Archive of articles - February 2008, page 13
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Almost five thousand leave the second pension pillar
A total of 4,904 people have left the second pension pillar between January 1 and February 4 of this year.
Parliament reconvenes
The Slovak Parliament reconvened its 19th term on February 5.
Heat producers ask regulator to approve higher prices from March
About fifty heat producers asked the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO) to approve their new price proposals. URSO spokesman Miroslav Lupták told the SITA newswire that heat facilities were demanding a gradual price hike of 3 percent on average from March 1. There are about 450 heat producers in Slovakia.
Analysts optimistic on Euro adoption
The probability that Slovakia will adopt the Euro as planned in January 2009 remains unchanged in January, despite the release of a European Commission report with recommendations of a wider fiscal consolidation.
MasterCard planning contactless payments by year's end
The first payments made through a new contactless payment technology could take place in Slovakia by the last quarter of this year, the SITA newswire wrote.
Ryanair reaches 1.1 mln. passengers from Bratislava since 2005
The biggest low-cost airline in Europe, the Irish company Ryanair, transported a total of 3.7 million passengers this January, up 17.2 percent y/y. In the first month of 2008, the company recorded a 69-percent occupancy rate on its flights, down 2 percentage points y/y. On February 4, Ryanair said that the number of passengers that used its services over the past twelve months reached 49.6 million and an occupancy rate of 82 percent by the end of this January. SITA
Donovaly hosts dog sled race
WINTER has finally hit the country both hard and unexpectedly in the mountains. Windstorms on the Tatra mountain ridges, rich snowfall up to 100 centimetres on the southern slopes of Chopok peak in the Low Tatras and freezing temperatures all bring the end of January. This is what we can expect from winter over the next few days.
Nechala: Resignation prevents crisis
THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR spoke to Pavol Nechala, a lawyer with Transparency International Slovakia, about the resignation of František Kašický as defence minister.
Fico gets Euro pact
PRIME Minister Robert Fico now has a pact of stability to make the home stretch to euro adoption smoother for Slovakia.
Slovakia may get a fourth mobile operator
MARKET regulator Telecommunications Office (TÚ) will probably announce a tender for a fourth mobile operator by the end of this March. Its chairman, Branislav Máčaj, said during the Telecommunications in Slovakia 2008 conference on January 30 that the winner of the tender would receive the opportunity to provide services in the frequency band of 870-876/915-921 Mhz.
Lisbon Treaty vote in limbo
THE LISBON Treaty has come up against a major hurdle during its course through the Slovak parliament.
Cleaning house at the Defence Ministry
THE CLEANING operations at the Slovak Defence Ministry, worth more than Sk3 billion (€89 million), have led to a clean-up in the personnel department, but observers say that without systemic changes, it's just a spit-and-polish job.
The ratepayers' revenge
A BUREAUCRATIC error that allegedly led to over-billing by the SPP gas utility may end up costing Slovakia billions of crowns if a class-action suit being prepared by the Slov-Energia firm is successful.
Štefánik returns to Bratislava
MILAN RASTISLAV Štefánik has returned in the form of an eight-metre, six-tonne sculpture. The bronze sculpture of one of the most important personalities of Slovak history arrived in Bratislava from a foundry in the Czech town of Blansko on January 23, the Hospodárske Noviny daily wrote.
Nový Čas and Markíza most popular media
THE TABLOID Nový Čas kept its position as the most-read daily in Slovakia in the second half of 2007. The latest MML - TGI survey conducted by Median SK in license cooperation with the British company BMRB International showed that 25 percent of the population, or more than 1 million people, read its last edition, the SITA newswire wrote.
Two of six PPP applicants continue in D1 tender
TWO of six applicants have been shortlisted in a tender for construction and operation of five selected stretches of the D1 highway between Martin and Prešov in the first phase of the planned public-private partnership (PPP) highway projects estimated at €1.45 billion. One of the selected consortiums includes two Slovak firms, namely Doprastav and Váhostav - SK. Marián Jánošiík, the Transport Ministry's spokesman told the SITA newswire on January 29 that two bidders qualified in the tender: the French-Swiss consortium comprised of Vinci Concessions S.A. and Skanska Infrastructure Development AB, and a six-member international consortium featuring French firms Bouyges Travaux Publics SA and Colas SA, Hungarian company Intertoll-Europe Zrt., Portuguese firm Mota Engil, SGPS, SA and the two above-mentioned Slovak companies. An eleven-member commission at the Transport Ministry chose the two bidders based on its evaluation of whether they met the set tender criteria. The commission could have chosen a maximum of four applicants.
Slovakia has big olympic plans
THE WORLD of sports is preparing for the Summer Olympics, and Slovakia is no exception.
Teaching the other kind of English
THE CANADIAN Bilingual Institute owes its existence to its founders' belief that there was a niche for North American English instruction in Slovakia.
Rhino undergoes artificial insemination
ZOOLOGISTS at the Bratislava zoo have given up hope that Ada the female rhino will have a baby sired "the normal way".
Slovak-Canadian ties will get new incentives
THE LINKS between Canada and Slovakia have been growing closer in recent years, with joint programmes in development, education and youth opportunities. Slovaks do need visas to travel to Canada, though, but that could change in the near future, says John Broadbent, Canada's charge d'affaires for Slovakia. Slovakia could also be a promising country for investment for Canadian companies, especially those in Canada's large auto sector, Broadbent told The Slovak Spectator in an interview.
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- News digest: Brussels committee launches scrutiny of EU funds in Slovakia
- They could have left. But these young Slovaks stayed
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- Zdeno Chára inducted into world hockey hall of fame Video
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- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
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- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
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- Poland edges toward green light on long-delayed Kraków–Košice rail revival
- After years of straddling two worlds, this American is now reconnecting with his Slovak roots
- Fico’s adviser accused of corruption, then hits back at prosecutor
- Slovak Chamber of Auditors introduces Europe’s first AI platform for auditors
- Slovakia passes NGO law, civil society fears a chilling new era
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- News digest: Brussels committee launches scrutiny of EU funds in Slovakia
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo More articles ›
