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News digest: Slovakia pays for Russian gas in euros

May 19, 2022 by spectator.sme.sk Leave a Comment

Good evening. Here is the Thursday, May 19 edition of Today in Slovakia – the main news of the day in less than five minutes.

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Scientists file lawsuits against MPs and people spreading lies

Doctors and scientists who were the faces of the vaccination campaign during the Covid pandemic were repeatedly targeted not only by people spreading misinformation, but by extremist Republika party MPs.

One of them, infectologist Peter Sabaka, has now filed lawsuits against Republika chair Milan Uhrík and MP Milan Mazurek. He started a fundraiser to help fund the lawsuits.

Many scientists expressed support for the doctor, whom Mazurek indirectly linked to the death of a boy whose doctor refused to treat him because his mother was not vaccinated. Moreover, the MP suggested he wouldn’t have been surprised if the parents had taken matters into their own hands.

Sabaka wants €20,000 from Mazurek and €28,000 from Uhrík. He intends to use the money to aid medical facilities.

“I don’t consider an apology to be adequate enough. I don’t think it would have a deterrent effect on that person,” Sabaka explains his reasoning.

Slovakia paid for Russian gas in euros

The annual capacity of the Brotherhood natural gas pipeline is about 90 billion m3.

“Yes, I can confirm that we paid for gas in euros on May 18,” said Karol Galek, a state secretary at the Economy Ministry . Russia disconnecting Slovakia from gas is not on the table for now.

Russian president Vladimir Putin had signed a decree saying foreign buyers must pay in rubles for the gas from April 1, and contracts would be halted if these payments were not made. Gazprom already cut off Bulgaria and Poland a few weeks ago.

Economy Minister Richard Sulík (SaS) announced earlier this week that Slovakia would send euros to a euro account at Gazprombank, a Russian bank, where the euros would be converted into rubles, and the bank would send them to Russia’s energy corporation Gazprom.

According to Sulík, Slovakia buys about 85 percent of its gas from Russia. He advocates for a diversification of supplies but that is a matter of several years.

This is a political compromise. The European Union and Slovakia may claim to voters that they did not back down from the Russian aggressor, paying in euros, and the Russian regime may claim that Western countries paid for the gas in rubles.

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Refugees from Ukraine

1,909 women, 756 men and 509 children crossed the Slovak-Ukrainian border on May 18 . The overall number of refugees who have come to Slovakia since the war started is more than 436,000 and almost 77,000 have asked for temporary protection.
The Tatras Help Ukraine initiative launched a call centre, the goal of which is to help refugees from the country after the war broke out. The centre will connect various initiatives and organizations in the region and create a coherent and shared database. Moreover, the people behind the idea want to record the requirements and needs of Ukrainians and find a way to help them.
The Taiwanese Foreign Affairs Ministry sent almost €2 million intended as a help for Ukrainian refugees.

Picture of the day

Former special prosecutor Dušan Kováčik during a hearing where he is trying to convince the Supreme Court of his innocence and to free him. He sent an appeal that consisted of approximately 1,000 pages. Kováčik was sentenced by the Specialised Criminal Court to 14 years in prison for corruption, among other crimes, last September.

Former special prosecutor Dušan Kováčik. (Source: SME – Jozef Jakubčo)

Feature story of the day

On Wednesday, the government approved several policies intended as anti-inflation financial aid to families, including the increase of tax bonuses for children, higher child allowances, and contributions for after-school activities.

The measures were supported by ministers from OĽaNO, Sme Rodina and Za Ľudí. Four SaS ministers, however, did not vote for the package proposed by Finance Minister and OĽaNO chair Igor Matovič. And it remains to be seen whether the MPs will actually approve it.

This could pose a problem for the coalition government. SaS chair and Economy Minister Richard Sulík threatened to veto the temporary Russian crude oil tax in the parliament.

Based on to the coalition agreement, the veto would mean that the SaS would block the proposal and the other three parties would not be allowed to discuss it further. According to Sulík, overriding the veto would, in turn, mean that his party will no longer have to bow to the coalition agreement.

