Archive of articles - March 2010, page 14
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Tolls return to main roads
MARCH not only has brought back electronic toll charges on Slovakia’s selected first category roads but has also apparently melted the determination of some highway truckers to continue protesting against what they call a poorly-tuned system to collect those tolls.
Digital literacy keeps rising
DIGITAL literacy in Slovakia has climbed to what has been described as the ‘medium-level’ over the past four years but the gap between people mastering digital technologies and those lacking literacy as well as access to these services has been widening. These are the main findings from a research project called Digital Literacy in Slovakia conducted by the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO). Marián Velšic, an IVO analyst, introduced the results of the third cycle of the biennial project in mid November 2009.
Daily Pravda changes hands
PRAVDA, Slovakia's oldest daily newspaper is no longer in the hands of the long-established media group, Daily Mail & General Trust, which bought a 99.94 percent share of Perex, the publishing house of Pravda in 2006. Now, four years later Pravda has changed hands again, being bought by Florena, a company managed by clients of the J&T financial group. The announcement about the sale of Pravda was published in early March 2010 on Pravda’s website with very little information about whose hands will actually control the daily.
A story of unanswered questions
MORE than three decades have passed since 20-year-old Ľudmila Cervanová, a medical student, disappeared somewhere between the terminal of bus number 39 and the entrance hall to her student dormitory in Bratislava.
Pheasants versus casino
LOCAL preservationists claim that protected land of a pheasantry in Jarovce near Bratislava has been illegally transferred to private hands, said Viera Kimerlingová, a Petržalka local council member at a press conference held by the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH).
Slovaks getting connected
INTERNET and online services have been an important part of life in Slovakia for several years. Most Slovak companies are online and the number of households with internet access is also increasing. Slovakia can more than facilitate this as it has all the most highly-developed technologies for internet connections at its disposal.
Some online shopping sites in Slovakia
www.artforum.sk – an online branch of the brick-and-mortar shop Artforum.
Tougher sanctions for food safety
THE CABINET approved stricter penalties for food retailers on March 3. If the proposal is passed by parliament sanctions against retailers for violating Slovakia’s Food Code will increase in May and several new requirements for sales of food items will be added as well, the SITA newswire reported.
More people are shopping online
THE POPULARITY of online shopping keeps increasing in Slovakia. And while the overall sales value of online purchases did not change much last year due to the economic crisis, less spending money inspired many more people to search for better prices on the internet to the detriment of brick-and-mortar shops.
Quote of the week
Is this about a fairy tale?
'Dynamic Wild Poppies' learning to dance
THE PRO Donum civic association sponsored the first dance workshop for ‘Divé maky’ at the Special Elementary School in Jarovnice on February 20, led by professional dancer Ladislav Cmorej.
Statistics Office releases newest data
SLOVAKIA’S GDP in the last quarter of 2009 reached €16.521 billion, down 2.6 percent year-on-year in constant prices but an increase of 2 percent from the third quarter, according to data released by Slovakia’s Statistics Office in early March.
Peacekeepers and rescuers awarded
MIROSLAV Lajčák and Péter Balázs, the Slovak and Hungarian Ministers of Foreign Affairs, presented Good Neighbourhood and Understanding awards to two groups: Slovak mountain rescuers from the High Tatras; and a joint Slovak-Hungarian peacekeeping unit serving in Cyprus, the SITA newswire reported.
Bonfire of vainglorious laws
IF ANY Slovak government has in any way been predestined to pass such vainglorious legislation like the Patriotism Act it really is the current Slovak government, chugging along with Ján Slota and his Slovak National Party (SNS) in one of the driver’s seats.
Patriot Act - Slovak style
SLOVAKS will hear their national anthem, see their national flag and read the preamble to their Constitution much more often than they did before now because on April 1, if President Ivan Gašparovič approves, a new Patriotism Act will come into effect. The law was passed by parliament at its early March session – an action that gave rise to a wave of disagreement across society as witnessed in the media world, in blogs and via online social networks.
Slovak Parliament passes Act on Origin of Property Disclosure
Coalition parties Smer and the Slovak National Party (SNS), together with MPs from the opposition Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) allied forces in the Slovak parliament on March 4 to pass the Act on Disclosure of Origin of Property along with approving an amendment to the Slovak Constitution that enables the law to come into effect, the TASR newswire reported. Prime Minister Robert Fico is the author of the proposed law. It differs from a similar bill submitted by KDH vice-chairman Daniel Lipšic that was given the thumbs down in parliament in early February because it lacked specifics on its retroactivity.
Patriotism Act could cost Slovakia around €1 million
Based on the recently approved Patriotism Act, Slovak schools of all kinds and levels would have to have a flag, the state symbols and the Constitution’s Preamble in every classroom. However, the Education Ministry will not cover the costs of these items, the Sme daily wrote on March 4.
Bratislava Region official’s car reportedly torched by Mafia
The official car of the Bratislava Region’s office director, Bystrík Žák, was burned early on Thursday, March 4, and was the target of a Mafia attack, the Bratislava Region president, Pavol Frešo from the Slovak Christian and Democratic Union (SDKÚ) told the TASR newswire.
Unknown offender shoots to intimidate Nitra Region MP
A member of the Nitral Region parliament for the opposition Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), László Basternák, was the target of intimidation by an unknown offender who fired a shot at him near his house in Hurbanovo, the SITA newswire wrote.
Slovak unemployment rate hits 13.9% in final quarter of 2009
Slovakia’s unemployment rate in the final quarter of 2009 reached 13.9 percent, which was the highest figure since the first quarter of 2006, the Statistics Office reported on March 4, the TASR newswire wrote.
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- Bratislava unveils its first 3D-printed bus stop Photo More articles ›
