Archive of articles - July 2009, page 12
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40km of new highway completed
OVER 40 kilometres of highway and dual carriageway stretches which started in 2008 have been completed at a cost of €101.04 million, and 21.1 kilometres of highways and dual carriageways worth €84.51 million are now open to traffic, the government plenipotentiary for highways and dual carriageways and director of the National Highway Company (NDS) Igor Choma stated, the SITA newswire reported.
New minister picked
AFTER the controversial election of former justice minister Štefan Harabin as the president of Slovakia’s Supreme Court and head of the country’s Judicial Council, the justice ministry will again be led by another judge.
A colony of bee-eaters destroyed by humans
A COLONY of European migratory birds known as bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) that sometimes overshoot north of its normal range of southern Europe, northern Africa and western Asia and occasionally breed in northwest Europe, laid nests in holes in a sand wall in the village of Leles in the eastern-Slovak lowlands. Unfortunately, their nests were destroyed by some unknown person, the Slovak ornithology association, BirdLife Slovensko, discovered in mid-June. They claim that the destruction of the colony appears to have been a deliberate act to kill these birds.
Nigerians in custody for drug smuggling
A NIGERIAN man, Kelly A., who allegedly tried to smuggle heroin in his stomach into Slovakia on June 22, is to remain in custody on the orders of the Bratislava II District Court, the TASR newswire wrote.
Shopping tourism calms down
THE DROOPING Hungarian forint, Czech crown and Polish zloty are all slowly recovering; domestic petrol prices are surging; and local retailers are taming or even cutting their prices.
Germany: General facts
Political system: federal parliamentary republicCapital: BerlinTotal area: 357,104 square kilometresPopulation: 82.2 millionOfficial languages: GermanCurrency: euro
Aerial weekend in Poprad
OVER the first weekend in July Poprad Airport hosted the 11th year of the Aero-Moto Víkend event which featured, among other exciting events, displays of top aerial acrobatics.
Hungarian minority criticises revised language act
The Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) harshly criticised the amendment to the Act on State Language approved by Parliament on June 30.
Voices of Roma women heard
TO MARK Slovakia’s presidency of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, The Slovak Spectator will publish a series of interviews with Roma women living in Slovakia. The interviews were conducted by Kristína Magdolenová and Jarmila Vaňová from the Roma Press Agency as part of their project which examines gender issues associated with the life of the Roma community.
Medical first aid services could be cut
A RULING coalition deputy has quietly proposed to restrict provision of medical services during the late evening hours as a way to give relief to on-duty doctors. While the Health Ministry is supporting this proposed limitation and points to infrequent overnight use of these services, the Health Policy Institute think-tank and some medical experts believe doing so will limit people’s access to needed health care.
Empty words on assets
THE ASSETS of Slovak politicians remain murky despite a law which obliges all public officials to declare their income and list their assets every year. The law doesn’t require any specific information to be given so the public is normally left with a list of unspecified houses, motor vehicles, farmland and bank account savings which reveal little about each official’s assets.“The reason for publishing the assets declarations is [to allow] comparison of the growth of a politician’s assets with his declared income, and thus to find out about potentially illegally acquired assets and to investigate their origins,” Ivan Rončák from Transparency International Slovensko told The Slovak Spectator.
Seeing bright prospects
GERMAN investors in Slovakia highly assess the country’s educated labour force, its simple flat-rate tax system, minimal bureaucracy and stable economic conditions. The successful introduction of the euro and Slovakia's central location are other positive features further widening business opportunities between the two countries.
Speaker of Slovak Parliament says Language Act is not against minorities
The Speaker of Slovak Parliament, Pavol Paška, responded to a letter from his Hungarian counterpart Katalin Szili on July 2 in which she had voiced concern over the changes to the law on state language that Slovak parliament passed on Tuesday, June 30, the SITA newswire reported.
Discipline initiated against two Slovak Supreme Court justices
Supreme Court President Štefan Harabin has filed a motion with Slovakia’s Judicial Council to launch disciplinary proceedings against two Supreme Court justices who missed a deadline to decide on the prolongation of custody for Jaroslav P. who had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Slovakia’s Special Court in the case of an alleged Mafia group from eastern Slovakia, the SITA newswire reported.
Opposition MP says Slovak Interior Minister acted properly
MP Martin Pado from the opposition SDKÚ party said on Thursday, July 2, that the penalty imposed by Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák on woman police officer Ľudmila Nováková, who was allegedly the target of verbal abuse and insult from Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Ján Slota in the parliament’s garage in April, was correct, the TASR newswire wrote.
Shopping tourism causes €18.7 million shortfall in 1Q09 VAT revenues
A shortfall in VAT revenues due to 'shopping tourism’ – in which some Slovaks started shopping in neighbouring countries following the devaluation of the currencies of nearby countries – may have reached €18.7 million in the first quarter of 2009, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday, July 2, as reported by TASR.
US Steel Košice offers voluntary resignation compensation
In line with an annex to its collective agreement in the United States, U.S. Steel Košice (USSK) is offering approximately 400 of its employees the opportunity to terminate their work contract with the company based on voluntary agreement, the SITA newswire wrote.
Slovak regional elections set for November 14
Slovak elections for the top public offices in regional administrations (VÚC) will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2009 with a possible second round on November 28, 2009, the TASR newswire reported.
Slovakia assumes presidency of Decade of the Roma
The identity of the Roma along with integrated education and a multi-cultural upbringing will be the main priorities of Slovakia's presidency of the ‘Decade of Integration of the Roma Population 2005-15’ programme, which begins on July 1, the TASR newswire wrote.
Economy Ministry provides updates on Slovakia's labour market
Large foreign investors operating in Slovakia are not planning any significant staff cutbacks for now according to the Economy Ministry which said that Samsung Galanta, Kia Motors Slovakia, Mobis Slovakia, Sony Slovakia and Volkswagen Slovakia have not announced any mass layoffs to the ministry, the SITA newswire wrote.
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- Legendary captain Zdeno Chára inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame Video
- 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
- Liberal MP's boxing challenge backfires as far-right MEP seizes the moment
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- From eight to thousands of runners. How Košice marathon rose to prominence Photo
- 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
- 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
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Iconic Slovak barn still draws crowds. Without donors, it might have been lost Photo
- 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
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- 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
- 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
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Legendary captain Zdeno Chára inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame Video
- Liberal MP's boxing challenge backfires as far-right MEP seizes the moment
- 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 More articles ›
