Archive of articles - April 2010, page 5
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Public square and riverfront promenade to open at Eurovea on April 24
The last parts of Eurovea, the new shopping and entertainment district on the north bank of the Danube River in Bratislava, will be officially opened on Saturday, April 24, the TASR newswire wrote.
Patriotism Act given thumbs down by parliament’s constitutional committee
After the Patriotism Act, drafted by the co-ruling Slovak National Party (SNS), failed to receive backing from the Slovak Parliament’s culture and media committee earlier this week, the same scenario repeated itself at a session of parliament’s constitutional committee on April 22, the TASR newswire wrote. The bill was vetoed by the Slovak president in March and is now being discussed by parliament for a second time. Within the constitutional committee, the opposition MP from the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), Peter Miššík and the chairman of the committee, Mojmír Mamojka from Smer party, did not vote to approve the bill.
Slovak ombudsman presents annual report on human rights
The official public protector of citizens’ rights, Slovakia's ombudsman Pavel Kandráč, met President Ivan Gašparovič on Wednesday, April 21, to present his annual report on the observance of human rights in 2009.
OECD: Slovakia is stingiest aid donor in EU
The latest OECD report shows that Slovakia has fallen to last place in the chart of aid donors in the EU. It shares the bottom position with Poland, mainly because debt forgiveness is no longer counted as aid, while the volume of actual development aid has also fallen.
Slovak Greens say government has no moral right to celebrate Earth Day
The Green Party of Slovakia says the current government does not have the moral right to celebrate Earth Day, observed on April 22.
Slovak municipalities to get €33 million to plug income shortfall
Towns and villages in Slovakia will receive an additional €33 million from the national government in compensation for lower income tax revenues from individuals, said Prime Minister Robert Fico after a government session in Veľký Krtíš (Banská Bystrica region) on Wednesday, April 21.
Skies over Slovakia remain open – for the time being
Slovakia’s airspace has now been fully re-opened to commercial air traffic, after being closed for several days because of a huge cloud of ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland which has led to air-transport chaos across Europe. Transport Ministry spokesman Stanislav Jurikovič told the TASR newswire that the situation will continue to be monitored closely.
Slovak Finance Ministry predicts 2.8% GDP growth in 2010
Slovakia’s Finance Ministry estimates that Slovakia's GDP will grow by 2.8 percent in 2010, Finance Ministry State Secretary František Palko said in Bratislava on Wednesday, April 21. The ministry also expects the public finance deficit to reach 5.5 percent of GDP this year.
Survey: Slovaks’ alcohol consumption average for EU
Slovaks rank more or less average among EU citizens when it comes to their attitudes to alcohol consumption, according to a Eurobarometer survey released on Wednesday, April 21. The poll canvassed the opinions of 27,000 people across the European Union in October 2009; 1,006 people of them were from Slovakia, the TASR newswire wrote.
Poll: Smer first, SaS climbs above 11 percent
Had a general election taken place in April, a total of seven political parties would have made it into parliament, according to a poll commissioned by the TA3 TV news channel and carried out by the Focus agency. The results were released on Wednesday, April 21.
US and Canadian embassies inquire about Roma settlement in Záhorie
Foreign embassies are showing interest in the situation at the illegal Roma settlement in the Záhorie village of Plavecký Štvrtok and the Canadian ambassador from Prague had announced her intention to visit the site but due to a change in her trip in Slovakia, it was cancelled, said Dušan Pastorek of the Canadian Embassy’s office in Bratislava last week, the Sme daily wrote. The US Embassy is also concerned about the life of Slovak Roma, including those from Záhorie, Sme wrote on April 21. Some employees of the US embassy have been teaching English in Plavecký Štvrtok and after a serious illness was diagnosed in one of the pupils, they said they intend to have the local conditions inspected by experts on public health and to find a way to improve the lives of those residents, said the US embassy spokesperson, Chase Beamer, as quoted by Sme. The mayor of the village, Ivan Slezák, claimed that the issue is not a racial or ethnic one, but rather is about the illegal character of the construction of houses there. The settlement is built above a high-pressure gas pipeline which could cause grave or even fatal problems in the future. Source: Sme
Slovak District Court declares Seagle Air bankrupt
The Banská Bystrica District Court declared air carrier Seagle Air bankrupt on April 20 after the indebted airline officially admitted it was in default and had filed for bankruptcy, the spokeswoman of the Banská Bystrica Regional Court, Nina Spurná, told the SITA newswire.
Experts slam Environment Ministry's logging permit in Zadná Poľana reserve
Environmental experts and researchers have expressed their anger at what they call an unprecedented decision by the Slovak Environment Ministry to issue a logging permit in the Zadná Poľana National Nature Reserve, the SITA newswire wrote.
Slovak cabinet holds its regular Wednesday session in Veľký Krtíš
Road infrastructure, the Malý Krtíš industrial park, and cross-border cooperation with Hungary focused on development of tourism: these are the development priorities of the Veľký Krtíš district that were scheduled to be discussed at the Slovak cabinet's regular meeting on Wednesday, April 21, in the town of Veľký Krtíš in southern Slovakia, the SITA newswire reported.
Slovak Patriot Act veto rejected by parliamentary committee
The Patriot Act is to be submitted to parliament without the backing of the parliamentary committee on culture and media, after it voted to rejected President Ivan Gašparovič's veto on Tuesday, April 20. The president sent the law back to parliament with a proposal that it be postponed until September (rather than coming into force on April 1, as originally intended) so as allow schools to make necessary preparations.
Deloitte: Slovak banks stable and healthy
Slovak banks are stable and healthy, Director of Deloitte Slovensko's consulting department Ivan Lužica said at a press conference on Tuesday, April 20.
Sociologist: One third of Slovaks are feeling the pinch
Nearly a third of the Slovak population – 28 percent – feels constant financial pressure, compared to 17 percent in the European Union, sociologist Roman Džambažovič announced at the country's first public hearing on poverty, which took place in the Slovak Parliament on Tuesday, April 20.
New drive to promote Slovakia in the USA
Slovakia, along with its capital Bratislava, were promoted last week in the USA as part of a tourism roadshow organised by marketing association Central European Experience (CEE) and attended by almost 300 American tour-operators, the head of the trade and commerce section at Slovakia's US embassy, Peter Petian, told the TASR newswire on April 19.
Hitting the high notes
I knew things were going well when, less than 20 minutes after I had wandered into Trenčín, the dancing girls turned up.
My, how we change yet remain the same
When my partners and I launched the first edition of The Slovak Spectator in March 1995, I was a much different person than I am today. I was young (in my late twenties), single (with a Slovak girlfriend), renting a modest flat and clueless about running a publishing business.
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- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
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- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
