Archive of articles - June 2014, page 5
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Court rules Roma should get €600 for discrimination
THE OWNER of a bar in the municipality of Spišské Vlachy (in the Spišská Nová Ves district) discriminated against a Roma couple when he refused to serve them in his bar and asked them to leave, according to a court ruling.
Kiska meets V4 presidents
ONLY ONE day after his inauguration, President Andrej Kiska set off for his first official foreign trip to attend a meeting of the Visegrad Group (V4) presidents and the president of Germany in Budapest on July 16.
Classical, jazz and flamenco guitar enriches capital’s culture
THE INTERNATIONAL Guitar Festival of J.K. Mertz has become an established part of Bratislava’s cultural summer events. Already in its 39th year, the festival will again offer concerts, master classes and seminars between June 24 and 29 in various venues around the capital.
PMÚ fines IT firms for cartel
THE ANTITRUST Office has penalised five IT distributors for forming a cartel and manipulating fees for deliveries of goods. The companies involved must pay an aggregate fine of €4.28 million.
IMF advises Slovakia to keep current VAT rate
PRESERVE the 20-percent VAT rate and focus more on boosting state revenues rather than further cutting of expenses: this was the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) advice to Slovakia after spending two weeks in the country. The IMF estimates that the plan to reduce VAT to 19 percent would account for 0.3 percent of annual GDP.
Bratislava water utility cheated on tender, claims employee
BRATISLAVA’s regional water utility, Bratislavská Vodárenská Spoločnosť (BVS), cheated in a tender for its information system, STV public service reported after receiving a letter from an anonymous BVS employee describing the scam. BVS responded that the employee’s claims are false and inaccurate.
On duty police officer shot dead
PULLING over a drunk driver turned deadly for a 34-year-old police officer who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the village of Boleráz, near the western-Slovak town of Trnava, on the night of June 14.
Countrywide Events
Western SLOVAKIA
Košice, Banská Bystrica danced quadrille in attempted record
THE EUROPEAN Quadrille Dance festival has been organised annually since 2002. In total, 50 cities in eight European countries participate in the festival, which strives to set new records in the number of people dancing the quadrille en masse in public. This year, Slovakia participated for the seventh time, with Košice and Banská Bystrica taking on the dance on May 23.
Government passes energy poverty protection concept
PEOPLE struggling to pay their energy bills and maintain a comfortable temperature in their homes may be eligible for a special benefit from the state. This stems from a concept to protect consumers from energy poverty, which the cabinet passed at its June 11 session. Though energy producers call the document a first step in fighting energy poverty, they warn that further discussion is necessary.
Fico: Current gas crisis differs from 2009
WHILE some experts see Russia’s halting of gas supplies to Ukraine as a political issue, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico perceives it as a commercial dispute.
Gas still flowing to Slovakia, for now
AFTER a bad experience in January 2009 when its natural gas supplies were cut off for about two weeks, Slovakia is looking towards the east with renewed fear now that Russia has halted gas supplies to Ukraine. While the country is able to cope with a short-term halt in gas supplies thanks in part to gas reserves stored underground in the west, the fact that Ukraine is not filling its underground gas storage facilities could result in significant problems with gas supplies to Slovakia and other European countries during the winter.
Bonanno case sees first verdict
A DANGEROUS precedent is what an international media freedom watchdog labelled the first verdict in the Bonanno case, as the court ordered a publisher to apologise to a Supreme Court judge.
Puppet theatre not only about puppets
EVIDENCE of just how rapidly puppet theatre has evolved into an alternative art form, utilising various objects, human actors and even the audience as puppets, was on display at the V4 Countries’ Theatres vol. 16 held in Nitra on June 9-11.
Smer leadership to undergo shuffle
RUMOURS of changes within the Smer party leadership have swirled since Prime Minister Robert Fico’s failed presidential campaign, and are reemerging again ahead of the ruling party’s June 28 congress.
Italian piano master discovers Slovakia
ITALIAN pianist and composer Roberto Cacciapaglia will perform for the first time in Slovakia; his concert will mark not only end of the Dolce Vitaj festival of Italian culture, but also the start of his country’s presidency over the European Union. The renowned musician will join forces with Slovak cellist Silvia Longauerová on July 3, and the performance in the Slovak Radio’s studio will be broadcast live over the radio.
Čičmany, Warhol, Messerschmidt represent Slovakia at EXPO Milan
AFTER Slovakia skipped the opportunity to present itself at the EXPO 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea, it will participate in the next edition of this prominent fair to be held in Milan next year. The theme of EXPO Milano 2015 is ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’.
SDKÚ postpones congress
THE SLOVAK Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) has postponed its original plan to summon an extraordinary congress in June to September. The delegates were to discuss several issues, including changes in the party’s top posts. SDKÚ chairman Pavol Frešo has meanwhile said that he will not seek re-election if the congress does not approve his new vision for the party.
FinMin adds to rosy outlook
AFTER the Slovak central bank forecast that Slovakia’s economic growth would resume, the Finance Ministry offered its own prognosis on June 16 – although, neither of the prognoses account for the possibility of increased confrontation between Russia and Europe.
Free-trade agreement might boost Slovak economy
THE TRANSATLANTIC Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States will bring many positives for a small and open economy like Slovakia’s, said Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) Director Robert Kičina at a press conference when discussing the results of a survey among entrepreneurs.
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- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- 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
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Slovakia plans to restrict access to new medicines amid funding shortfall
- 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
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- 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
- 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 compass points to Kúty, and people are starting to follow
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- 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 ›
