MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, August 12, 2024 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, August 11): BRATISLAVA - Speaking on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, Slovak National Party (SNS) leader and Parliamentary Vice-chair Andrej Danko said that the replacement of the Slovak National Museum (SNM) head is likely to be discussed. In connection with the dismissal of Slovak National Theatre (SND) general manager Matej Drlicka and Slovak National Gallery (SNG) director Alexandra Kusa by Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (an SNS nominee), he said that he fully stands behind the minister's decisions. MP and Progressive Slovakia (PS) vice-chairman Ivan Stefunko stated that the minister had dismissed people from two functioning institutions. Concerning the dismissal of Drlicka and Kusa, Danko opined that it's natural that a new minister changes the leadership under him or her. However, he also considers it to be important to acknowledge the good they have done in the institutions. As for Kusa, he noted that she had been in the SNG's management for a long time. Danko claims that Kusa and her father signed contract amendments worth €2 million, describing this as a serious conflict of interest. BRATISLAVA - Scientists will continue to have access to the latest scientific information as the Education, Research, Development and Youth Ministry announced that a project called 'National Information System for Research and Development Support - Access to Electronic Information Resources (NISPEZ V) with a budget exceeding €51.5 million will continue, TASR was told by the ministry's communication and marketing department. "The continuation of the NISPEZ V project is an important step for Slovak science and research. This project will ensure that our scientists and researchers will have continuous access to the latest scientific information and resources. This step not only promotes excellence in research, but also increases our country's competitiveness on a global scale," said Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD). BRATISLAVA - The number of bankruptcies declared for the property of corporate entities amounted to 16 in July, down by almost 60 percent from the 38 reported in June, Slovak company Credit Bureau (CRIF) stated on Tuesday, adding that the figure remained unchanged year-on-year (y-o-y). All the companies that filed for bankruptcy were limited-liability companies. "The figures for June seem to indicate that the situation on the market has stabilised, but fewer bankruptcies are usually declared in the summer months due to the holiday season. Meanwhile, we are observing another ongoing trend that may indicate problems in the small business sector. According to data from the Cribis register (a register of trading companies in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic), more than half of companies in bankruptcy had no employees, while almost 19 percent had fewer than ten of them," said CRIF chief analyst Jana Markova. BRATISLAVA - A total of 7.223 million cubic metres of timber was harvested in Slovakia last year, down by 0.464 million cubic metres year-on-year, according to the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry's so-called green report for 2023. The actual timber harvest was 2.31 million cubic metres lower than the planned harvest, based on the current harvesting possibilities and the urgency of reforestation, with 53.3 percent of coniferous and 46.7 percent of broadleaf timber being harvested. ko