Archive of articles - December 2011, page 3
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Slovaks reach the South Pole
JANUARY
September: The top business stories of 2011
SARIO signs investment agreements. The Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) seals agreements worth €259.5 million in investment in the first half of 2011, which could lead to 1,500 new jobs, much more than the eight investments valued at €35.22 million with the potential to create 500 new jobs signed in the same period in 2010. Most of the 2011 investments are in some part of the automotive industry.
Another Supreme Court audit fails
A SIXTH attempt by the Finance Ministry to conduct an audit at the Supreme Court on December 8 was unsuccessful, the TASR newswire reported.
A Christmas greeting card from 1912
MICHALSKÁ ranks among the most famous streets in the Slovak capital. Originally, an old trade route led through it, heading towards Moravia. Buildings were gradually constructed along the route, and one of the oldest of Bratislava’s streets thereby came into being.
November: The top business stories of 2011
Consortium signs highway contract. Slovakia’s National Highway Company signs a contract with the Doprastav-Strabag consortium for construction of an 11.2-kilometre stretch of the D1 highway between Fričovce and Svinia in Prešov Region. Doprastav-Strabag wins the state tender with a €114.6-million bid after the Hant company is excluded from the competition.
Household gas prices up 5.53 percent
NATURAL gas prices for Slovak households will rise by an average of 5.53 percent in 2012, Jozef Holjenčík, the head of the Office for Regulation of Network Industries (ÚRSO), told the TASR newswire on December 14.
Post-afterPhurikane
IN SLOVAKIA, Roma music and especially Roma songs have quite a long and vivid tradition. During the twentieth century they started to fade into oblivion, even among Roma themselves, under the influence of pop and modern styles of music, but recently they have been revived and now seem to be regaining ever wider popularity. The afterPhurikane project strives to combine old Roma songs performed by untrained musicians with other influences, from classical to jazz and beyond.
Books in English now available in Slovakia
Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms. R. W. Holder. Oxford University Press, 4th edition published in paperback in 2008.
Battle over prosecutor drags on
The ruling coalition entered 2011 with the question of who would become Slovakia’s next general prosecutor still unresolved. The term of the incumbent, Dobroslav Trnka, expired in February 2011, but it took until June for MPs to finally agree on his replacement: Jozef Čentéš. However, President Gašparoviè has so far refused to appoint Čentéš, despite a Constitutional Court ruling in October that he had been chosen using a constitutional procedure. Trnka’s former deputy, Ladislav Tichý, is currently the acting general prosecutor, with Trnka now acting as one of his senior lieutenants.
April: The top business stories of 2011
Restriction on acquiring land is extended. The European Commission accepts an extension of Slovakia’s restrictions on the sale of agricultural and forest land to EU nationals until May 2014. EU-based companies can continue to purchase Slovak agricultural land without restriction if it is used for agricultural purposes.
February: The top business stories of 2011
ICT sector ranks as an economic pillar. The Slovak IT Association (ITAS) introduces a study about the role of the ICT sector in the Slovak economy noting that it has grown with minimal state support and now offers products and services with a high added value. The study counted almost 40,000 employees in the sector with an average monthly salary of €1,500 while noting that the ICT firms paid more than €170 million in corporate income taxes in 2009, more than the entire manufacturing sector and several times that of the automotive industry.
Troubled deals
For opposition leader Robert Fico of the Smer party, a contract signed in August 2011 to lease space for tax offices in Košice was sufficient reason to initiate a motion of no-confidence in Radičová, which the prime minister survived. Radičová tossed the matter back to Smer, arguing that if it was indeed a scandal involving party cronyism, it was one that began under the previous Fico government.
VW SK to get €1.1 billion investment
VOLKSWAGEN announced plans to invest up to €1.1 billion in its Bratislava automobile plant to expand the facility’s welding and body building capacities as well as to upgrade its research capabilities, the etrend.sk internet portal reported.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA BratislavaNEW YEAR`S RUN: STARTING at 10:00 on December 31 from the Economic University at Dolnozemská 1 in Bratislava-Petržalka, the 23rd year of the traditional New Year’s Eve Run across the Bratislava Bridges will see participants cross all the city’s bridges spanning the Danube and along the river embankment. The finish is at the Lafranconi Bridge. Prospective participants can apply, and prospective onlookers can find more information, at www.starz.sk, until 9:30 on the day of the run.
January: The top business stories of 2011
VAT rate goes up. The basic VAT rate increases by 1 percentage point on January 1 to 20 percent and the 6-percent VAT rate for foodstuffs sold directly from farms is eliminated.
Slovakia’s coin wins
FEBRUARY
Slovakia can be a final destination for migrants
ALTHOUGH hundreds of Slovaks leave the country every year to look for a better future abroad, Fernando, a young man from Guatemala, found happiness in Slovakia after he fell in love with a Slovak woman, the Slovak traditional dish, bryndzové halušky, and the cold weather.
Deaflympics, media changes and doctors' protest
It was Slovakia’s first chance to host the world’s biggest event for deaf sportspeople. But instead of live broadcasts from the Winter Deaflympics, the Slovak media was full of reports about alleged fraud and the arrest of Jaromír Ruda, the head of the Slovak organising committee, following the games’ last-minute cancellation. By that time dozens of athletes had already arrived in Slovakia to prepare, and dozens more were en route to the venue. According to the police, Ruda fraudulently borrowed €10 million from at least four companies to finance the Winter Deaflympics. He neither returned the money, nor was he able to prove how it was used. In August, the police added another 11 charges to the list he faces, the TASR newswire reported.
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Last Week: Slovakia’s central bank governor still faces bribery case verdict
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- A mayor resigns over €2.7 million fraud scandal at town hall
- Show me your moves! Slovak hockey stars share their best pick-up lines
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- 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 ›
