Archive of articles - May 2009, page 9
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Slota flaunts new wheels
THE SPRING of 2009 has been a turbulent one for both Ján Slota and his Slovak National Party (SNS). The party, a junior member of the governing coalition, has seen two of its three ministerial nominees fired; one of its replacement ministers remains under constant media pressure over a dubious tender deal; and in early May, Prime Minister Robert Fico sacked Slota’s nominee as head of the country’s investment development agency, SARIO.
The blemish spreads
JÁN Slota was always going to spell trouble for Robert Fico. Right from the very start, when an alliance with Slota gave Fico his long sought after opportunity to create a government in 2006. Journalists said it, observers said it, and Fico’s political opponents said it.
EC approves Slovak state support for crisis-hit businesses
THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) has approved the Slovak scheme of temporary state support with the aim of providing help of up to €500,000 to individual businesses, the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) said, as reported by the TASR newswire.
Contract remains secret
MORE than a week after the dismissal of the environment minister due to his ministry’s controversial sale of Slovakia’s excess emissions quotas, the public still has not had a chance to see the details of the contract – despite media criticism and opposition efforts to have the document released.
Sad Janka Kráľa to get memorial benches
THE SAD Janka Kráľa public park in the Petržalka district of Bratislava is to get a series of memorial benches commemorating famous personalities. The first such bench should be dedicated to Janko Kráľ, after whom the park along the Petržalka embankment of the Danube River is named.
Construction bill proposes to reduce red tape
BUILDING in Slovakia requires stamina: not only for the work itself, but also – and sometimes mainly – for the paperwork and permits one needs, regardless of whether the final building is a huge shopping centre on the outskirts of the capital or a small family house in a village in central Slovakia. To ease the pain associated with all the paperwork required from construction companies and builders, the Construction Ministry has proposed a new law and has received a lot of criticism for it – mainly from municipalities.
New Mečiar-era privatisation details
IT HAS BEEN alleged that during the 1994-1998 period, when the country was ruled by a coalition comprising the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), the Slovak National Party (SNS) and the Slovak Workers’ Association (ZRS), Slovak state assets were sold to private companies under unclear conditions as a result of which the country might have lost billions of crowns.
Bojnice festival-goers want more scares
EVEN though visitors to the 16th International Ghosts and Spooks Festival at Bojnice Castle thought that this year was among the spookiest, many want even more haunting and frightening experiences. This was the most frequent comment made in visitors’ evaluations of the festival, held between May 1 and 10, said Petra Gordíková, manager of the Bojnice Castle museum. More than 21,000 people visited the castle - from Lithuania, Ukraine, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Germany as well as Slovakia. They did not seem to mind queuing and waiting for several hours to witness the unrevealed story of Matúš Čák Trenčiansky (Máté Csák of Trenčín) titled ‘The Rabies’ which was performed every 8-10 minutes in the castle’s interiorroomsandoutdooryards.
Slovak film captures top award at LA festival
THE SLOVAK film The Unfulfilled Promise captured the top award at the Jewish Film Festival in the United States in the feature film category. The film had its world premiere on April 25 at a sold-out theatre in Los Angeles. The top award at this festival is decided by a vote of the audience and The Unfulfilled Promise garnered the highest total among all 30 movies shown at the festival, scoring 4.8 of the possible 5 points.
Quote of the Week
"I'm not a police dog, and I never will be. There are other bodies for that task - tax [offices], financial and others."
Police raids are latest hurdle for golf project
IT WAS a beautiful dream – a 27-hole golf course only 20 kilometres from Bratislava offering housing for several thousand people across 232 hectares. A renowned Canadian architect was called in to design the site, which was to cost €200 million to build, and ground was to be broken in 2009.
Vígľaš castle to rise again
THE CASTLE in Vígľaš, a village in central Slovakia, will survive to witness its own reconstruction – despite a few shaky moments in recent years. The new owner of its ruins, the Zámok Vígľaš company, has received €6 million for its reconstruction from European Union (EU) funds, Pavol Výboh, the village’s mayor, told the TASR newswire on May 12.
Tuition fees at most universities illegal
UNIVERSITIES failed to follow the rules in raising tuition fees in the course of the 2008/2009 academic year, and 18 out of 20 of them broke the law, the Sme daily has reported. The For Fair Tuition initiative, which represents students, and the Slovak Governance Institute (SGI) have highlighted the issue.
Mať na saláme
“I HAVE IT on the sausage!” An Italian restaurant or an ‘erotic massage parlour’ are perhaps the only places where a foreigner might expect to hear a phrase which Slovaks in fact use regularly to express states of complete apathy and disregard. “Mať na saláme” is to “not give a damn”. The boss of the nationalist SNS party, Ján Slota, is perhaps the country’s most prominent “sausager”.
Real estate and construction in Slovakia
Ministry of Construction and Regional Development(MVRR SR)www.build.gov.skMinister: Igor Štefanov
Slovakia’s GDP dips by 5.4 percent in Q1 2009
SLOVAKIA’S economy has contracted by 5.4 percent over the first three months of 2009: the flash estimate of the Slovak Statistics Office has confirmed what the country had already learned from its central bank, the European Commission and market watchers who have predicted that Slovakia’s economy is destined to fall into recession throughout 2009.
EC takes ‘first-stage’ action over highway toll tender
The European Commission initiated an action against Slovakia on May 14 in connection with the tender for the electronic highway-toll collection system organised by the state-owned National Highway Company (NDS), according to the TASR newswire.
Saturday is Slovakia’s country-wide ‘Night of Museums and Galleries’
About eighty museums and galleries all over Slovakia have prepared not just their usual exhibitions, but also shows of traditional crafts, fairy tales or night tours for visitors within the country’s annual Night of Museums and Galleries which will be held on Saturday, May 16.
Slovakia presents its report to UN Council for Human Rights
Slovakia presented a report on observance of human rights in the country in Geneva, Switzerland on May 13 as part of a general evaluation by the UN Council for Human Rights, the TASR newswire was told by Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Ján Škoda.
Opposition’s deadline on dismissal of Minister Štefanov passes without PM action
Opposition SDKÚ parliamentary caucus chairman Stanislav Janis said on Thursday, May 14, that the opposition has not received any information that PM Fico has decided to dismiss Construction and Regional Development Minister Igor Štefanov, reported the TASR newswire.
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- From eight to thousands of runners. How Košice marathon rose to prominence Photo
- Iconic Slovak barn still draws crowds. Without donors, it might have been lost 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
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- 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
- From eight to thousands of runners. How Košice marathon rose to prominence Photo
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- 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
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- 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
- A mayor resigns over €2.7 million fraud scandal at town hall
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- He designed Gatwick. But this is his masterpiece
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- 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 More articles ›
