Archive of articles - March 2009, page 3
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The unchanging face of Kežmarské Žľaby
ONE OF the smaller tourist resorts in the High Tatras, Kežmarské Žľaby (Kežmarok Gullies), was built on a large meadow near the brook called Biela voda (White Water). Originally, a smugglers’ road led through the meadow to Poland, serving to transport all kinds of goods across the border, especially horses.
Nitra River redirected for coal mining
THE FLOW of the Nitra River was redirected to a new river bed in Opatovce nad Nitrou in the district of Prievidza on March 24. It is part of a project intended to open up an area for the mining of brown coal. The redirection will enable mining company Hornonitrianske Bane of Prievidza employing about 4,000 people to continue extracting coal for several more years, the SITA newswire reported.
Anger over Austrian border checks
ON SATURDAY March 21 Austrian police carried out identity checks on Slovak passengers travelling on a newly opened municipal bus route between Bratislava and Hainburg, in Austria. Passengers were forced to leave the buses and were checked for about 20 minutes, with policemen focusing mainly on identity documents even though Slovakia is a part of the Schengen zone, the TASR newswire wrote.
Bratislava celebrates Day of Water with expo
THE BRATISLAVA Water Utility Company (BVS) has prepared a free exhibition of artworks called H2O+ART in its Water Utility Museum on Devínska cesta in the Karlova Ves district of Bratislava. It will be open until May 16.
Quote of the Week
“I'm glad, I won the first round. Everybody expected it.”
New books in English now available in Slovakia
Notebooks. Leonardo da Vinci. Paperback: 392 pages. Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008.Most of what we know about Leonardo da Vinci is from his notebooks – some 6,000 sheets of notes and drawing survived, but they only represent one fifth of what he actually produced, the introductory notes on the cover of this book read.“Leonardo’s notebooks are amongst the most remarkable survivals in the history of human culture,” Martin Kemp, one of the world's leading authorities on da Vinci, wrote in the preface to the publication. “There is nothing quite like them in art, science and technology. The extraordinary fluency of his thought, unconstrained by disciplinary boundaries, and the brilliance of his graphic techniques are unrivalled.”
Hungarians, provocateurs and nationalist melod
ELECTION campaigns cannot help but attract melodrama. Emotions and plots are typically as subtle as a loud Broadway musical. But if a theatre performance leaves the viewer irritated, she is free to walk out, throw her programme in the bin and enjoy a good moan to the taxi driver on the way home about the waste of her time and money. She can guiltlessly forget the bum notes and contrived plot.
And then there were two
THE CANDIDATES who made it to the second round of the presidential election will now step out of the shadow of election slogans, say observers, suggesting that voters will now want to take a much closer look at who Ivan Gašparovič and Iveta Radičová really are. Analysts assume that the personal profiles of the candidates, along with their past histories, will now gain more importance than they had in the first round when seven candidates were in the running.
First good neighbours awarded
SLOVAK Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák and his Hungarian counterpart, Kinga Göncz, presented awards to former Slovak culture minister and Czechoslovak ambassador to Hungary Rudolf Chmel and the mayor of the Hungarian village of Hejce, Géza Rohály, for being good neighbours when it comes to Slovak-Hungarian relations, the Sme daily reported.
Bratislava becomes less expensive
PRICES of apartments in Bratislava have been decreasing for several months, Martin Lazík of the National Association of Real Estate Agencies of Slovakia (NARKS) told the Sme daily in mid-March. He said that February was not an exception and that he expects this trend will continue.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIABratislavaFOLKLORE:ALL FOLKLORE lovers can look forward to a rare combination of Slovak traditional dance and music with modern elements that will premier at Bratislava’s Istropolis Culture Centre at Trnavské mýto 1 on April 4 and 5 at 19:00 under the title “The Stars of Folklore”. The successful Magic Spurs ensemble, which has recently performed in Spain before an audience of 70,000 people, and 25 musicians from the renowned Devil’s Violins led by Ján Berky Mrenica Jr are a guarantee of an unforgettable artistic experience. Admission for this long-awaited show is between €10 and €16. More information can be found at www.carovneostrohy.sk.
Car-scrapping – to be continued?
THE SUCCESS of the car-scrapping bonus among Slovaks could lead to an increase in the amount of money assigned to this purpose from the state budget. The government originally authorised €33.2 million for this purpose in February, but Prime Minister Robert Fico announced even then that if the bonus proved to be a successful tool in increasing the purchase of new cars, that this might not be the final sum, the SITA newswire reported.
SNS official challenges Radičová over Slovakia’s independence
Slovak National Party (SNS) vice chair Anna Belousovová on Thursday, March 26, challenged joint opposition presidential candidate Iveta Radičová to hold a discussion via the electronic media regarding the establishment of an independent Slovakia. “I can prove that Radičová has lied (in connection with her current statements and attitude towards Slovak independence),” Belousovová told the TASR newswire at a press conference on Wednesday.
Henkel Slovensko to create 150 new jobs in Bratislava
Adhesives producer Henkel Slovensko has decided to expand its Shared Services Centre in Bratislava, city officials told the TASR newswire on Thursday, March 26.
Slovakia regains 49% stake in Transpetrol from Yukos for $240 million
The Slovak government regained a 49-percent stake in the Slovak oil distribution company Transpetrol for $240 million (€176.38 million), Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič announced on Thursday, March 26, in Bratislava, the TASR newswire wrote.
Large layoffs hit workers in central Slovakia
Since October, the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Office (UPSVR) in Zvolen has been notified of a total of 1,250 planned layoffs in the region's districts of Zvolen, Detva and Krupina, the TASR newswire was told on Thursday, March 26.
Average monthly old-age pension in February was €335.50
The average monthly old-age pension in Slovakia amounted to €335.50 in late February and approximately 925,700 people received this kind of pension, the SITA newswire wrote. Early retirement pensions, received by 52,700 pensioners in February averaged €349.80.
Survey shows Slovaks are more interested in politics
The number of citizens of Slovakia who say they understand politics has increased from fifteen years ago. While in 1994, around 36 percent of the citizens of Slovakia said they understood what is happening on the political stage, a survey called “Citizenship and Participation” conducted last year showed the figure going up by eight percentage points, the SITA newswire wrote.
Small diesel power plant proposed near Levice
A new, small diesel power plant may be built by Pow-en company near Levice with an investment of approximately €20 million. The company has submitted investment plans for an Environmental Impact Assessment for the power plant which will have an installed capacity of 32 megawatts. The investor wants to start work on the project in May of this year and complete it by the end of the year, the SITA newswire wrote.
Nitra plans to connect waste management with energy production
The city of Nitra wants to be the first Slovak municipality to connect all available facilities for waste processing with power generation from alternative sources, the town mayor, Jozef Dvonč, told a news conference on March 26, the SITA newswire wrote.
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- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
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- Show me your moves! Slovak hockey stars share their best pick-up lines
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- He designed Gatwick. But this is his masterpiece
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
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- 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 ›
