Archive of articles - October 2009, page 11
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EC squelches funds for bulletin-board tender
THE CHAIR underneath yet another Slovak National Party (SNS) nominee is wobbling after the European Commission said that it would not reimburse a single euro spent within the controversial bulletin-board tender organised by Slovakia’s Construction Ministry. Minister Igor Štefanov’s rhetoric was still filled with swagger on October 7 when he said that Slovakia will not lose any money over the tender.
Electronic toll system starts final phase
THE NEW system for electronic collection of tolls for use of highways and first class roads across Slovakia will start on January 1, 2010. Trucks and buses and other vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will pay the toll based on the number of kilometres driven. The satellite-based toll collection system will cover more than 2,000 kilometres of roads with six highway gates and 40 control gates on parallel first class roads.
Dreaming of Brussels
EVERYBODY knows Atomium, one of the most famous Brussels landmarks. Fewer people remember that this depiction of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times, was an iconic model built for Expo ‘58, the World’s Fair held in Brussels in 1958. And even fewer know that the Czechoslovak pavilion at that expo won the top prizes awarded by the general public and by the expo jury.
‘Not our problem’
ONE observer responded to a recent petition signed by 105 Slovak judges – who argue that the judicial authorities are seeking to penalise judges for their opinions – by saying that Slovakia’s judiciary may require a clean-up of Augean proportions. But this is not an opinion shared by Prime Minister Robert Fico and his ruling coalition partner Vladimír Mečiar.
Film review: District 9
Director: Neill Blomkamp; Starring: Sharlto Copley ; FOR its opening half an hour, Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 is a bleakly realistic and shamefully familiar tale of organised prejudice and man’s intolerance of minorities. It depicts in startling documentary footage, interspersed with eye-witness and expert testimony, the government-sponsored dissolution of a fetid ghetto on the outskirts of Johannesburg, a vast shanty town of shacks and tents and squalor housing more than a million displaced creatures.
Quote of the Week:
“I have returned from Brussels feeling like an absolute winner."
Pinnacle becomes PointPark Properties
PINNACLE, a developer and operator of logistics parks has changed its name in Slovakia to PointPark Properties after it found out that its previous name was not directly associated with the development business, the Trend weekly reported in early September.
Institutions and organisations of transport and logistics in Slovakia
Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications
Recalling Zamarovský
SLOVAK writer Vojtech Zamarovský, who rose to fame thanks to non-fiction books about ancient and pre-ancient societies, was born on October 5, 1919, in Zamarovce, today a part of the town of Trenčín, making 2009 the 90th anniversary of his birth.
Time grinds by at Nitra flour mill
THIS idyllic scene with horses drinking and coachmen idling around was captured in the town of Nitra sometime around 1925. Today, hundreds of cars pass this place every day heading to a nearby bridge over the Nitra River.
Scanner to have international check
SLOVAK and Ukrainian foreign affairs ministers have agreed on joint radiation measurements to be made on the contentious x-ray scanner that checks for contraband goods on freight trains at the border checkpoint from Ukraine to Slovakia, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák said on October 5.
Achieve more with a reliable partner
• Establishment of Companies • Accountancy • Human Resources Management • Consulting •
Slovenia ruin Slovakia's party as attention turns to Poland
SLOVAKIA will need that second chance after all. Requiring only a draw at home to Slovenia this evening to confirm their place as winners of Group 3 and qualify for next year's World Cup, Vladimir Weiss's men were instead defeated by two second-half goals from a spirited visiting side, who kept their own dreams alive of a South African summer. Slovakia will now head to Poland on Wednesday, in all probability needing to win to book their place at the World Cup finals for the first time in their history.
Regional defence ministers seek V4 mutual task force
Defence ministers of Visegrad Four (V4) countries (Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic) are interested in creating a mutual European Union task force of V4 countries, they agreed at a session in Budapest on October 8, the Slovak Defence Ministry's spokesman, Vladimír Gemela, told TASR on that day. The session, attended by Defence Minister Jaroslav Baška, also dealt with NATO operations in Afghanistan, the EU's operation in Africa and the strategic partnership between NATO and EU.
Slota explains his flight to Croatia and receives no fine
The chairman of the Slovak National Party (SNS), Ján Slota, has so far avoided a fine for two controversial aeroplane flights, as Parliament's conflict of interest committee on October 8 stopped proceedings against him over his recent flight to Croatia in a private plane, given that he submitted evidence that he paid for the flight, the TASR newswire reported.
European Commission urges Slovakia to explain 2007 contract
The European Commission announced on October 8 that Slovakia acted contrary to European laws governing public procurement when it awarded a €19.6 million legal services contract in 2007 for the D1 and R1 road projects without properly advertising the tender in advance. Slovakia has two months to account for its conduct, otherwise the EC may sue the Slovak government before a European court, the TASR newswire wrote. In 2007 the Transport Ministry terminated an original contract for the services two years early on the grounds of what it said was inadequate rendering of services, TASR wrote.
FAM State Secretary leads Slovak delegation at UNESCO conference
Oľga Algayerová, the State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign Affairs is heading the Slovak delegation at the 35th UNESCO General Conference which is currently under way in Paris, the ministry's press department announced on October 8, telling the TASR newswire that Algayerová is to deliver a speech that day. Slovakia has become one of vice-chairing countries at the conference, which started on October 6. Representatives of more 193 member countries are expected to decide on a number of important issues concerning the world's largest organisation for education, science, culture and communication. TASR
Police are also preparing for football match
The match that can decide the fate of the Slovak national football team at the World Cup that will take place on Saturday, October 10, at Tehelné pole in Bratislava is perceived as potentially troublesome and risky by the Slovak Football Association and thus police in the capital have been preparing for it with appropriate security measures, the SITA newswire reported.
Industrial output slump softens in August
August figures on industrial output were a pleasant surprise following months of year on year declines. Data released by the Slovak Statistics Office on October 8 showed that industrial output shrank 5.7 percent y-o-y in the eighth month of 2009, the SITA newswire reported.
World Dog Show in Bratislava is the biggest ever
The most prestigious world canine event, the World Dog Show 2009, began October 8 in Bratislava’s Expo Incheba Fairgrounds, the SITA newswire wrote.
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- Slovakia passes NGO law, civil society fears a chilling new era
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- News digest: Brussels committee launches scrutiny of EU funds in Slovakia
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- Fico’s adviser accused of corruption, then hits back at prosecutor
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- News digest: Brussels committee launches scrutiny of EU funds in Slovakia
- They could have left. But these young Slovaks stayed
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- ‘Listen, Martina, this is not just your country’: protest song becomes rallying cry for folklorists Video
- Slovakia passes NGO law, civil society fears a chilling new era
- 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
- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Why a British teacher chose Slovakia as home Audio
- Zdeno Chára inducted into world hockey hall of fame Video
- 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
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
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- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
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- Slovak roots: claiming what you knew you had
- Poland edges toward green light on long-delayed Kraków–Košice rail revival
- After years of straddling two worlds, this American is now reconnecting with his Slovak roots
- Fico’s adviser accused of corruption, then hits back at prosecutor
- Slovak Chamber of Auditors introduces Europe’s first AI platform for auditors
- Slovakia passes NGO law, civil society fears a chilling new era
- Irish metal band to make long-awaited debut in Bratislava Video
- News digest: Brussels committee launches scrutiny of EU funds in Slovakia More articles ›
