Archive of articles - March 2010, page 13
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Statistics Office says Slovak GDP depends on Czech and German economies
The development of the Slovak economy in 2010 will especially depend on foreign demand, the general director of the Slovak Statistics Office’s department of macroeconomics statistics, Frantisek Bernadič, told the TASR newswire on March 6, adding that a certain recovery already took place in the final quarter of 2009. “The development of Slovak exports will be influenced especially by the direction in which economies of Slovakia’s crucial business partners develop – especially Germany and the Czech Republic,” said Bernadič. The situation will also depend on developments in the sphere of domestic demand, investments, household expenditures and public administration, he added. TASR
Oravský Podzámok
UNDER Orava Castle, one of the most picturesque in Slovakia, an interesting settlement arose sometime in the 16th century. It began with just a farmstead and a church, and gradually evolved with the arrival of a pub, toll-house, mill, sawmill, brewery, and a special mill for the production of gunpowder.
Alone on stage with a lot of strange instruments
HE WAS standing there alone playing guitar in front of a wall assembled from metal cages with chained drums, percussion and other music-making instruments. There were also two guitars in a wooden box and on the sides a piano as well as bottles with differing levels of liquid in wooden boxes. While there was only one man on stage, he was making the amazing sound of an entire orchestra. It was Pat Metheny, renowned jazz guitarist and composer, who came to Bratislava on February 26 to introduce his Orchestrion project.
Interblue deal is dead, or is it?
ONE of the most controversial deals signed by the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico is now dead – so heralded Environment Minister Jozef Medveď on March 3 after ending extended bouts of silence in response to media inquiries about how he planned to handle the dubious contract with US-based Interblue Group, which bought Slovakia’s excess emissions quotas in 2008 and also locked Slovakia into a disadvantageous position for future sales.
Hockey team returns without a medal
THE SLOVAK national ice hockey team disappointed the Olympic-medal hopes that were sky-high across the nation after the team’s victory over Sweden in the tournament’s quarter-finals. Most Slovaks spent the early morning hours of February 27 and 28 in front of their TV screens following the ice hockey matches in Canada.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Electricity exports cut from Ukraine
ELECTRICITY exports from Ukraine to EU members Hungary, Romania and Slovakia were halted on March 1 for at least a month due to an apparent coal shortage, an energy official for that country said. Ukraine’s Fuel and Energy Ministry spokesman, Fent Di, said the shutoff, which could end by April 1, occurred because no Ukrainian firms put in bids to sell the electricity due to a coal shortage in Ukraine, the SITA newswire reported.
Radičová to lead SDKÚ in elections
THE PARTY primary election held by the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) in the run up to this year’s parliamentary elections has put Iveta Radičová, the 2009 opposition presidential candidate, at the top of the SDKÚ’s ballot.
Land Fund manager on trial for fraud
VALUABLE undeveloped land beneath the High Tatras mountains handed out to companies with ties to the ruling coalition. Dozens of hectares sold for a song to a firm that helped a senior coalition figure, Vladimír Mečiar, explain where he got the money to pay for his estate. The Slovak Land Fund (SPF) has been at the centre of some of the gravest scandals involving the handling of public property during the Fico government.
Focus on eGovernment
SLOVAKIA is aiming to make the country more ‘internet-ised’ and turn paper shuffling between state offices, citizens and businesses into online efficiency. It is doing so via its Operational Programme Informatisation of Society, co-financed by EU funds. In November, the European Commission revealed its study about Smarter, Faster, Better eGovernment, the 8th benchmark measurement of eServices across Europe.
Some internet providers in Slovakia
GTS Slovakia – manages a network infrastructure covering all of Slovakia including fixed wireless access (FWA) networks and an optical network in Bratislava.
Winter lingers, at least in the mountains
THE FIRST month of spring has arrived but it seems that winter is not yet ready to leave. Temperatures in the mountains have dipped well below zero and it even snows on and off. Unfortunately, this is not the heavy snowfall that would dramatically change skiing conditions in our mountains. Unpredictable weather – so typical for the passage from winter to spring – is expected this week. Night temperatures may sink to minus ten degrees and the day temps will oscillate between minus 6 and minus 2 degrees at an altitude of 1,000 metres.
Officials sacked over prisoner escapes
JUSTICE Minister Viera Petríková took further action in the wake of the escape by a prisoner from the Palace of Justice on February 26 – she dismissed the chief executive of the open section of the Institute for the Execution of Custody in Bratislava on March 1 but she did not reveal his name, the TASR newswire wrote. This follows the immediate dismissal of the director of the Institute, Jozef Mikula, on February 26.
SPP asks Gazprom for compensation
THE RUSSIAN gas giant Gazprom, which holds a monopoly in export of Russian natural gas, will, according to news reports, try to reach an out-of-court settlement with Slovakia’s gas utility SPP on compensation for damages caused by last year’s gas crisis when gas was halted due to a dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
Cabinet agrees to EC's Danube Strategy
SLOVAKIA has great expectations for the Danube Strategy which, with the help of the European Union, is designed to support the comprehensive and sustainable development of the broad Danube region. The SITA newswire reported that the Slovak cabinet approved the country’s assent to this strategy on March 3.
Horehronie
“WHEN the sun goes down in Horehronie, I feel like singing, dying, and living.”
IT organisations in Slovakia
ITAS – IT Association of Slovakia
Trnava honours its citizens
TRNAVA town councillors bestowed 2009 Town Awards to eight distinguished citizens and two teams for their personal and joint contributions in improving the community, the country, and in one case, the world.
Happy birthday, SND!
THE EMERGENCE of the first common state of Czechs and Slovaks after World War I created space for Slovaks to develop their national identity through culture. The atmosphere was just right for the Slovak National Theatre to be created. It was exactly 90 years ago.
Five-star Sheraton Hotel opens in Eurovea centre in Bratislava
BRATISLAVA has another five-star hotel. On February 24, Sheraton Hotel opened its doors to guests as the first building operating within the new Eurovea centre on the north embankment of the Danube River. The whole centre, which consists of a shopping gallery, office space, apartments as well as a multiplex, will open later in March.
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Legendary captain Zdeno Chára inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame Video
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- Liberal MP's boxing challenge backfires as far-right MEP seizes the moment
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- From eight to thousands of runners. How Košice marathon rose to prominence Photo
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- 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
- 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 ›
