Archive of articles - May 2014, page 7
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Public-service TV network host sacked after racist Facebook comments
ONE OF the faces of the public-service RTVS sports desk, Kristína Kormúthová, was sacked after she posted a racist comment in her status on her Facebook profile last week.
Slovakia sells government bonds for more than €200 million
SLOVAKIA borrowed over €200 million on the financial market on May 19. The Finance Ministry Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL) offered bonds maturing in February 2023 and November 2018 to investors in two auctions. Interest among investors was more than four times the accepted volume, the SITA newswire reported.
Lajčák talks mutual relations in Moscow
RUSSIA is not happy with the level to which its relations with the European Union and NATO have sunk.
Harabin failed in his bid to be re-elected
ŠTEFAN Harabin failed, on May 19, in his bid to be re-elected as head of the Supreme Court and Judicial Council, the body overseeing the country's judiciary.
Judicial Council fails to elect president; Harabin out
Štefan Harabin failed, on May 19, in his bid to be re-elected as head of the Supreme Court and Judicial Council, the body overseeing the country's judiciary. Harabin collected seven votes in the first round of the vote held in Sobrance, eastern Slovakia, and advanced to the second round along with Jana Bajánková, nominated by Justice Minister Tomáš Borec, who got five votes. The third candidate, Zuzana Ďurišová proposed by the For an Open Judiciary (ZOJ) group critical of Harabin, received three votes in the first round. A candidate needed at least 10 of the 16 votes of members of the Judicial Council to get elected to the post. In the second-round run-off, Harabin got six votes only with his rival Bajánková picking five votes. The new elections should be announced within 120 days, however after twice failing in this round, neither Harabin nor Bajánková is eligible to run in this new round, the SITA newswire reported.
Judicial Council fails to elect president; Harabin out
Štefan Harabin failed, on May 19, in his bid to be re-elected as head of the Supreme Court and Judicial Council, the body overseeing the country's judiciary.
More €24.65 million from income tax sent to civil society groups
MORE THAN €24.65 million from tax revenues in 2013 went to civic associations, non-profit organisations, foundations and other entities through the option of diverting 2 percent of tax contributions to the third sector.
Damage to hiking trails in Tatras on par with 2004 calamity, minister says
THE DAMAGE caused by strong winds on Friday, May 16, is comparable with the calamity from November 2004 when up to 12,000 hectares of forests in the Tatras sustained considerable damage, Environment Minister Peter Žiga said during his visit to the High Tatras National Park on May 16 as reported by the TASR newswire.
Finance Ministry obliged to freeze some spending because of debt
DUE TO the 55-percent threshold for the public debt being exceeded in the past year, the Finance Ministry is obliged to freeze 3 percent or €305 million of overall state budget expenditures - with the exception of expenditures directly defined by the Constitutional Budgetary Responsibility Act, the ministry press department informed the TASR newswire.
Poll: Turnout in EU elections to be extremely low again
JUST 21.3 percent of Slovaks will definitely take part in the elections to the European Parliament on May 24, a survey carried out by MVK agency between April 29-May 6 on a sample of 1,067 respondents has shown.
Land sale changes passed in fast-tracked procedure
THE CONDITIONS of selling and donating agricultural land will be more strict in Slovakia after parliament passed a new law on agricultural land ownership May 16.
Slovak producer and films in Cannes
SLOVAKIA will be represented at the International Film festival Cannes 2014, though, not in the main competition, but in the film market Marché du Film.
Slovak jazz players win Esprit Awards
THIS YEAR’S Slovak Esprit Awards, recognising the best Slovak jazz albums of 2013, were timed to coincide with International Jazz Day. The competition’s second year began on March 13 and culminated on April 30 with the awards ceremony and a concert in the Slovak Radio building.
Olejník behind bars
FORMER Košice and municipal councillor František Olejník is in prison now, the Sme daily reported in its May 13 issue.
EP: Voters might seek alternative
WHEN voting for members of the European Parliament, Slovak voters tend to be faithful to the political parties they support at the national level. The problem is, only a few actually bother to turn up to the polling stations, says sociologist Martin Slosiarik of the Focus polling agency. He believes timing the EP elections to coincide with other elections deemed more important by voters could help Slovakia shed its reputation as the country with the lowest turnout in EP elections.
VAT lottery bears first fruits
EARLY calculations by state economists show that the real impact of the receipt lottery on the collection of value-added tax will be some €8 million a year, just a fraction of the income that already goes into the state’s coffers. Analysts, however, say that using the lottery to boost tax revenue is secondary to raising awareness of paying taxes and encouraging people to ask for receipts, says Martin Filko, head of the Financial Policy Institute (IFP), which is run by the Finance Ministry.
Banking Banana Skin
THE BIGGEST risk of the banking and financial sector in Slovakia is underrating risks when trying to achieve set goals. This is one of the findings of the latest CSFI’s biennial Banking Banana Skins survey, produced in association with PwC. The poll was based on responses from more than 650 bankers, banking regulators and close observers of the banking industry in 59 countries, including Slovakia. The survey shows snapshots of the risk landscape in the financial services sector.
Glossary: Antibiotics resistance a growing danger
Spectator College provides readers of The Slovak Spectator who are trying to improve their English with glossaries of useful and frequently used words and expressions from stories published as part of the Spectator College as well as in the rest of the newspaper. As well as this special glossary, which relates to the article Antibiotics resistance a growing danger, you can find more expressions in our Glossary for politics & business or in the List of names of institutions in English and Slovak.
Most Beautiful Slovak Books
EACH year the Bibiana Inter-national House of Art for Chi-ldren announces the compe-tition for the Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia. For 2013, publishers submitted 112 books, out of which an international jury selected six for awards based on their artistic and graphic layout, technical quality and overall attractiveness. The Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia 2013 collection was chosen, too, which consists of 24 titles.
Sopoliga is final CC nominee
JURAJ Sopoliga, a judge for the Košice Regional Court, has become the sixth and last of the nominees from which the president will choose three to replace judges on the Constitutional Court (CC). The trio’s 12-year tenures expire in July and five other candidates were already chosen by parliament in April.
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- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- UK appoints Bilal Zahid as new ambassador to Slovakia
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Convicted of multiple murders, Slovakia’s mafia boss seeks release from prison
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- The disinformation scene has become a tool of media capture
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- A mayor resigns over €2.7 million fraud scandal at town hall
- 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 Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- 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 ›
