Archive of articles - January 2002, page 3

Tragic suicide

Phare funds get penzión off ground

SMIŽANY - Mária Kramárová happily acknowledges that she lives in one of the most beautiful areas in the world.The eastern Slovak town Smižany, where she and her husband Peter started the Penzion Mária in 1990, is sandwiched in the Hornád Valley between popular tourist destinations such as Slovenský raj (Slovak Paradise) national park, the Spišský hrad castle ruins, and the High Tatras mountain range.

STV's debt still an open sore

ALTHOUGH the public broadcaster Slovak Television (STV) says it is protected from political pressures in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, its economic dependence on the state and burgeoning debt may leave it open to political interference, media experts say.STV's budget for 2002 is Sk1.6 billion ($33.3 million), including state funding of Sk216 million ($4.5 million). The majority of the station's income is collected in the form of monthly fees which every TV-equipped household has to pay.STV Director Milan Materák lamented that the sum was tiny compared to neighbouring public broadcasters. He said that the 2002 budget of the Czech public TV, for example, was about Sk7 billion ($145.8 million).

Defending Schmögnerová: Much risked for little gain

No offence to Brigita Schmögnerová, but what did Prime Minister Dzurinda gain from defying the wishes of the Finance Minister's SDĽ party that she be canned? Why was the PM apparently so loath to see Schmögnerová go?It couldn't have been fear of upsetting the financial market. The last time Schmögnerová herself threatened to resign the crown didn't even flinch, rather embarrassing for the minister despite claims it was actually a sign of confidence in the country's fiscal record.Nor was it due to any personal warmth between Schmögnerová and Dzurinda. The PM put his only female minister's back up in 1999 by not telling her she was being vetted for a top UN job, and one got the feeling she never quite forgave him for costing her the position. Nor did he always delight in her animosity towards the rich, business people and tax cuts.

Letter to the Editor: Slovak business laying dead

Unemployment to hit record high

Official software piracy common, say police

AN EMPLOYEE with the state-run regional office in Košice has claimed that more than half of their Microsoft Office and Windows applications are pirated copies.Edita Vojtová, head of Košice's internal administration department with the regional office said: "If we uninstalled all illegally used software we would completely paralyse the state administration".She said her office had invested Sk5 million ($104,000) in 2001 for partial legalisation of its software, but to be completely legal they would need an additional Sk40 million ($830,000).

Sky Europe close to inaugural flight

Supermarket services

Corruption cases revealed

Airline reduces annual losses

Winter of 2002 has hotel industry smiling

UNUSUALLY good winter conditions in the High Tatras have significantly boosted profits for hotel owners in the region. And with hotels booked at between 60 and 80 percent of their capacity, local tourism experts say that the season has been one of the best in 10 years."As long as there is enough snow for skiing throughout the whole season, hotels are stuffed with tourists. It's all in God's hands," said Bibiana Dzurilová, director of the Slovak Committee for Tourism.Contrary to last year's season, when the first ski lifts in the Tatras started operating shortly before Christmas, this year the first lift started operating in mid-November. There is now only one ski lift, out of 22, not operating.

Payment card use rises sharply

Penta angling for shipper

Minister defies cuts

Austrians praise Slovaks

Japanese embassy opens

Picture story: It's Slovakia, it's in Europe and it's 2002

"Pictorial documentation in this country is in deep stagnation," says photographer Ľubomír Groch. "There are few photographers who can fully devote themselves to this. And too few of them take pictures of the modern, current period of the country."To correct the problem, and pictorially cover the country as it experienced dynamic changes after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a group of photographers decided to form a civic organisation called the Slovak Documentary Photography (SDF) in November 2000.Its aim is to collect and present contemporary documentary works and bring them to the public. It also focuses on gathering funds to enable photographers to fully commit to long-term projects that will map over time the country's lasting events.

Letter to the Editor: Middle ages thinking