Archive of articles - September 2010, page 4
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Svätopluk to stay put
THE EQUESTRIAN statue of Svätopluk will remain in the front courtyard of Bratislava Castle, announced Richard Sulík, Slovakia’s speaker of parliament, on September 22.
Why some Slovak laws deserve to die
THERE are laws or revisions to legislation that were created for the wrong reasons, proposed by the wrong people and adopted at the worst possible times. Instead of trying to paint such laws and amendments to make them bluer or greener, lighter or darker, they should just be scrapped.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
The high administrative demands of the Slovak tax system
WHILE its flat tax is positively perceived by private individuals as well as corporate entities, the tax system as a whole in Slovakia is seen as complicated and burdensome. Even after extensive tax system reform it is administratively demanding and usage of electronic means in processing tax forms remains at a low level in Slovakia.
Income tax returns for 2009
THE TAX administration received over 960,000 income tax returns for 2009 before the deadline of March 31. Of these, business entities submitted almost 103,200 tax returns. But in early April the Tax Directorate announced that this number was not final as tax offices were still processing tax returns they had received by mail. Moreover, another 32,000 entities submitted tax returns later. In total the Tax Directorate expects to receive 1.1 million tax returns.
Confectioner moves work to Levice
A DUTCH producer of confectionery, LEAF International, has announced plans to enlarge its plant in Levice, southern Slovakia, and move production there from Denmark. New technology that was previously used in Denmark will be installed in Levice, the TASR newswire reported.
Hayekovci
NOT SINCE the collapse of the communist regime and the disappearance of formerly omnipresent Marxism from public life has the name of any world economist and political philosopher enjoyed as much attention in Slovakia as Friedrich Hayek is getting now. True, ex-prime minister Robert Fico tried to bring Hayek into the spotlight a few years back, when he blamed the country’s economic troubles on liberal policies. But it took Hayek’s epigones, not his enemies, to give the name real influence over local politics.
Court okays life sentence for mob boss
CONVICTED Banská Bystrica gangland boss Mikuláš Černák is likely to stay behind bars for the rest of his life. A senate of the Prešov Regional Court turned down his appeal and also the appeal of his mother on September 22 and confirmed the life sentence that had been given to Černák on November 10, 2009, the SITA newswire reported.
Twelve finalists battle for Tree of the Year 2010
VOTING for the title Tree of the Year 2010 began in July and tree lovers have until September 30 to vote for one of 12 “wooden finalists”, and thereby help to secure their favourite tree’s preservation.
English-speaking academics on Slovakia II
THE DIVISION of Czechoslovakia nearly two decades ago into Slovakia and the Czech Republic has contributed to the publication of an increasing number of original English-language academic books by authors that focus on Slovakia.
Protest greets Gašparovič in Iceland
ICELANDIC activists from Amnesty International (AI) staged a protest during the official visit of Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič to Iceland on September 20. The demonstration was targeted against what they called violation of the human rights of Roma children in Slovakia.
Danube Wings served 61,000 passengers
AIR CARRIER Danube Wings, based at Bratislava Airport, served more than 61,000 passengers in the first eight months of 2010. It carried more than 51,000 travellers on regular flights and approximately 10,000 more on charter flights, the SITA newswire reported.
Košice firm to lay off 343 employees
KOŠICE-BASED construction company Inžinierske Stavby is to lay off 343 employees in the upcoming weeks and months for organisational reasons, the SITA newswire reported on September 21.
Referendum is officially invalid
SLOVAKIA’s seventh referendum, which took place on September 18, did not end up as a fiasco, according to Richard Sulík, the chairman of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), who had feared that it might turn out that way. Many more voters than the 400,000 people who signed the petition to initiate the referendum turned out to vote – in the end just under a million citizens went to the polls on September 18.
Jobless figures offer rays of hope
IT WILL take some more time until Slovakia’s labour market is able to squeeze its double-digit jobless rate under 10 percent or somewhere at least closer to the pre-crisis level. But at least the registered unemployment rate for August hit its lowest level of 2010 at 12.19 percent, even though that means there are still 327,467 Slovaks immediately ready to take up a job, the Centre of Labour, Social Affairs and Family reported on September 20.
Books in English now available in Slovakia
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 8th edition, edited by Joanna Turnbull, Oxford University Press, 2010.
Slovakia’s agricultural minister says predecessor bought political leaflets with state money
Agriculture Minister Zsolt Simon said on Thursday, September 23, that he would file a criminal complaint with the police after discovering that the Agriculture Ministry under previous leadership of Vladimír Chovan ordered the printing of election campaign leaflets for the Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) party in May using state funds, the TASR newswire reported. The €8,250 order, Simon told reporters, was placed by phone with the Food Research Institute, which reports to the Agriculture Ministry. The graphic design sample was delivered in a CD with the service being reimbursed by the ministry the next month.
Government session to discuss Language Act cancelled
The government cabinet did not hold an extraordinary session late in the day on Thursday, September 23, to discuss an amendment to the State Language Act as had been planned as apparently negotiations between coalition partner Most-Híd party and the Culture and Tourism Ministry did not end in success, the TASR newswire reported. Most-Híd spokesperson Nora Czuczorová told TASR that the talks have been adjourned for now and will continue later. Culture Ministry spokesperson Eva Chudinová stated that Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer had already informed Prime Minister Iveta Radičová that there was no need to summon the extraordinary government session.
Electricity supply for some Luník IX residents to be temporarily cut off
The regional power distributor in eastern Slovakia VSD announced it would temporarily cut off electricity supplies to some apartments in the urban apartment complex Luník IX in Košice, the SITA newswire reported. The utility’s spokesperson, Andrea Danihelová, confirmed to SITA on September 23 that VSD is intensively negotiating with the city housing association and municipal authorities for a solution for what she called the absolutely unfit condition of electrical installations owned by the city in apartment buildings in this complex primarily housing Roma residents.
Organisation reaches out to Egyptian officials about allegedly abducted Slovak boy
Three Egyptian ministries have been informed about the alleged abduction of four-year-old Adam Azab by his father from his Slovak mother and several Egyptian ministers are personally interested in the case, said Martin Nikodým of the 'Good Hearts Are Looking For...' initiative to the TASR newswire on Thursday, September 23. Representatives of the initiative on Thursday also met Egypt's Ambassador to Slovakia Ihab Ahmed Talaat Nasr.
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- A café in an ice cellar, sand dunes and a flower shop at the border
- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- Danish shoemaker to shut Slovak factory, axing 650 jobs in fresh blow to struggling region
- Confetti, chants and history: Hejková’s dream goodbye after nearly 40 years at the top
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Why this gorge deserves a spot on your bucket list Photo
- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- Water supply to be cut in parts of Bratislava’s Old Town in late April
- Slovakia's latest basketball star is destined for great things in the USA More articles ›
