Archive of articles - February 2012, page 10
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IT firms see a challenging year ahead
THE IT sector could be facing a difficult year. The economic and financial crisis made businesses carefully watch their expenditures and that included investments in IT systems and upgrades. Slovakia’s upcoming general election is also slowing down government decision-making in some areas, complicating the completion of various IT initiatives that use EU structural funds and impacting the IT sector as well.
Court blocks book about Gorilla case
A SLOVAK court’s decision to block publication of an unfinished book about alleged high-level political corruption being written by investigative journalist Tom Nicholson, a former editor-in-chief of this newspaper, has been described by critics as censorship.
Ján Ossko’s lakeside cabin
POPRADSKÉ Pleso, the Poprad mountain lake, lies in the middle part of Mengusov valley in the High Tatras.
Slovak heads court in The Hague
SLOVAK judge Peter Tomka was elected by his peers as President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on February 6 for a three-year term, the TASR newswire reported.
Penta wants SIS document disregarded
A THOROUGHGOING investigation of claims of high-level political corruption is one of the main demands of the street rallies unleashed by the Gorilla file, named after an operation conducted by the country’s main spy agency, the SIS, between 2005 and 2006. An official investigation into the file has been underway since January: it has now gone international after the Slovak Police sought the assistance of authorities abroad to check on international financial transactions, Slovak Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic said, as quoted by the SITA newswire. He did not give any further details.
30 Ordinary People quit race
IGOR Matovič, the independent MP who in 2010 made it into parliament along with three allies on Freedom and Solidarity’s (SaS) party list despite them occupying the last four places on it, has carved out a reputation as something of maverick. His fame – or infamy, depending on your point of view – now looks set to grow after the party he founded, Ordinary People and Independent Personalities, managed to lose 30 of the most high-profile candidates on its election slate less than five weeks before the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 10.
Post-election informatisation
SLOVAKIA’S IT Association (ITAS), as in previous election years, organised a pre-election discussion round table on February 7 devoted to the theme of those topics that most concern IT companies in Slovakia. Five political parties accepted invitations to participate. Alexander Barna represented Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Peter Mach the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Roland Sill Most-Híd, Ivan Štefanec the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), and Ján Počiatek Smer.
Vlkolínec and Čičmany mark 35 years of protection
IT WAS 35 years ago that two notable Slovak villages, Vlkolínec and Čičmany, were declared protected national monuments by the Slovak government on January 26, 1977. Vlkolínec was also named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Uncovered Values in Poprad
The Tatranská galéria / Tatra Gallery, which during its 50 years has at times struggled to find an appropriate permanent space, is now making the most of its home in the reconstructed building of a former steam power plant at Hviezdoslavova 12 in Poprad. On January 26, it opened its first permanent exhibition, Odkryté hodnoty / Uncovered Values, curated by Anna Ondrušeková.
IEA report assesses energy security
SLOVAKIA has achieved impressive results in increasing energy efficiency in recent years but could do more to strengthen its energy security and industrial competitiveness, including further diversifying its energy sources and improving regional integration, according to a review of Slovak energy policies released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Business environment worsened
THE BUSINESS environment in Slovakia continued to worsen in 2011 as measured by a survey prepared by the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS), which reported that its index had fallen to 87 points at the end of 2011, the lowest level since PAS started calculating the index of business environment in 2001, the SITA newswire reported.
Reduta reopens with Beethoven performance
WHEN the Reduta, residence of the Slovak Philharmonic and one of Bratislava’s most well-known buildings, had to be closed at short notice due to its poor structural condition in April 2009, the musical ensemble promptly moved across the square. They performed there, in the Old Building of the Slovak National Theatre, otherwise known as the Opera House, for almost three years while the Reduta was reconstructed. But the work was recently completed and on January 26 and 27 the building reopened to the public with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Demand for gas soars as cold snap hits
EXTREMELY low temperatures, heavy snowfall and freezing utility pipes are not the only worries facing residents of Slovakia and other European countries this February. There is also some concern about the decision by Gazprom, the Russian natural gas supplier, to reduce the amount of natural gas it exports westward.
Slovakia gets its first indoor skate-park
THE TOWN of Nové Mesto nad Váhom in western Slovakia has transformed a former military storage depot into the country’s first indoor skate-park, with the assistance of the Slovak Armed Forces.
Degrees of evil
AFTER a court suspended the publication of a book which has not even been through a final edit, after a newly established party with bold election promises split even before making it as far as the elections, and with a new revelation appearing almost weekly via the internet of some new hush-hush file about politicians running in those same elections, the Slovak electorate would be entitled to feel that anything is now possible.
Competition to sharpen?
TEN big IT suppliers receive one half of the total government spending on IT in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Based on findings by research company IDC, the most important suppliers to governments in the four countries are Asseco, Atos, BIW Koncept, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Telefónica O2 Business Solutions and T-Systems, the SITA newswire reported in late January.
Rhapsody in black and white
THE RECENTLY established Balet Bratislava ensemble held the premiere of its second performance, 3Balet, in chilly January. The timing was appropriate, it seems, as 3Balet consists – surprise, surprise – of three pieces, the first of which bears the title Frost. The féerie in white fitted well with the atmosphere outside. The two following pieces, Rose and Monos, bore a different flair but did not diverge too far from the original perception.
Hens for Kenya
A CIVIC association named Človek v ohrození (People in Peril) launched a new humanitarian assistance effort in December with the name ČloveČiny, a word play meaning something like ‘human acts’ to help needy people in the African nation of Kenya. Since the programme started Slovaks have bought and then donated 132 hens, 44 ecological cooking ovens, 950 tree seedlings, furnishings and equipment for classrooms, several goats and rabbits and one sheep to Kenyans.
IT organisations in Slovakia
ITAS – IT Association of Slovakia, www.itas.sk
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