Archive of articles - March 2013
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Better knowledge aims to prevent web abuse
THE OLD saying “fire is a good servant but a bad master” could easily pertain to the internet, as people need to use it wisely to avoid getting hurt. This is even truer for children, since adults usually know how to protect themselves more effectively. Nevertheless, continuous education is needed as the internet world continues to develop, bringing new threats with every new development.
European legislation concerning food safety should change
IN JANUARY 2013 media all over Europe reported cases of the appearance of horsemeat in beef-based food products. The Slovak Public Health Authority (ÚVZ) confirmed that horse DNA was present in Lasagne Bolognese Nowaco, a food product sold in Slovakia, even though the information on its label states that it contains only beef. The supplier of the product has already withdrawn it from shops and cafeterias, the TASR newswire reported in the beginning of March.
Hundreds of Slovak hotels up for sale
HUNDREDS of hotel owners in Slovakia are selling their properties. The main reason is low occupancy rates, and the excessive number of beds on the market.
Online nature-watching is popular
TANAP, the Tatras National Park, has been running live broadcasts of animals in the wild, which have proven to be quite popular.
Stricter rules for smokers
CIGARETTE smoke could vanish from shopping centres and other facilities once parliament passes a revision to the law on the protection of non-smokers, which bans smoking entirely in these centres and confines it to designated smoking areas. Health protection authorities have welcomed the amendment, saying that it contributes to the protection of the rights of non-smokers, while it may also help those who want to quit smoking. The shopping centres say they are ready to comply with the legislation, yet some find it difficult to predict how customers will react.
Tax amnesty possible
THE MINISTRY of Finance is considering the possibility of a tax amnesty, among several measures designed to increase the efficiency of tax collection in Slovakia. Some other EU members have implemented a similar measure in the past.
Concerns over social media and cloud
AS MANY as 62 percent of IT managers in Slovakia do not consider social networks to be relevant and reliable sources of information. 15 percent regard them as relevant and reliable sources while 23 percent hold a neutral position, according to a survey conducted by Tempest.
Orange returns one of its licences
ORANGE Slovensko, one of three mobile operators in Slovakia, returned a CDMA mobile network licence to the state after lower-than-expected interest among the public, the Sme daily reported on February 2.
Exchange of tax info to improve
A DESIRE to improve the exchange of tax information between Slovakia and other countries is behind a Finance Ministry proposal to ratify the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters that has now been submitted for interdepartmental review, the SITA newswire reported on March 27.
IT experts offer website improvements - for free
‘IT’S IMPOSSIBLE’ is a phrase commonly uttered by Slovaks when faced with a difficult or unappealing task. But it has recently been picked up and used – with just a touch of irony – as the name of an initiative launched by a group of young people who are determined to prove the opposite, at least when it comes to the websites of Slovakia’s various state agencies. After hearing numerous complaints from friends and relatives about how poorly several state websites function, they organised a group of experts to come up with some ideas to make two of such websites more user-friendly, and offered them to the state for free. The state bodies welcomed the initiative and promised to implement some of the ideas into updates of their websites.
SaS doesn’t stand united
JURAJ Miškov, the former economy minister and one of the most prominent members of opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) has been dismissed as its deputy leader, after the party’s national council voted on March 25 to replace him with Jozef Mihál, the former labour minister.
Lidl is top internet advertiser of 2012
THE RETAIL chain Lidl was the biggest purchaser of advertising on websites in Slovakia last year. Based on the findings of TNS Slovakia’s monitoring activities of Slovak internet users on 2,650 websites, Lidl topped the list, followed by Slovak Telekom, Markíza – Slovakia and Kraft Foods Slovakia. Telefónica Slovakia placed fifth and Centrum Holdings came in sixth. Fashion Days shopping placed seventh, followed by Petit Press, Orange Slovensko and Tatra Banka, TNS Slovakia wrote in its press release in mid March.
Flying over the cuckoo's nest
DISPOSABLE political parties that serve as elevators for people cursed with hyper-egos to make it into politics are sad political stories, as are parties which act as adventure camps for those who have tried everything from bungee jumping to crocodile hunting but still fancy a go at politics. While such parties sooner or later follow the path to political oblivion, they stay long enough to deepen the cynicism of voters.
Candlelight protest remembered
THOUSANDS of people entered the streets on March 25, 1988, with candles in their hands to protest against the oppression of human and religious freedom by the communist regime, which responded by sending state police units and water cannons against the praying crowd. The Candlelight Demonstration, which took place 25 years ago, entered history as the most significant public protest against the communist regime after 1968, when Warsaw Pact forces had invaded Czechoslovakia to suppress the Prague Spring. Personalities who stood behind the protest say that the Candlelight Demonstration, which made the country internationally visible in its fight against the totalitarian regime, has a unifying message even today.
The war at Jankov Vŕšok
THE SLOVAK National Uprising began on August 29, 1944. After it was suppressed by the German army two months later, partisan combatants shifted to guerrilla-style fighting. They launched attacks from inaccessible mountainous terrain until spring 1945, when the Germans were forced out of the territory by the Soviet Red Army.
Tools of the client-oriented services in the EURES network
What aid tools of the EURES Slovakia network are offered to clients
Quote of the week
“We have agreed we will organise it wisely."
New technologies shorten distances
NEW technologies make the world smaller. In addition to saving time and money, they result in new business opportunities like videoconferencing, which allows communication via simultaneous two-way transmission of audio and video, and which, as a result of technological developments, is being made available to an increasingly wider scope of people.
Robot to search cavities in Žilina’s New Synagogue
AS PART of the reconstruction and transformation of the New Synagogue in Žilina into a centre for modern art, the Truc Sphérique non-governmental organisation plans to use a remotely controlled robot to map the building’s original air distribution systems and infrastructure. The robot will be used to study the possibilities for passive heating of the building, which was designed by German architect Peter Behrens and dates to 1931.
Some projects of digital literacy and internet threats in Slovakia
-Zodpovedne.sk – focuses on safe and responsible usage of the internet, mobile phones and new online technologies. eSlovensko, an NGO running the project with other partners, has produced various printed educational materials to match the interest and level of understanding of the target groups, as well as animated prevention stories at Ovce.sk (which have been already broadcast abroad). It also runs four websites:www.zodpovedne.sk,www.sheeplive.eu,www.stopline.sk, www.ovce.sk
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