Archive of articles - February 2010, page 2
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Poll shows drop in living standards
ONE THIRD of all Slovaks claim their living standards have worsened over the past four years while one in five Slovaks have seen an improvement, according to a survey carried out by the Polis Slovakia polling agency, the TASR newswire reported.
Economic crime in the spotlight
THE DIFFICULT economic situation in Slovakia as well as elsewhere has been reflected in a greater awareness of economic crime. While it is difficult to say with certainty whether the actual incidence of economic crime has grown, detection of economic crime has increased, partially because as companies have searched for cost-savings and taken closer examinations of their financial statements, they have been able to uncover more economic crime. In addition, the possibility of layoffs, cost-cutting through salary reductions, and pressing on employees for greater effectiveness creates a more favourable environment for unethical or fraudulent behaviour by top managers or employees.
Wolfman remake lacks a real bite
The Wolfman
Who’s running Interblue?
SHORTLY after the Slovak public finally saw a photograph of the face of the authorised representative of the mystery firm which had purchased Slovakia excess emission quotas at a bargain-basement price, she temporarily resigned from her position due to what she claimed was a concussion sustained during an unwanted encounter with the Slovak media on January 20.
Passenger numbers drop at BTS Airport
BRATISLAVA’s M.R. Štefánik Airport (BTS) handled 91,321 passengers in January 2010, a drop of 10 percent year-on-year, BTS spokesperson Dana Madunická told the TASR newswire on February 22. Lower figures were recorded for both international and domestic air transport. The drop in domestic passengers is in line with a long-term trend at the airport, despite an increase in the number of flights and destinations.
Benefits of the credit crunch
THE ASSOCIATION of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) held its Accountants for Business conference in Bratislava on February 18. As Petra Polednová, the country representative of ACCA for Slovakia, told The Slovak Spectator, the conference was targeted at senior finance and human resources professionals and was primarily devoted to the benefits of the credit crunch.
Unifying tax collection in Slovakia
IBM Slovensko has won a huge tender as part of procurement to build a system for unified collection of taxes and social and health insurance contributions. The company succeeded in the European tender for provision of technical assistance services in building an integrated information system for the Finance Ministry. The value of the three-year contract, signed on February 18, is €56 million excluding VAT and the project will be financed from the state budget as well as from EU funds, reported Slovakia’s Finance Ministry, as cited by the SITA newswire.
Constitutional amendment rejected
THE CONSTITUTIONAL and judicial committee of parliament did not adopt a proposal to amend Slovakia’s Constitution in accord with the draft bill on the origin of property as proposed by Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Interblue begs for a good conspiracy theory
PRIME Minister Robert Fico knows who is pulling the strings. After Slovakia spent over €7 million on vaccines to shield vulnerable groups of the population from the H1N1 pandemic, Fico uttered a comment which should relieve anyone fearing a wide spread of the virus: vaccinations against swine flu are “just a big game on the part of pharmaceutical firms”. Certainly, if this ‘revelation’ is in any way relevant in public discourse, then it can make many hardworking taxpayers very nervous about this government’s management of public funds.
Institutions in the tax and audit field in Slovakia
Ministry of Finance, www.finance.gov.sk
Villages risk fines for not separating waste
BEGINNING in January, all municipalities in Slovakia became obligated to separate communal waste according to EU regulations designed to reduce the overall amount of waste and to recycle as much of it as possible. However, Viera Krakovská, the deputy chair of the Association of Slovak Towns and Villages (ZMOS), told the TASR newswire that about 250 municipalities have failed to launch programmes for the separation of waste, even though they are required to do so by law. She said that dividing waste is sometimes costly for smaller villages but that they must assume this task.
Ski season could last till April
“MATEJ breaks the ice,” reads an old Slovak proverb, assuring us that after February 24, Matej’s nameday, we can expect an end to the winter chills and look forward to the coming of spring.
Donations to Haiti reach almost €2m
ALMOST €2 million has already been raised in Slovakia to help and support Haiti, which was hit by a damaging earthquake on January 12.
O šiestej
SLOVAKIA'S biorhythm changed this week. Hundreds of thousands of people turned on their TV sets at six in the morning to watch the country’s hockey team play at the Olympics. The prestigious match against the Czechs, the shocking win over the Russians, the decisive duel with the Norwegians, as well our historic defeat of Sweden in the quarter-finals, all happened at the same time, o šiestej.
Slovak biathlete wins Olympic bronze
SLOVAK biathletes have enjoyed great success at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver thanks to Pavol Hurajt winning a bronze medal in the men's biathlon mass start race on February 21.
‘Most of the information was wrong’
ALMOST 40 years ago, a Slovak scholar (now deceased) spent a semester at the University of Michigan shortly before I went to Slovakia to do research for my doctoral dissertation. So far as I knew, she was the only person from Slovakia in Ann Arbor, so my wife and I befriended her. Not only was it a friendly thing to do, but I also thought it wouldn’t hurt to know someone when we arrived in Bratislava in April 1973 for my doctoral research. I told her about that research, which was focusing on socio-cultural development in Slovakia in the first half of the twentieth century.
Bank analysts expecting better economic growth in 2010
Analysts working for commercial banks became more optimistic about the economy in February, improving their estimates of economic growth for 2010 to 2.6 percent, up by 0.5 percentage points from January, according to the latest macroeconomic predictions by selected banks published by the Slovak central bank (NBS) and reported by the TASR newswire.
Protesting Slovak truckers say they will not back off from their demands
The Union of Slovak Road Transporters (UNAS) doesn't intend to back off from its protest alert, UNAS organisation committee member Jaroslav Polaček said at an anti-government gathering 'We Like This Country' in Bratislava on the evening of February 25, the TASR newswire wrote.
Report states that 62 percent of Slovak households have internet access
As many as 62 percent of Slovak households have internet access, which means that Slovakia is catching up to the EU average of 65 percent, according to a report on 2009 commissioned by the state Information Society Proxy, the TASR newswire wrote.
Interior Minister says falsified documents were used for Slovak citizenship
Alleged Serbian drug lord Darko Šaric submitted false information in his application for Slovak citizenship in 2005, Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák said on February 25, the TASR newswire reported.
- 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
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- 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 ›
