Archive of articles - August 2008, page 2
If you desire to read an old article, use the search bar or select the publication date.
No barns in Horný Tisovník
HORNÝ Tisovník lies in Novohrad county, a region along Slovakia's southern border with Hungary. This historical region used to be much bigger, but it was divided after the monarchy was split up following World War I. Its second part is in modern-day Hungary and is called Nógrád.
Slovaks investing in Romania
A FAVOURABLE tax environment and cheap qualified labour have frequently been the main reasons for foreign capital to head to Slovakia. However, these same attractions are now luring Slovak capital to Romania.
Slovak and Hungarian PMs to meet
THE PRIME ministers of Slovakia and Hungary, Robert Fico and Ferenc Gyurcsány, will hold an informal meeting in September. Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Dušan Čaplovič announced the planned meeting on August 23 after meeting his counterpart, Péter Kiss, who is also head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office, in Tvrdošovce, Nové Zámky District, the SITA newswire wrote.
Šebestová’s Four racks up more prizes
FOUR, an animated film by Slovak director Ivana Šebestová, has won more accolades during its tour around the world. Its latest stop was Anonimul, a festival of independent film in Romania between August 11 and 17, where it received an Honourable Mention.
Coalition stokes debate on SNP
PRIME Minister Robert Fico repeatedly proclaims the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) indisputably the most important event in Slovak history. Nevertheless, representatives of the Slovak National Party (SNS), also a member of the governing coalition alongside Fico’s party, Smer, have repeatedly played down the significance of the SNP.
NBS: no info leak over parity
ACCORDING to Slovakia’s central bank, the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), no information concerning revaluation of the central parity of the Slovak crown to the euro leaked earlier this year. Interest in what might otherwise be an arcane economic detail was aroused by suspicions that private financial groups had profited from prior knowledge of the change, which took place in May.
Corruption scandal shakes Banská Bystrica Region
POLICE have detained Ján M., an employee and close associate of Milan Murgaš (Smer), the head of Banská Bystrica Region, and accused him of accepting a Sk2 million (€66,388) bribe to facilitate the sale of a public building at a below-market price.
New change at Kremnica
ONE OF THE OLDEST continuously operating mints in the world is now carrying out a pretty high-profile task: producing new coins for Slovakia’s switch to the euro in January 2009.
Home might be best
UP to 2,000 Bulgarians and Romanians work in Slovakia, where the average salary, despite being among the lowest in the European Union, is higher than in their home countries.But Slovakia shouldn’t expect a large influx of labour. Like Slovakia, which joined the EU in 2004, the Bulgarian and Romanian economies have improved since the countries joined the EU in 2007, leading an increasing number of workers to stay home or come back from abroad. Those Romanians and Bulgarians who do leave tend to go to western EU countries that are closer and where the pay is better.
Justice Ministry and Catholic Church differ over prenups
THE JUSTICE Ministry wants to reduce the divorce rate and prevent marriages forged with the intention of self-enrichment by introducing prenuptial agreements. Justice Minister Štefan Harabin announced the proposal on August 25, after holding talks with Bratislava Metropolitan Archbishop Stanislav Zvolenský, the SITA newswire wrote.
Countrywide Events
Western Slovakia BratislavaLIVE MUSIC: TOP Slovak musicians and soloists who used to be members of the prominent folklore ensemble Lúčnica are premiering a new show on September 1 as part of the Golden Violin project. Musicians grouped around Martin Sleziak, the project artistic director and violin virtuoso, will perform compositions by Mozart, Puccini, and Brahms arranged by Ľubica Salamon-Čekovská and Peter Jantoščiak, hits from famous musicals and operettas, and Italian bel canto music. Soprano Adriana Kučerová, baritone Dalibor Jenis and violinist Dalibor Karvay (pictured above) are the highlights of the show. Due to the extensive reconstruction of Bratislava Castle, the show will take place at the Incheba Expo Arena at Viedenská cesta 3-7. Tickets cost from Sk390 (€12.95) to Sk1,990 (€66.06). For more information, go to www.zlatehusle.sk.
Union about-turn on employee bonus
TRADE union representatives have changed their minds about the so-called employee bonus, a government payment to enable the socially vulnerable to start work. At the beginning of August, the unions criticised the proposed bonus, arguing that the state was using it to encourage people to work for low wages. But by August 25 they had decided to support it, the SITA wrote.
History is the common link
BULGARIA and Slovakia share a great deal of common history, be it ancient or recent. This interlinks the two nations and creates an interest in getting to know each other better. One of the channels for this is the Bulgarian Cultural Institute (BKIS) in Bratislava.
Bulgaria is not just a holiday resort
ALTHOUGH trade between Bulgaria and Slovakia is increasing, certain opportunities for closer business relations between the two countries remain unexplored. Cars, machine production, energy, infrastructure, and food are prospective industries for cooperation.
The irresistible charm of cronyism
THERE are statements with the sole ambition of shocking the audience. Then there are agglomerations of words which masquerade as sophisticated and deep, but which careful listening reveals have described little of any significance. Then there are other statements, representing perhaps the most disagreeable sort of political rhetoric, which elevate highly disputed thoughts to the pedestal of reason and proceed as though there were a general consensus around them. The speaker must make them with a heavy dose of arrogance and assume the mantle of a deity in order to silence in the listener even the smallest voices of doubt.
Harabin: Even Kuwait cannot afford military courts
Justice Minister Štefan Harabin said on August 27 that the existence of military courts is a luxury that even oil-rich Kuwait cannot afford.
Eurostat releases predictions about demographics in Slovakia
The European Commission's statistical arm, Eurostat, has predicted that there will be nearly 850,000 fewer people living in Slovakia in 2060 than today, the Pravda daily wrote.
SMK: Slovakia hasn't yet drawn any EU money for 2007-2013
Slovakia may not be able to draw European Union (EU) funds for the 2007-2013 programme period due to cronyism and territorial discrimination in assigning subsidies, said SMK Republican Council chairman Ivan Farkas at a press conference on August 27. "Slovakia isn't losing any financial resources. According to the rule N+3, the allocation for 2007 can be drawn as late as by 2010," Construction and Regional Development Ministry spokesman Miroslav Batovský told the TASR newswire. "We refute any claims about cronyism and preferential treatment of some regions. The only decisive factor is the quality of the projects submitted.”
Foreign Affairs Ministry to provide humanitarian aid for South Ossetia
Foreign Affairs Minister Ján Kubiš has decided to allocate another Sk2 million (€66,388) in humanitarian aid for civilians affected by the armed conflict in South Ossetia, ministry spokesman Ján Škoda told the TASR newswire on August 27.
Slovakia to hold informal meeting of NATO Defence Ministers next year
Defence Ministry state secretary Daniel Duchoň has become the government’s appointee for the preparation of an informal meeting of NATO defence ministers in Slovakia, it was announced on August 27 in Bratislava.
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Paris leads, Bratislava trails: European cities ranked on safe travel for children
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- A mayor resigns over €2.7 million fraud scandal at town hall
- Show me your moves! Slovak hockey stars share their best pick-up lines
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- He designed Gatwick. But this is his masterpiece
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- The compass points to Kúty, and people are starting to follow
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
