrative and profitable enter-prise," Krähenbiel said Shoemakers have always tried to achieve the lowest costs possible while profits are mostly concentrated at sales and distribution companies Salaries and payroll taxes make up a big portion of the price of shoes which according to Krähenbiel is characteristic of this kind of industry the growing production costs are rather high because of the continuing rise of prices and the pressure on wage growth; and final prices then contribute to the strengthening of the currency on the other hand," Krähenbiel said "It all pushes the shoemaking industry into a very difficult situation." the industry is able to create a lot of jobs for people Rialto is the biggest employer in Partizánske district according to statistics from the Partizánske municipal office The company currently has more than 1,700 employees Rialto also relies on permanent contracts with local suppliers almost 2,500 jobs would be killed in Slovakia," Krähenbiel said Rialto copes with the shoe industry's instability by focusing on brand-name products that are demanding to produce and not likely to be manufactured in Asia because it's hard to maintain quality standards and supply schedules there The strategy seems to be working: the company has been producing their shoes for 15 years now "This is the second year in row that we had production growth of 15 to 25 percent over the previous year," Krähenbiel said "The salaries are not attractive for many people even those who are currently unemployed," Krähenbiel told The Slovak Spectator People who work in the clothing industry are still a source for shoemakers but Krähenbiel said these sources will likely be exhausted soon Rialto recently built new facilities in Nitrianske Pravno and the company was able to recruit the number of employees it needed the company must consider the problem of human resources when it plans another expansion The local authorities say they support education for young people in this industry which is a part of the town's tradition The city wanted to establish a college but they weren't successful the head of the Municipal Office in Partizánske Only the municipality itself has been willing to financially support a training institution while entrepreneurs have not really been in favour of the idea together with the principal of the industrial secondary school organised a meeting of the 20 most important entrepreneurs in the area to discuss the prospects of offering education within the industry "The aim was to define companies' needs in terms of education - specialised training of young people directly for the needs of the industry in our region" Jančová told The Slovak Spectator only three entrepreneurs showed any interest in this idea "It's a pity that the shoemaking crafts are vanishing," Július Michník the president of the Baťa School of Work (Baťova škola práce - BŠP) Alumni Association Even though there are many factories in the Partizánske region - in almost every village - the training of apprentices has been declining but the quality of Asian shoes cannot be compared to the quality of shoes that used to be produced in Partizánske during the era of Baťa's enterprise," Michník said Today the alumni association has 393 members from all around Slovakia The club was established in 1939 and functioned until 1949 when its activities were banned for political reasons The group was revived 15 years ago to include people who graduated from the BŠP a school founded in 1925 by Tomáš Baťa the founding father of the Baťa Shoe Company Most graduates spent their whole working lives employed by the Baťa enterprise in Partizánske renamed ZDA after the communists took power in Czechoslovakia Michník started attending BŠP when he was 15 years old and from the very beginning he had to work eight hours a day and then go to school after his shift "Everybody had to learn to take care of themselves," Michník told The Slovak Spectator The school provided education not only for shoemaking apprentices but also for economists and other professionals Baťa needed to run his business each student had to be able to make a pair of shoes alone They were paid a nice amount of money for their work so the young people had to learn how to manage their money parents didn't have to support their teenage children financially - at school we earned our living we prepared ourselves for our future career we were even able to save some money and we learned all skills we needed for practical life," Michník said "No doubt the ways of production and sales that Baťa introduced in the shoemaking industry in the 1930s and 1940s were highly progressive for their time," Krähenbiel told The Slovak Spectator which helped spread the products and brand around the world the long years of balancing technologies and manufacturing between different producers rising labour costs in developed countries and competition forced Baťa to move production to countries with a cheaper labour force raise prices and become a seller rather than a producer "The brand Baťa is no longer a synonym for inexpensive shoes," Krähenbiel