News digest: Unlike Austrians, too many Slovaks work in high-polluting jobs
Fake bomb threats, Russian ambassador's failed trip to Slovak parliament, and one Slovak-American hero.
Good evening. Here is the Tuesday, May 7 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Too many high-polluting jobs in Slovakia
Polluted air and the natural environment have a negative impact on the health and quality of life of people who work in professions with a high level of pollution.
According to the latest OECD study, the highest share of high-polluting jobs in Europe is found in Slovakia and Czechia, with 9 percent. In Austria, the percentage is only 2 percent, while the European average is about 4 percent.
Some jobs are systematically high-polluting in all or most countries, especially those related to mining. But there are also high-polluting jobs which are characteristic for certain countries. For Slovakia, Czechia, Denmark, Greece and Ireland, lorry and bus drivers are typical. In Belgium and the UK, it is forestry.
“High-polluting jobs are unequally distributed, being over-represented among men, workers with lower and medium educational attainment and those living in rural areas,” the study notes.
In countries with higher proportions of high-polluting jobs, the contrast is even more stark. For instance, in Slovakia, 14 percent of employed men hold jobs that are highly polluting, whereas only 1.6 percent of employed women hold such jobs.
The study demonstrates that measures to mitigate the adverse consequences of job losses in polluting industries are imperative for a just transition to a green economy.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
- Police: On Tuesday, hundreds of schools, banks and electronics shops in Slovakia received bomb threats by e-mail.
- Politics: The Russian ambassador’s planned visit to the Slovak parliament did not go according to plan.
- Bratislava: What are the reasons for traffic jams in Bratislava?
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TUESDAY INTERVIEW
A Slovak who became an American hero
After fierce fighting, the US flag flew on Mount Suribachi towering above the small island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean on February 23, 1945. Six men - marines - raised together a long metal pole on which the stars and stripes flew. Among these men was Sergeant Michael Strank, a native of Jarabina near Stara Ľubovna, north-eastern Slovakia, who led the mission.
It was not until 2008 that it was discovered that Michael Strank was not a native American, says historian Martin Posch.
EVENT
Europe Day
Come to the Old Market Hall in Bratislava to celebrate Europe Day on May 9. The event will run from 9:00 to 14:00. Slovak singer Zuzana Smatanová will play a gig at 19:00.
Entry is free until the market hall is full.
IN OTHER NEWS
- President Zuzana Čaputová vetoed on Tuesday the bill on art museums as well as the legislation on strategic investments. The president pointed out the bill scraps public hearings for candidates vying for top posts in art museums, enables their dismissal without any stated reason and its effects are to apply retroactively. As for the bill on strategic investments, Čaputová vetoed it because it erodes the protection for landowners affected by dispossession, was passed in a fast-tracked procedure, gives sweeping powers to the government when carrying out strategic investment projects while giving only vague identification as to what is strategic investment and giving no right to appeal to dispossessed landowners. (TASR)
- The Specialised Criminal Court on Monday approved a plea bargain between a prosecutor and entrepreneur Michal Suchoba, who has been charged with bribery, fining him €90,000. Suchoba’s crime was related to the criminal case known as Purgatory. Should he fail to pay the fine, he will have to spend six months in prison. Suchoba allegedly bribed Ľudovít Makó with a sum of €70,000 in the summer of 2018, paying him in connection with seized Medusa Group cash registers. (TASR)
- PM Robert Fico said that Slovakia wants to buy gas from Azerbaijan and transport it through Ukraine. Fico and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a joint
declaration on strategic partnership between the two countries on Tuesday in Baku. (SITA) - Fio Banka clients can now send and receive payments from other banks in seconds. The bank has joined a system that speeds up euro bank payments for clients and, above all, enables them to make payments 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (SITA)
WEATHER FOR WEDNESDAY: The highest daytime temperature will rise to 21°C on Wednesday. Expect cloudy skies and occasional rain. (SHMÚ)
NAME DAYS IN SLOVAKIA: Ingrida (May 8) and Roland (May 9).
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