The uncertain future of Matovič’s package for families Read more

In other news

In a reaction to the proposed government plan to significantly cut the budgets of municipalities, the city of Prešov is joining the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS) and going on strike. The city would lose almost €3 million. Various municipalities all over the country are limiting communication with the state.
The Health Ministry has suspended the validity of the gender reassignment protocol , just a few weeks after Minister Vladimír Lengvarský signed it , following criticism from conservative lawmakers.
The Defence Ministry obtained almost seven hundred spare parts to repair military equipment , including trucks, infantry vehicles and tanks. They were found in the storage of the State Material Reserves.
In deciding whether to get optional vaccination, a recommendation from a doctor is the most important factor for more than 75 percent of Slovaks . Most of the population does not have a clear-cut view on the topic, according to a recent poll carried out by the MNFORCE company, the Seesame agency and the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The poll also showed that the same percentage of Slovaks understand the purpose of preventive medical examinations and that people are more willing to see their doctor when they are summoned.
Firefighters from the city of Dubnica helped a deer that became stuck in an entrance gateway to a primary school in Ladce, Ilava District.
The city of Košice will modernize six public transport stations . It will cost more than €510,000, most of which will be covered from EU funds.
Police in Trnava introduced a scanning car equipped with eight cameras that will check vehicles in regulated parking zones.
The city of Trenčín has banned gambling . The city will lose some revenue.

More on Spectator.sk :

In reaction to the war, Slovakia makes hiring Ukrainians easier Read more Government agrees on special Slovnaft tax Read more

If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at [email protected]

Today in Slovakia

Visakhapatnam: Probe launched into appointment of Dredging Corporation of India MD

May 19, 2022 by www.thehindu.com Leave a Comment

An inquiry has been launched into the appointment of Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCIL) CEO and Managing Director G.Y.V. Victor, after allegations of irregularities surfaced.

The investigation is being done by the Chief Vigilance Officer of Visakhapatnam Port Authority Pradeep Kumar, who is also the CVO of DCIL, as the dredging major has been taken over by a consortium of four ports — Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Paradip Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Deendayal Port Trust.

One of the major issues that is being investigated is whether Mr. Victor was earlier dismissed from service by DCIL. It is learnt that the probe team has found an old document that claimed that Mr. Victor was dismissed from service in 2000, when he was working as the third officer in a dredger of DCIL.

This was reportedly not disclosed during his interview and appoinment for his current post. As per the company rules, a dismissed officer or employee cannot apply for any position in the company or be appointed.

‘Allegations baseless’

Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Victor agreed that he was dismissed from service, but at that time he was a floating staff of the company.

The service rules of floating staff or seafarers are governed by the Maritime Union and are different from the rules for shore-based jobs. “At that time I was a floating staff. Now, I am in a shore-based job, the service rules for which are quite different. The board which recruited me for the present position was aware of it,” said Mr. Victor.

He said that in 2000, when he was working on a dredger, he had applied for study leave to pursue his Ph.D. The study leave was denied, but he still continued to stay on leave to complete his research. Since he did not respond to the company’s demand to join, he was dismissed from service.

Some other allegations are also being investigated, which Mr. Victor claimed were baseless.

Veracity of document

Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Pradeep Kumar said once the investigation is over and the authenticity of the documents in question is proved, a report would be sent to the Ministry for its decision and necessary action.

Coimbatore Corporation retrieves 16 acres after processing accumulated waste in Vellalore

May 18, 2022 by www.thehindu.com Leave a Comment

After staring at the possibility of running out of land to dump waste in Vellalore, the Coimbatore Corporation has now retrieved 16 acres.

Corporation Commissioner Raja Gopal Sunkara said the civic body managed to retrieve the 16 acres after it processed 3.2 lakh cubic metre waste through biomining process, starting May 2020.

Under the Smart Cities Mission, the Corporation had started the process at ₹ 60.11 crore to clear 9.4 lakh cubic metre waste that was spread over 60-plus acre.

The Corporation had dumped the waste – in unsegregated form – over the last 10 years. The total waste dumped there was spread over 128 of the 650 acre in Vellalore and the Corporation, through the biomining process, was looking at clearing only 50% of the accumulated waste, the sources said.

The civic body had given on contract the biomining process to a Chennai-based private company asking it to complete the process within two years. And, it had also engaged Anna University, Chennai, as the third-party consultant to not only oversee the process but also certify the process.

Only upon the University’s certification the Corporation would pay the company, the sources explained.

The company started the process after a delay due to procedural issues that included getting power connection and later had a slow start due to the COVID-19 pandemic restriction. Though the company had made considerable progress in the recent past, it could not clear all the waste within the two years the Corporation had mandated and had sought extension.