said This was proved by Tomáš Baťa Jr.'s attitude to negotiations in Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the revolution in 1989 Krähenbiel said: the shoemaker was only interested in sales activities and restitution of his former shops Tomáš Baťa was born to a shoemaker's family in Zlín in 1876 Since the day he was born it was clear that he would become a shoemaker and take over his father's business because the craft was always passed on from one generation to another Baťa started his own business at the age of 18 and it grew into a respectable company He focused on producing shoes for poorer people and soon his inexpensive shoes made him a fortune Baťa emigrated to the US on his own and worked at a shoemaking factory he based his business strategy on self-sufficiency but also machinery companies that provided his business with the machines to make shoes He also owned factories that produced furniture for the company's offices and construction companies to build houses and offices Baťa had factories all around Slovakia: in Bošany These factories supplied the whole country Baťa kept faithful to his saying that wherever there was a police station He had around 340 retail shops in Slovakia alone Shoes produced in Slovakia were also exported all over the world Czechoslovakia was the world's biggest exporter of shoes the USSR was the main purchaser for Baťa shoes In Baťovany there was an independent company that produced shoes for the Soviet army He built company cities for his employees with all the amenities they needed He built a river canal that served for cargo transport One of his biggest endeavors was the construction of a motorway across Czechoslovakia from Aš (in the west of today's Czech Republic) to Užhorod (today in Ukraine) After his death in a plane accident in Zlín in 1932 After the Czech part of the republic was invaded by Germans at the beginning of the Second World War Jan Antonín fled to Brazil and operated the business from there Tomáš did the same in Canada Those are the only places where Baťa factories are still in existence is 92 years old and he still lives in Canada Locals believe in a supernatural power dwelling in the forests of the Tríbeč mountains Many are said to have disappeared in the so-called Tríbeč triangle established the Baťa shoe production factory that Baťa shoes would walk the streets of Istanbul or Tokyo didn't anticipate becoming a hipster and street style sneaker love brand decided to take a walk to the Black Castle He didn’t come back and was found several months later He couldn’t have anticipated his story would offer inspiration to writers conspiracy theories fans and curious tourists gazes at an unassuming and mysterious mountain range They thrust into the Podunajská nížina lowlands to the south and rub shoulders with the volcanic Štiavnické vrchy mountains to the west with a ridge length of 50km and a width of 20km Imagine all the beauty offered by the 36 marked 200km long hiking trails rifts and chasms call for curiosity and carefulness Samsungs or GoPros in the hands of visitors to take the finest pictures and videos Strong walls of medieval castles scattered liberally sing romantic stories the voice of Matúš Čák Trenčiansky Ancient settlements of mystic Celtic and Dacian tribes uncover the art of gold mining and minting Abandoned homesteads of earlier German settlers sadly still hold their passion for farming Neighboring manor houses invite people over for a cup of tea accompanied by the silhouette of the former Czechoslovak president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Locals believe in a supernatural power dwelling in the forest The Tríbeč triangle or the hills of mystery are its nicknames Names of people who never came home and were included in The Slovak X Files Let’s discover the secrets of the Tríbeč mountains following Albert Einstein’s words: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious” One2We is an incoming company concentrating on active tailored-made solutions and very professional individual guiding Andrej Grman transferred from a regular school to the LEAF Academy in Bratislava hoping to pursue a career in business one day While he was bored on a winter day a few years ago Partizánske-born student Andrej Grman read the non-profit organisation LEAF’s website learning more about the organisation’s yet-to-be-opened academy Despite initial scepticism about the new boarding school he made a decision to move from a Partizánske secondary school to LEAF Academy because he wanted to improve his English and gain international experience “I gave it a go,” the recent LEAF Academy graduate claimed in the Bringing World to the Classroom podcast The school taught him how to turn ideas into reality Listen to the podcast to learn more about the academy and how it helped Grman get closer to his dream of working in the business industry and studying in Canada The Spectator College is a programme designed to support the study and teaching of English in Slovakia as well as to inspire interest in important public issues among young people