Archive of articles - March 2014, page 3
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Kiska defeats Fico in presidential race
“WELL, I have lost,” Prime Minister Robert Fico told journalists while briskly leaving the headquarters of the ruling Smer party after little more than half of the votes were counted on March 29, when it became clear that his rival, philanthropist Andrej Kiska, triumphed in the second round of the presidential elections and thus will replace Ivan Gašparovič in June. Though the pundits had expected a rather tight race, Kiska took the race with a comfortable lead after picking up 59.4 percent of the vote, leaving 40.6 percent to Fico, the official candidate of Smer.
Andrej Kiska
INTERESTED in the results of the Slovak presidential elections? Here’s a little Q&A to help you understand what’s actually going on.
PRESIDENTIAL VOTE: Polling stations closed
VOTERS in Slovakia elected the president for the next five years in the second round run-off on March 29. The polls closed at 22:00. The first preliminary results will be published on the website of the Statistics Office (www.statistics.sk) or at www.volbysr.sk shortly after 22:00.
Slovaks vote for their president in the second round
VOTERS in Slovakia returned to the polling stations after two weeks to elect their fourth president. The polls opened at 7:00 and will close at 22:00.
Kaliňák presents law to protect whistleblowers
INTERIOR Minister Robert Kaliňák has introduced a new law to protect whistleblowers. The bill is broader than previous proposals since it does not pertain only to corruption, but also suggests a financial reward for people who report corrupt behaviour.
Čižnár dismisses Nitra district prosecutor
GENERAL Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár has dismissed a district prosecutor in Nitra for the case of the alleged neo-Nazi attack in front of the local Mariatchi bar and submitted disciplinary motions against two supervising prosecutors, the TASR newswire reported on March 28.
Verdict over 2006 cartel agreement in construction tender is valid
THE VERDICT issued by the Supreme Court at the end of 2013, in which it upheld the previous decision of the Antitrust Office (PMÚ) to fine six construction firms for signing a cartel agreement, became valid on March 20. This means that the firms now have 30 days to pay a fine totalling €45 million, the SITA newswire reported.
VW produced record number of cars in 2013
BRATISLAVA-based carmaker Volkswagen Slovakia (VW SK) produced 426,313 vehicles last year, up by 1.5 percent compared to 2012.
Fico’s website hacked
AN UNKNOWN hacker has attacked the website of Prime Minister Robert Fico, fico2014.sk, where he placed false information that he is giving up his presidential candidacy on March 28.
Economic sentiment up only slightly
THE ECONOMIC sentiment indicator (IES) did not change much in March compared to the previous month. It rose by only 0.1 point to 96.2 points. The result was affected by positive development of the trust in industry, construction, services and among consumers, while the trust in trade dropped compared to February.
Fico and Orbán open new gas pipeline link
SLOVAK Prime Minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán symbolically opened a connection of the Slovak and Hungarian gas pipeline networks near the village of Szada, 28 kilometres northeast of Budapest. The connection is part of the North-South corridor, which in the future will allow the transit of gas from Poland to Croatia.
Slovakia goes dark for Earth Hour
CONNECTING more than one billion people worldwide in 7,000 cities and towns, the Earth Hour initiative confronts climatic change and light pollution by encouraging all households, businesses and communities to switch off their non-essential lights for one hour on March 29.
Police shooting investigation to be dealt with by parliamentary committee
A special session of the Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Security. initiated by opposition MPs, will deal with the investigation of the shooting on D2 highway from June 2013.
New flight to connect Poprad and Riga
A new regular flight should connect the town at the foot of High Tatras, Poprad, with the Latvian capital of Riga. Starting in the winter season 2014/15, it will for at least three years, the SITA newswire wrote on March 27.
Procházka to give up MP mandate to found own party
MP Radoslav Procházka (independent) will give up his mandate after the May parliamentary session, he announced at a press conference on March 27. He said he was ready to found a political party and has a network of people who will join in the project.
Doprastav construction company files for restructuring
The construction company Doprastav asked the District Court Bratislava I for restructuring after a year of financial problems.
Law on investment aid changed
Slovak MPs have altered the law on investment aid as part of changes to consumer protection regulations passed March 25. Smer MPs argued that this should speed up tax relief for investments exceeding €200 million.
CNN includes Bratislava among six most fascinating border cities in Europe
The Slovak capital has made it among the six most fascinating border cities in Europe, according to the news TV channel CNN. Bratislava shares this title with cities like San Sebastian (Spain), Kirkenes (Norway), Lille (France), Malmo (Sweden) and Trieste (Italy).
Slovakia claims top spot in CEE investment survey
Foreign investors operating in Slovakia view the country as the most attractive location for placing investments among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, a survey by the Slovak-German Business and Industry Chamber (SNOPK) published on March 26 showed. The poll, starting in February, gathered responses from close to 200 European companies. “The Czech Republic replaced Slovakia in top spot last year in the ranking of the best investment locations,” SNOPK's Markus Halt told TASR newswire. “Slovakia and the Czech Republic have now swapped places, however, as Slovakia is back in top position.” The survey rated investors' views on a range from 1 to 5, with 1 being “highly satisfied”. Slovakia received a grade of 2.55, with the Czech Republic coming in right after on a grade of 2.56. Poland and Estonia came in at 2.67 and 2.83 points, respectively.
Police charge three for shifty platinum sale
Three people are charged over a cut rate sale of platinum mesh from state reserve, with the especially grave crime of violating duties when administering other people’s property. If convicted, they face 10 to 15 years in prison.
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- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
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- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
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- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners More articles ›
