Archive of articles - September 2009, page 12
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Fraud in the automotive industry
FRAUD is a serious problem causing significant losses for many companies. Forensic specialists from central and eastern Europe (CEE) working with KPMG, one of the leading providers of audit, tax and advisory services, have looked more closely at fraud in the CEE automotive industry. As reported below, some of the findings published in the Fraud in Automotive Industry in CEE report were surprising.
Carmakers in Slovakia gear up for new models
ALL of the three main carmakers in Slovakia have been affected by the global economic crisis and its impact on their customers’ choice of vehicles and ability to pay for them. But in spite of this the big firms are maintaining an upbeat position when it comes to new models, production increases and the recruitment of new employees.
Inglorious Basterds
RATHER like George W. Bush entering the White House, or anyone texting an ex while drunk, the consequences of Quentin Tarantino dabbling in Holocaust issues were always going to be disastrous; we didn’t need to see them to know that. Yet Inglourious Basterds, playing now in Bratislava, makes us voyeurs to a peculiar abomination. This film is what happens when no one intervenes to halt a plainly misguided concept, and it is every bit as insensitive as we might have feared.
Organisations and associations
Ministry of Economy
14 hospitals want debt settlement
OUT of the 180 health-care facilities eligible to apply for financial assistance from the Ministry of Health to settle their past debts, only 14 have applied and they requested a cumulative sum of €114 million. Health-care facilities administered by the ministry, military hospitals, hospitals administered by Slovakia’s self-governing regions, and non-profit health-care facilities were eligible to request such financial assistance before the end of August, the TASR newswire reported.
Farmers seek help to stave off collapse
THOUGH it may seem that the most significant issue affecting agriculture in Slovakia is the fate of outgoing Agriculture Minister Stanislav Becík – whose political party, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, wants him replaced – farmers and their associations warn that the problems facing agriculture in Slovakia are much deeper than that.
A milestone in Slovak history is re-enacted in Banská Bystrica
DURING World War II – on August 29, 1944 – a milestone in Slovak history began. It was the start of the Slovak National Uprising against fascism and the Slovak puppet state and it was centred in central Slovakia around the city of Banská Bystrica. On the last weekend of August, an authentic re-enactment of the mobilisation was staged there by clubs of military history.
Bonus boosts sales of smaller cars
THE CAR-scrapping scheme launched by the Slovak government in March has fulfilled its goal of minimising concerns among Slovaks about purchasing a new car during the economic downturn. This measure, as expected, boosted new car sales and made smaller and less-expensive models much more popular. And even though car manufacturers think that demand will remain sluggish through to the end of the year, they are ready to tempt Slovak customers with several new models.
Duna or just Dunaj?
THE CURRENT tense atmosphere between Slovakia and Hungary saw a further sharpening in early September over Slovakia’s new State Language Act, which came into force on September 1. But the language act wasn’t the only source of dispute: arguments about the use of Hungarian terms in school textbooks for Hungarian-language schools in Slovakia also led to a spat between MPs representing Slovak Hungarians and the nationalist-led Education Ministry.
Slovakia launches its first PPP project
SLOVAKIA has kicked off its first ever public-private partnership (PPP) project. The agreement covers the construction of the R1 dual carriageway from Nitra to Tekovské Nemce. Slovakia’s Ministry for Transport, Posts, and Telecommunications considers the agreement concluded with the Granvia consortium a clear success for the country, the SITA newswire reported.
Quote of the week
"I will not leave with my teeth gritted and I will not leave in anger."
Leonard Cohen: I didn't come to fool you
“I'VE TOLD the truth, I didn't come to Bratislava to fool you,” he said, in the melancholic voice that has found its way into the hearts of even those Slovaks who were unable to fully taste all the shades of his sublime poetry.
Slota must explain his flights
THE PARLIAMENTARY committee for conflict of interests has started disciplinary proceedings against Slovak National Party (SNS) chairman Ján Slota. They called on Slota to present documents showing that he paid for a private flight he took to Croatia as well as a flight on a military plane, an L-29 Delfín, the SITA newswire reported.
Average monthly salary rises
DATA from Slovakia’s Statistics Office show that the average nominal monthly salary of employees reached €721.40 in the first half of 2009, up 3.7 percent year-on-year, the SITA newswire reported.
Crisis measures to be assessed after Q3
SLOVAKIA’S cabinet will not evaluate the measures it has adopted this year to counter the effects of the financial and economic crisis before October 2009, Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek stated following a September 2 cabinet meeting, adding that the government will wait until the end of the third quarter of 2009 to undertake the assessment, the SITA newswire reported.
Books now available
The Boom Box. Very Short Introduction. Paperback: six volumes of 144 pages each. Oxford University Press, 2008.
Citizens to vote on wind farm
A SLOVAK subsidiary of the Austrian company ENAIRGY Windenergie is planning to construct a wind park in the community of Mokrý Háj, lying between the towns of Skalica and Radošovce.
Car-scrapping bonus scheme soon to wrap up
THE FRENZY over Slovakia’s car-scrapping bonus is subsiding and only a few thousand bonuses remain unclaimed by those who must purchase a new car by the end of the year. Since the launch of the scheme, which the government introduced in March to help the ailing Slovak car industry and to partially renew Slovakia’s fleet of old cars, opinions on the real effects of the programme have been mixed.
The danger of instant solutions
SOLUTIONS offered by politicians are like fashion items. When a fashion trend emerges, politicians diligently adopt the new style, the colours, the shades, the voice: anything that promises a vote here and there. Yet sensitive issues that affect vulnerable groups in society should be free from political fashion trends. The problems of the Roma community, which have been neglected over many decades, should be addressed calmly and considerately, not inflamed by rally talk.
Car sales in Slovakia
The growth in new car registrations continued in July, supported
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- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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 ›