Two Britons from Kent gradually bought three dozen non-functional weapons in a small shop in Partizánske (Trenčín Region) in western Slovakia did not prevent any foreigner from purchasing these weapons the British daily Guardian wrote in a story published on April 22 Though ball cartridges cannot be used in the so-called expansive weapons professionals operating in the illegal market can turn them into classic The British criminalists tracked the gangsters from Kent who were involved in drug trafficking in the past three months after the attack on editorial staff of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris the police found re-activated expansive weapons from the shop in Partizánske used by the Paris attackers The criminalists monitored the gangsters who travelled to Romania Hungary and the small Slovak village of Zalaba (Nitra Region) about 100 kilometres from Partizánske they tried to smuggle 22 AK-47 Kalashnikovs and nine 61 machine guns (i.e They were buying the deactivated guns for hundreds of euros a piece but earned allegedly up to a quarter million on their sale They were caught when putting the load from a boat into a van Harry Shilling (aged 25) and Michael Defraine (aged 30) “were convicted of smuggling the firearms and conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life after a trial at the Old Bailey in London Three other members of the group pleaded guilty to their part in the plot All five face possible life imprisonment when they are sentenced on 13 May” arms may have been delivered even to some of Islamist terrorists who have been contacting local gangs recently The Slovak shop AFG in Partizánske explained for the Slovak daily that they have no reason to prevent anyone from buying their guns; the real issue is where and how the expansive weapons have been re-activated and made functional because this is the illegal part of the story They refused to talk in detail about whether they remember two British gang members citing confidentiality and tactfulness usual in the industry The Slovak Information Service (SIS) did not specify whether it cooperated with British counterpart in investigation “Our intelligence service has been dealing with the issue of expansion weapons for a longer time; and thus we rule out that such a movement of arms as described by you could escape out notice,” he told Denník N Slovak police cooperated and further cooperates with its partner organisations abroad,” Police Presidium spokesman Martin Wäldl said that it is not possible to comment further on people and on the contents of information Slovak legislation concerning arms has been toughened and is currently among the strictest in Europe Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák admitted that Slovakia used to be the supplier of expansion arms for the whole Europe even the expansion arms adapted from arms of different categories must be registered; and internet sale of arms In practice this means that Slovaks owning expansion arms must register with the police and foreigners must prove they have a special license to import arms from the respective authorities The AFG shop assistants commented that since the law is valid foreigners stopped coming to buy altogether – as it is easier now to buy expansion submachine guns in the Czech Republic or elsewhere Up to 2,000 stations around the world wanted to talk to the Slovaks at once In emergency situations such as earthquakes or other natural disasters it is amateur radio operators who ensure the connection between individual sites They can reach the other side of the world with their antennas The KAPA amateur radio club from Partizánske Then they did not receive permission to sail due to an ongoing cyclone in the area which made their trip considerably more expensive The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.skSubscribe now for full access Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail) PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk ONE OF the satellites that will be part of the European navigation system called Galileo will be named Samuel as a drawing done by 10-year-old Samuel Petrík from Partizánske was chosen in the Slovak round of the European Space and Astronautics competition from among 764 entries by Slovak children The jury consisted of Slovak host Adela Banášová Slovak astronomer Juraj Tóth and the press secretary the European Commission in Slovakia Petrík’s drawing titled My Satellite Galileo featured a Slovak astronaut and the young boy’s own conception of cosmic space The jury said the winning drawing attracted its attention through its colourfulness artistic perception and overall impression as a drawing done by 10-year-old Samuel Petrík from Partizánske was chosen in the Slovak round of the European Space and Astronautics competition from among 764 entries by Slovak children The jury consisted of Slovak host Adela Banášová Slovak astronomer Juraj Tóth and the press secretary the European Commission in Slovakia Petrík’s drawing titled My Satellite Galileo featured a Slovak astronaut and the young boy’s own