Archive of articles - May 2010, page 2
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Košice prepares to bloom
ON MAY 7 the Košice municipal office announced a competition called Košice in Bloom that will continue until September 15.
Record-breaking trdelník unveiled
INHABITANTS of Skalica managed to break their own record on May 15 when they baked a trdelník cake measuring 184.5 centimetres, thus breaking their record from last year by 9.5 centimetres. The first huge trdelník was prepared by local cake-masters in 2005 – but it was only 107 centimetres long. After mastering a cake almost twice as long this year, the bakers did the only appropriate thing – they cut it into pieces and ate it.
Firms secure their income
THE YEARS of prosperity which preceded the current crisis made Slovak companies less cautious and led them to neglect the management of their finances. The crisis has caught such companies, many of which had come to expect never-ending growth, unprepared and led them to the brink of insolvency. Drops in revenue have started a lethal sequence of secondary insolvency in which companies do not pay their contractors because they have not received payments for their own orders. This has raised interest among companies in ways to manage their finances better and protect themselves from such an uneven market situation.
Consumer confidence notches up
CONSUMER confidence in Slovakia continues to improve, according to the Slovak Statistic Office’s consumer barometer which indicated that consumer confidence in April increased 1.5 points to minus 16.3 points, the SITA newswire reported.
Minister complains about dual citizenship to OSCE
THE SLOVAK government says it intends to raise the issue of dual citizenship for Slovakia’s Hungarian minority at international forums, starting with the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák met the OSCE’s high commissioner on national minorities, Knut Vollebaek, who has also been involved in the dispute over the amendment to Slovakia’s State Language Act, which has been much criticised by Hungary, to talk about the amendments to Hungary’s citizenship law.
Some financial services providers
-OVB AllFinanz Slovensko, www.ovb.sk
Quote of the week
"Slovak nationalism is totally different, it's nation-defending. We don't want what's others'; we won't give what's ours."
Slovak MPs counter with citizenship threat
ONE OF the first legislative gifts given by the newly-elected Hungarian parliament to ethnic Hungarians living in countries bordering Hungary is the opportunity to acquire Hungarian citizenship with much less difficulty. Ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia, however, might find themselves in trouble if they take such a step, after the Slovak government endorsed a counter-strike against the measure just approved in Budapest.
Some operative leasing companies
-Business Lease Slovakia, www.businesslease.sk
Limiting number of students is unconstitutional
LIMITING the numbers of part-time students at private universities is at odds with the Slovak Constitution, the Constitutional Court ruled on May 26.
Air Slovakia goes belly-up
ANOTHER local air carrier has ended up in bankruptcy proceedings. The attempt at restructuring Air Slovakia has failed after it lost its licence. Restructuring trustee Vladimír Neuschl sent a proposal to announce bankruptcy proceedings for the indebted airline to the Bratislava I District Court on May 24, the SITA newswire reported.
Vote 2010: Cartoonist enters election campaign
PRIME Minister Robert Fico sued Slovakia’s Sme daily last September over a cartoon it had published in the summer of 2009. Now Martin “Shooty” Šútovec, the author of the cartoon, which depicted the prime minister as lacking a spine, will have a new cartoon displayed on about 200 billboards and eight big-boards at different locations throughout Slovakia. Šútovec also plans to distribute 200,000 stickers, 100,000 postcards and his work might even be printed on cash register receipts.
Bank customers do not feel vulnerable
NOT MANY bank customers in Slovakia feel personally vulnerable because of the global financial crisis. This was the finding from a survey carried out by the market research firm Synovate.
Some debt-recovery companies
-Exekučná, www.exekucna.sk
More savvy Slovaks are expected to boost financial services consulting
UNDER the influence of the economic downturn Slovaks have started to think more about their future financial security and are searching for better ways to protect their assets. People are becoming more interested in developing reserve funds and learning ways to shield their assets from the potential impacts of losing a job or becoming disabled. But the fundamentals of managing personal finances are not undergoing radical change and a personal finance expert says that a well-designed asset management strategy should not ‘change with the weather’.
UN concerned about Slovakia’s judiciary
THE SLOVAK government must take steps to ensure the complete independence of its Judicial Council, according to the concluding recommendations of the United Nations’ Committee against Torture. The findings were taken under consideration at a government meeting on May 26.
Slovak Food Festival
EVEN though the weather had been unseasonably cold and rainy for more than a week, it turned out quite sunny and warm on the weekend of May 21-23 – as if the organisers of the first-ever Slovak Food Festival had placed a special order with Mother Nature. Since the event took place outdoors in the gardens of Bratislava Castle, the great weather was no doubt an important element in the successful debut of the culinary festival.
Dúha
SLOVAKIA’S first Rainbow Pride parade, attacked by skinheads, insufficiently protected by the police, and ignored by politicians, revealed that Slovaks are still not ready to accept all colours of the rainbow (dúha). So what colours do dominate the local palette?
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Vote 2010: Smer gets another 'no'
THE TESTIMONY of a former senior member about trading state posts in return for cash; a leaked document published by local media purporting to show how some of these deals could have looked in practice; and a definite ‘no’ from an opposition party to an eventual post-election coalition deal – all these have rained down on Prime Minister and Smer party leader Robert Fico just a couple of weeks ahead of the June 12 general election.
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- He designed Gatwick. But this is his masterpiece
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- The compass points to Kúty, and people are starting to follow
- 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
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