The company after drying the waste to process, took it a conveyer belt where it went over sieves with filters of three different sizes and at the end of the process the waste was divided into refuse derived fuel – to be sold to cement manufacturing companies, coarse soil – to be used as landfill, and fine soil – to be sold as manure.

The Corporation sources said the retrieval of 16 acre was a significant milestone and very soon the Corporation would look at planting saplings on the land to improve green cover in Vellalore yard.

The sources also said the Corporation was also looking at projects to process the waste that fell outside the scope of the biomining process.

Even Obama’s Former Economic Adviser Recognizes ‘Corporate Greed’ Isn’t To Blame For High Inflation | The Daily Wire

May 19, 2022 by www.dailywire.com Leave a Comment

Democratic leaders have recently blamed record-high rates of inflation and energy prices on so-called corporate greed, but even President Barack Obama’s former top economic adviser says that there is little to no evidence that corporations deserve the blame for the current economic woes.

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported : “Many Democrats blame price-gouging companies for the worst surge in Americans’ cost of living in more than a generation. But economists, including several who are left-leaning disagree.”

“Corporate power is playing likely a very small role in the inflation that we’re seeing right now,” Jason Furman, a Harvard professor and former chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, told Bloomberg.

Furman also claimed the “primary solution has to come from the primary cause of inflation, which is demand is way too high.”

Previous Associated Press fact-checks have explained that one reason why demand is too high is that there is too much money in the economy from government spending under the Biden administration.

“Government spending has been a clear factor behind rising consumer prices, though it’s not the only one,” the AP noted in March. The outlet also reported that many economists said President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan “caused inflation to run higher than it otherwise would.”

“But the problem is that Biden pumped more money into the economy than it could handle. Administration officials said before the relief package was passed that the greater risk was do too little to help the economy than to do too much,” the AP explained . “The implicit risk was inflation, though the tradeoff was faster hiring and stronger growth.”

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has placed the blame for high prices of food and gasoline at the feet of big business. Her solution is more government control, including plans to introduce price controls for gas and oil .

“We need to have a bright light of transparency on how companies are making big profits at the expense — and this is in the energy sector, at the expense of the consumer,” Pelosi said on Sunday. “And we also are having the same kind of hearings … in the Agriculture Committee on how we can increase competition, again, so that we can lower food prices.”

Critics say that Democratic leaders are merely issuing “excuses” for the inflation that has happened under their watch.

“ Inflation is at record highs, gas prices are soaring, shelves are empty, the economy is in shambles, and voters have only House Democrats to blame for it,” Congressional Leadership Fund Press Secretary Cally Perkins said in an email to The Daily Wire.

“Instead of spinning up excuses, Democrats should reconsider their woke tax and spend agenda that got us into this mess to begin with,” she added.

Confusion as vaccination centres seek travel proof for boosters | India News – Times of India

May 19, 2022 by timesofindia.indiatimes.com Leave a Comment

An old woman gets booster dose against coronavirus at vaccination centre

MUMBAI: The rules about administration of Covid-19 vaccine’s booster dose before nine months to those travelling abroad are mired in a lot of confusion. Primarily, the Centre has said those taking the precautionary dose need not produce any travel documents. However, vaccination centres in Maharashtra are planning to ask for proof to show the recipient is indeed travelling abroad and that too under one of the grounds stated by the Centre.
The state or the corporation immunisation department has not released any guidelines yet on whether vaccination centres should check travel documents for the precautionary dose.
The Centre on May 12 allowed Indians travelling abroad to take the booster shot three months after the second dose, instead of nine months, if mandated in the guidelines of the destination country. In a circular issued a day later, the Union health ministry said people who need to travel for “educational purpose, employment opportunities, participation in sports tournaments, bilateral, multilateral meetings as part of India’s official delegation, for attending business commitments, etc” can take the third shot.
Importantly, the rules underlined that there was no need to upload any documents on CoWin , such as visa and travel documents, to prove they are undertaking international travel. This clause has left vaccination centres in a quandary. One centre head told TOI, “Without checking travel documents how can we tell the individual is travelling for any one of the reasons the Union health ministry has underlined? In fact, how can we tell if the individual is travelling abroad at all?”
He added that there is a question mark on whether those travelling for leisure can take the third dose since the Centre’s circular does not mention it.
Some centres in Maharshtra have decided to ask for travel documents. Dr Balkrishna Adsul , dean of SevenHills Hospital , said they have given booster shots to two individuals based on their tickets and passport. “Without these documents, anyone can demand a booster,” he said.

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