conception of cosmic space “Samuel’s picture has the bonus of eye contact with the author himself who launched himself into space in this way not forgetting also the need to feel national pride in the form of a Slovak symbol,” Banášová said in summing up her opinion of the winning entry Juraj Tóth praised the motif chosen by the winner to the SITA newswire: “Apart from space objects he also drew the Slovak astronaut of the future – who has a child’s face it has symbolised that our children will be able to directly take part in space research – which is already partially true through the Galileo programme.” The artistic competition was organised by the European Commission and children between the ages of 9 and 11 were able to enter an artwork between September 1 and November 15 last year The children were allowed to use material of their choice as well as any drawing apart from having the honour of a satellite named after him received several other valuable prizes and – as Banášová pointed out – could skip one day at school The first two satellites of the Galileo system were launched into space on October 21 2011 and were named after winners from Bulgaria and Belgium: Natalia and Thijs The names of some of the future satellites are already known: Anastasia (Greek) The Galileo system enables users to determine a precise location like the Global Positioning System (GPS) does but with greater accuracy and reliability and it will be independent but compatible with the US-based GPS system and with the Russian Glonass system In 2014 Galileo will consist of at least 27 satellites orbiting at about 23,000 kilometres above the earth’s surface initially offering three services: an Open Service without charge; a Publicly Regulated Service that is available to police or rescue service in emergency situations; and a Rescue-Search Service for emergencies at sea Services of a more commercial character are expected to follow later Although the international operation began in March The assault team of Spanish Civil Guard stormed one of Pampolona houses in September Their target was 24-year-old Javier Farces N. who was officially unemployed but in reality lived expensive life and had a yacht anchored at the port of Barcelona It is because Javier Farces was allegedly one of the biggest Spanish arms dealers operating on the dark net It consists of hidden websites that allow both seller and buyer to cover their identity The Civil Guard confiscated more than twenty pistols The Spanish police have been searching after the guns since March 2017 when they found one of them in ordinary mail They turned out to be Turkish gas pistols sold through the AFG Slovak company of Partizánske This company is well known to foreign investigators since its weapons have already been used in several terrorist attacks in Europe AFG was unaware of the fact that its weapons were once again exploited by criminals until investigative reporters from the La Sexta Spanish network visited the company in early December Company manager František Gajdoš confirmed this to The Slovak Spectator This means that although Europol has been tracking those weapons for about nine months and they were used to commit at least two murders abroad none of the investigators has contacted the Slovak dealer so far It is a demonstration of how slowly the Slovak police investigate these cases despite the threat that terrorists will again use Slovak weapons according to Juraj Krúpa of the Slovak Security Policy Institute (SSPI) think-tank “Our country just cannot deal with that,” Krúpa told The Slovak Spectator The police have not responded to The Slovak Spectator’s questions despite being sent a week before publishing the story GERMAN police officers have detained an arms dealer from Magstadt who is suspected of selling weapons to the terrorists behind the attacks in Paris Some weapons may have been bought in Slovakia The WSJ wrote on November 27 that a store in the basement of a Soviet-style building in the western Slovak town of Partizánske has been selling deactivated weapons and replica Nazi uniforms to private collectors or for use as movie props It has also been a source for weapons that were later reactivated and used by jihadists in at least two terror attacks in Europe: the attack on the Charlie Hebdo editorial staff at beginning the year and also the failed attempt on a train prevented by off duty US Navy officers A German trader also sold four assault rifles already denied such claims. Slovak security forces are currently checking the information from their partner organisations abroad that may be linked to the terrorist attacks in Paris The aim is to reveal the people and also materials used in the attack as well as the whole logistic structure of the attackers Interior Ministry spokesperson Ivan Netík told the Nový Čas tabloid daily The link between the detained German man currently in custody in Stuttgart and the arms used in the attacks has not been officially confirmed yet EXPERTS have announced that the Nitra River is among the dirtiest but in all of Europe.Slovak authorities have ranked