Archive of articles - December 2013, page 4
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New telecom operator is chosen
COMPETITION on the Slovak mobile market will increase as the auction of 4G network frequencies fetched not only bigger than expected revenues for the state coffers, but also a fourth operator. While the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TÚ) will reveal its name only in January after the licenses for successful operators become valid, the Trend weekly cited an unidentified source in reporting that the new player is multimedia operator Swan.
Brussels to withhold €183 million from Slovakia
THE EUROPEAN Union will not give Slovakia €183 million from its structural funds, which the country already spent on 326 bigger projects, because of mistakes in projects on the Slovak side.
Silent protest against start of Kotleba’s tenure
PEOPLE in Banská Bystrica, as well as in other parts of the country, will organise protests called PovstaNIE (a combination of the Slovak word for uprising, and NIE meaning no) on December 20, during which they will light candles as a symbol of their resistance to racial and ethnic intolerance on squares and streets which bear the Slovak National Uprising in their name, the Hospodárske Noviny daily wrote.
Hedviga Žáková-Malinová leaves Slovakia
AFTER seven years of investigation, Hedviga Žáková, neé Malinová, will leave Slovakia. She was granted Hungarian citizenship and says she will move to Hungarian town Győr in January. The main reason is that she wants to protect her children, the Sme daily wrote in its December 20 issue.
SĽUK gave performance at UNESCO headquarters
SLOVAKIA’S SĽUK folklore dance ensemble performed in the UN’s Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris with its latest music-dancing project, Krížom-krážom (Crisscross), on December 18. The event was held on the 10th anniversary of adopting the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Except for SĽUK, Terchová musicians also performed at the event, the TASR newswire reported.
Lipšic files criminal complaint in Gorilla case
DANIEL Lipšic, leader of the New Majority – Agreement (NOVA) movement, filed a criminal complaint over the Gorilla case, claiming serious suspicions connected with abusing the power by public servants and obstruction of justice. The complaint came in response to the statement of Prime Minister Robert Fico that the whole case is based on unsubstantiated rumours, published by the Sme daily in its December 19 issue.
The centre of the Empire
Bratislava’s advantageous location on the banks of the Danube, and its close proximity to Vienna and Budapest, has made it one of the most important cities in central Europe for hundreds of years, especially during the period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Electronic tolls reach €148 million in November 2013
Electronic tolls collected for use of highways in Slovakia through eleven months of 2013 amounted to €147.79 million, which is €2.55 million, or 1.8 percent, more than in November last year, the SITA newswire wrote.
Government approves 2013 report on ethnic minorities
SLOVAKIA would like to see a total of 860 social workers in the field attending to the needs of Roma communities by 2015 and more police officers trained to work with this minority, according to a report on measures aimed at ethnic minorities approved by the government on December 17. Slovakia is obliged to draft such a report once every five years based on the Framework Convention on the Protection of Ethnic Minorities in Slovakia and present the outcomes of the report to the European Council, the TASR newswire wrote. According to the report, a total of 860 (currently there are 852) such social workers and their assistants should be available for field social work in at least 250 towns across Slovakia by 2015. These are slated to help improve the poor living conditions of residents of numerous ramshackle Roma settlements throughout the country. The document also envisages the introduction of a national project in support of 120 community centres aimed at integration, protection and development of marginalised communities, mainly those with Roma. Another project envisaged in the document follows the already-existing scheme aimed at social inclusion of Roma communities and entails so-called police specialists trained to work with Roma citizens. According to the report, there were 231 such police officers in 2013 stationed at all Police Corps regional directorates. The police plan to add 56 new officers in the near future, TASR wrote.
Bratislava to have direct flight to Tianjin, China
The Slovak-Asian Chamber of Commerce (SAAC) based in Bratislava plans to establish a joint Slovak-Chinese air transport company, WDL Airlines, to operate a direct flight between Bratislava and the Chinese city of Tianjin, the SITA newswire reported. The airline is to use a Boeing 747 plane.
Paška announces presidential election for March 15
Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška announced on December 19 that he has set Saturday, March 15, next year as the date for the first round of the presidential election.
Extraordinary session on non-banking institutions lasts just minutes
THE EXTRAORDINARY session of parliament on non-banking institutions scheduled for December 17 lasted only a few minutes as the Smer-dominated house didn't approve the session programme. Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška thus concluded the session before any debate could be held. Paška said that the government has already prepared changes to the Act to be discussed, which will be presented in January. ‘Ordinary People and Independent Personalities’ (OĽaNO) MPs expressed their discontent with ending the session with slogans asking Smer MPs why they protected moneylenders, the TASR newswire wrote. Opposition MPs led by now independent MP Alojz Hlina wanted to convene an extraordinary parliamentary session to express their concern at the activities of the non-banking institutions that provide loans to people under conditions resembling usury and over the increase in legal proceedings in attempts to seize property. At the same time, they also wanted to call on the government to prepare legislation to address this situation. Paška at first decided not to convene the special session. According to him, the proposal didn’t meet the necessary requirement of 30 signatures as it contained only 29 signatures plus the name of Independent MP Radoslav Procházka – without his signature. Later, 40 signatures were collected and thus, the extraordinary session had to be summoned after all, although only it lasted just minutes.
SDKÚ supports Hrušovský for president
THE CHRISTIAN Democratic Movement-KDH’s presidential candidate Pavol Hrušovský has won the support of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-SDKÚ, Chairman Pavol Frešo announced December 18. “When deciding to support a candidate in the first round of the presidential election, SDKÚ presidium gave priority to our long-term policy to unite standard centre-right forces as a counterweight to the dominance of the one socialist party,” Frešo said as quoted by the TASR newswire. “Accordingly, SDKÚ didn't endorse its own presidential candidate and is recommending to voters to support Pavol Hrušovský.”
Woman Entrepreneur of Year produces health supplements
IVANNA Candová, of Glandula Mystery, was named Slovakia’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year December 18 by the National Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurship (NARMSP). The company deals with the production of a health supplements designed to help sufferers from thyroid and metabolic disorders. This year’s 14th annual edition featured the largest number of nominations from recent, according to the TASR newswire.
Slovak IOM branch commemorates the International Migrants Day
There are 232 million migrants (3.2 percent of global population) worldwide, with their numbers growing steadily. If they congregated in a single state, it would be the fifth most populous in the world. In 2000, the general assembly of the United Nations made December 18 the International Day of Migrants.
Fico throws his hat into presidential ring
PUTTING an end to months of speculation, Prime Minister Robert Fico, 49, made plans to run for president next year official during a public ceremony that doubled as a speech reviewing the year and previewing 2014 plans for his government. In announcing his bid, Fico argued that for the sake of stability the country needs a president who would get along well with the Smer government.
Who is Robert Fico?
ROBERT Fico, now in his second term as prime minister, will turn 50 next year, when the presidential election takes place. If elected, he would be the youngest ever Slovak president. He was born in 1964 in Topoľčany and in 1986 graduated from Comenius University’s law school. He is married, with one son.
Pripravený
THE WAITING is finally over and we now know that Robert Fico is Pripravený pre Slovensko (Prepared for Slovakia). But the Prime Minister’s election slogan for the upcoming presidential campaign still leaves two question open – why does he want to run in the first place? And what should we be getting ready for?
Fico to run for president
PRIME MINISTER Robert Fico will run for the presidential chair as a candidate of his party, Smer.
Army’s troubled communication system fully operational in 2014
THE ARMY communication and information system MOKYS will be fully operational in 2014, Defence Minister Martin Glváč said December 17.
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