Police are doing house searches at

Kočner’s places
The shady businessman is participating in person in these house searches,
conducted in connection with his suspected violent criminality - the murder of Ján
Kuciak.

Slovak police are conducting house searches at the properties belonging to controversial
businessman Marian Kočner, in connection with his violent crimes. Kočner is taking part in
the house searches in person, the Sme daily wrote on October 16 on its website.

Currently, a criminal prosecution has been opened against Kočner, due to financial criminality
in three cases, including the case of alleged promissory notes of the private TV broadcaster
Markíza. He is currently held in pre-trial custody in connection with this crime.

Police started the operation in his flat in the much publicised Bonaparte development complex
and in the Five Stars Residence in Bratislava, the Denník N wrote, adding that they are to
continue in about 20 other places, including in the nearby village of Bernolákovo.

Not only economic criminality

The fact that police have published the reason for the house searches in his homes – violent
crimes – means that in Kočner’s case, a crime other than economic being investigated until
now is involved, Sme wrote.
Children are convincing their parents to
stop smoking
The non-profit organization Život bez závislostí (Addiction-Free Life) is helping break
the cycle of addiction in families.

Young people growing up in families where one or both parents are addicts have a strong
predisposition to become addicted themselves.

“Addicted parents and their partners often receive help, but children mostly go unnoticed,”
says Jozef Brenkus, co-founder of Život bez závislostí – an organization based in Poprad
which tries to give young people a better chance to live an addiction-free life even if they
come from socially disadvantaged families.

The organization focuses on prevention among children from both functional and
dysfunctional families. “Acting in line with the adage ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of repression’, we mostly focus on prevention,” Brenkus explains.

He thinks that the period of puberty and adolescence is key because that is when people try to
find and develop their own identity while also combatting doubts about themselves and their
place in society. “That is why discussing the mental health of young people is necessary –
especially with them,” says Brenkus.

As a preventive activity, Brenkus and his colleagues organize camps for children as well as an
anti-drug multimedia performance, which was attended by as many as 4,000 elementary,
middle, and high school students over the past two years. Every year, his colleagues and
volunteers join forces to work with elementary school students. According to Brenkus, these
children are perceptive enough already and they understand what things in life are beneficial.
Moreover, they are not coping with the problems of puberty and adolescence yet.

“We use a cyclical education model, working with the same students over a period of three
years. Our sessions include discussions about each person’s value or the fact that differences
between people can be beneficial rather than being a source of animosity and ridicule. We
also talk about tolerance, true friendships, relationship problems, various sources of danger,
addictions, modern technology, the need to maintain healthy relationships, etc.” Brenkus
explains.

Thanks to the organization’s work, children understand that there is no such thing as a perfect,
problem-free family, which helps them come to terms with their own problems. This also
makes it easier for children to understand that they are never responsible for their parents’
problems with alcohol, even though parents often blame their children so that they don’t have
to admit to their own failures. It happens rather often that children announce with a smile on
their face that they have successfully convinced one of their parents to stop smoking, for
instance.
Another of the organization’s key activities consists of extra-curricular clubs organized in
East Slovak Roma settlements, namely in Žehra, Bystrany, and Soľ. These were launched two
years ago as a response to the increasing number of people in need of help. The project
intends to create a space for private conversations and counseling to help people manage life
situations in the long run.

“Eight years ago, for instance, we came to a rehabilitation center and met a young man who
then decided not to return to the town where he had lived previously, but rather to stay with us
so that he would have our help close at hand. He moved to Poprad, finished high school, and
is currently studying social work because he wants to give back the help he has received. He
has previously worked at our community center and our cooperation continues even now after
he has left Poprad,” describes Brenkus.

Work with children helps the organization’s employees get closer to their parents and
influence the families’ lives. This can lead to significantly better school results as well as the
identification and development of the children’s talents.

“Our work with children has helped us understand that the most important thing you can do
for them is love them and be a secure, trustworthy person with whom they can share the joys
and sorrows of life. Everything else – knowledge, skills, and creative procedures – is just an
extension,” Brenkus adds.
Car industry supplier ZKW expands in
Slovakia for €150 million
This will be the largest and most cost-intensive expansion in the Austrian company's
80-year history.

The Slovak arm of the Austrian company ZKW that produces headlights and fog lamps is
expanding its production premises in Krušovce (the Nitra Region) at a cost of €155 million.
This will be the largest and most cost-intensive expansion project in ZKW’s 80-year history.
The construction works were ceremonially launched on September 27.

“The expansion of the Slovakian plant will allow us to be more competitive and allow
Krušovce to contribute even more strongly to ZKW’s overall growth in the future,” says
Oliver Schubert, CEO of the ZKW Group GmbH.

Currently, the plant has 42,000m2 of space available for production, with additional rented
warehouse space of approx. 14,500m2. The building expansion will nearly double the
available production space. Processes and the organisation will also be optimised at the same
time as the expansion, in order to maintain the plant’s long-term competitiveness.

“Over the last few months, the production facilities at ZKW Slovakia have been working at
full capacity due to the many new projects we have received and their complexity,” said Franz
Nigitz, CEO of ZKW Slovakia, as cited in the press release. “Because of this, we have
planned an extensive expansion of approximately 37,500 square metres.”

The construction works should be complete in the spring of 2019 while the whole project
should be complete by the end of 2019, the TASR newswire reported.

After the expansion, the company’s turnover should increase from the current €310 million to
more than over €400 million and the number of employees, currently 2,500, will increase by
300-400 people.

In addition to the production area, a new office wing with a training centre, open plan office,
and central medical emergency centre will be constructed. The plant will integrate 45
injection moulding machines, and in the future will also start the production of plastic lenses
and modules.

ZKW Slovakia, one of eight branches of ZKW, was founded in Krušovce in 2007 and has
been developing rapidly ever since. The factory in Krušovce has roughly 2,500 employees,
making it the second largest ZKW production site after the plant in the Lower Austrian town
of Wieselburg. ZKW Slovakia primarily produces headlights and fog lamps and works to
develop new light systems.