the river in the fifth category on a contamination scale of one to five Nitra River is one of Europe's dirtiest Slovak authorities have ranked the river in the fifth category on a contamination scale of one to five "It's in a catastrophic state," said Zlata Valterová head of the State Water Management Department at the Regional Environmental Office in Nitra "But this is because it's a river that has many contaminators along a relatively short section The Nitra River runs 197 kilometres from western Slovakia's Small Fatra mountains south into the Váh north of Komárno on the Slovak-Hungarian border Along the way it passes through the towns of Prievidza Most of these towns are industrial centres and have a history of releasing toxic waste from water treatment plants into the river The single biggest spill of toxic waste into the river happened in 1965 when an accident at the coal-fired power plant in Zemianske Kostoľany emptied a warehouse full of coal ash into the river but [the ash] was full of heavy metals that have been lying in the river bed's sediment up to this very day," said Valterová Even though water analyses show fewer and fewer traces of the arsenic nickel and mercury that went into the river in the coal ash Valterová still warns against eating fish from the river because of the high levels of toxic minerals that have been found in them Another catastrophe occurred about 10 years ago when the NCHZ chemical factory in Nováky leaked sodium alkyl sulphonate into the river 800 tonnes of dead fish were pulled out of the Nitra "Not even the fishermen knew that there were so many carp catfish and pike living in the river," said Valterová Now the river's condition is slowly improving thanks to new purification systems that are more advanced "A new wastewater plant was built in Nitra last year and the amount of pollution going into the river has decreased considerably since then," said Valterová the Nitra is still not even close to making it into a lower category of contamination due to the toxic metals that still remain at the bottom of the river Extracting the metals would be a very difficult and expensive process and even if such a cleaning operation was successful "If we did manage to extract [the metals] the question of what to do with them next would still remain," said Valterová "Where can we put these dangerous materials?" Cenník a možnosti bannerovej reklamy na webstránke Sedemnásťročný futbalový útočník Marek Švec z Partizánskeho dosiahol ďalší výrazný míľnik vo svojej športovej kariére V drese klubu FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce vsietil premiérový gól vo Fortuna lige V úvodnom nadstavbovom kole o titul vybehol na trávnik v 85 minúte zápasu na pôde svojho predošlému tímu v Dunajskej Strede Tréner Ľuboš Benkovský dal talentovanému útočníkovi ďalšiu šancu až 22 Tréner to tak videl a mne neostávalo nič iné len rešpektovať jeho rozhodnutia a naďalej poctivo a tvrdo makať A počkať si presne na takúto šancu,“ s pokorou prízvukuje Marek Švec Odchovanec FK Tempo Partizánske vybehol na trávnik po prvý raz v základnej jedenástke no o jediný gól FC ViOn sa postaral práve Marek Švec Ten sa do prvej veľkej príležitosti dostal v 28 kedy po Kyziridisovom centri z ľavého krídla pred bránku jeho hlavičku žilinský brankár Petráš zachytil na bránkovej čiare lebo to mohla byť prvá a zároveň aj posledná šanca že príde aj ďalšia príležitosť,“ prezradil rodák z Partizánskeho minúte sa už dočkal a otvoril strelecký účet vo Fortuna lige Po Čonglyho centri z pravej strany hlavou umiestnil loptu k pravej žrdi ktorá ma neustále podporuje,“ vyznal sa Marek Švec V sedemnástich rokoch sa zaradil k najmladším hráčom ktorým sa podarilo skórovať v najvyššej slovenskej futbalovej súťaži mužov Premiéru vo Fortuna lige som si už odkrútil proti DAC a svoj prvý gól za ViOn som strelil ešte v prípravnom zápase Chalani mi to spočítali už vtedy,“ smeje sa Marek Švec V súvislosti s premiérovým gólom však nezabudol podpichnúť svojho otca Mareka Švec senior hral najvyššiu slovenskú futbalovú súťaž v drese Prievidze pod trénerom Vladimírom Goffom Sieť na súperovej bránke sa mu však nepodarilo napnúť A v tomto ukazovateli ho Marek junior už predčil: „Povedal som mu Stále sa mi však snaží dávať rady ohľadom futbalu aj keď teraz je to skôr o povzbudzovaní a psychike.“ Pôsobenie v FC ViOn si Marek Švec pochvaľuje: „Zatiaľ sa v klube cítim dobre Prial by som si už zostať v základnej zostave a dosiahnuť ďalšie úspechy.“ Zdá sa že želanie rodáka z Partizánskeho bolo vypočuté O tri dni nastúpil 178 cm vysoký útočník opäť v základnej zostave FC ViOn A v semifinálovom play-off súboji s AS Trenčín o Európsku konferenčnú ligu opäť skóroval minúte po Kyziridisovom milimetrovom centri prudkou hlavičkou stanovil výsledok na 2:0 a zároveň spečatil postup Zlatých Moraviec do finále ktoré chcem premeniť,“ s úsmevom dodal talentovaný Marek Švec ktorý vo svojich sedemnástich rokoch dosiahol v aktuálnej sezóne slušnú bilanciu Dva zápasy po sebe v základnej zostave fortunaligistu 171 minút strávených na ihrisku a dva góly medzi slovenskou mužskou elitou