Archive of articles - July 2014, page 3
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World War I memories overshadowed
IN SLOVAKIA, memories of the First World War are not as vivid in the public discourse as in, for instance, the UK or France. Historians ascribe this to several factors.
United Kingdom: General facts
Political system: constitutional monarchyCapital: LondonTotal area: 242,500 square kilometresPopulation: 64 millionMain language: EnglishCurrency: pound sterling
Slovaks go to war
THE REACTION among the Slovak population of Austria-Hungary to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife was mainly one of shock combined with terror. His death dashed many Slovaks’ hopes that the successor to the throne would grant them autonomy from Hungarian rule, and left little room for enthusiasm about the upcoming war. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of Slovaks fought and died in the First World War.
British youth orchestra boosts ties
THE SUMMER programme of classical music concerts in Bratislava gets fairly sparse, with some shows outside the concert season moving to other, non-traditional venues.
Diplomat: Pragmatism steers UK opinion on EU
“WE believe in sticking to rules and we are also quite passionate in our defence of our sovereignty,” says Gill Fraser, Chargé d’Affaires of the British Embassy in Bratislava, when explaining some of the roots of EU-scepticism in the United Kingdom. Fraser, who came to Slovakia after serving in Tripoli, also adds that there is something about the British psyche that makes the country “pragmatic about what are the benefits that the EU brings to our citizens”.
British Chamber elects new board
THE BRITISH Chamber of Commerce in the Slovak Republic (BCCSR) has elected a new Board of Directors. This highly anticipated vote, which took place on June 30, will have significant implications on the future of the British Slovak Business Centre (BSBC), the chamber and the centre informed in a press release.
Pressburger Zeitung launched 250 years ago
ONE of the longest running news publications to have been started during the Habsburg monarchy was the Pressburger Zeitung (Bratislava Newspaper). The first issue was published on July 14, 1764, and printed in German - the second newspaper to be published in the language of the Austrian monarchy.
Anička is online
HOW come Slovakia’s most popular celebrity eagle, Arnold, has changed gender? Has he undergone some kind of surgery? No, but ornithologists have recently admitted they were wrong when assessing the gender of the famous bird, who had a transmitter attached to her body which tracked her winter migration to Africa and her return flight.
Law may violate foreigners’ rights
OMBUDSWOMAN Jana Dubovcová has filed another complaint with the Constitutional Court (CC) over laws pertaining to foreigners.
The Great War through the eyes of Slovaks
IN THE summer of 1914, when Austria-Hungary responded to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife by sending troops into a conflict that would escalate into the first-ever global war, today’s Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the end of the war four years later, Slovaks joined their Czech neighbours to form the Czechoslovak Republic, one of the new states that emerged on the ruins of the Habsburg Monarchy.
Trnava city tower celebrates 440th anniversary
ONE of Trnava’s most dominant architectural features came about 440 years ago when local master brick mason Jacob pledged to the mayor to build a guard tower to help defend against fires and other threats.
London-Košice flights popular
THE LAUNCH of a regular route between Košice in eastern Slovakia and the London airport Luton was one of the milestones of Košice airport in 2013. The route, which Hungarian low-cost airlines Wizz Air launched in mid-September, has proved popular in both directions. After less than nine months of operation the airport has welcomed 50,000 passengers on this route.
Slovak buckets in royal palace
DURING the communist era Kovotvar Kúty used to supply the whole Slovak population with zinc galvanised buckets and watering cans. Nowadays these garden accessories of simple and practical designs can be found in e-shops in German and the UK, even in the Highgrove shop of Prince Charles in Buckingham Palace, the Hospodárske Noviny economic daily wrote in February.
Draught horses competed
TEAMSTERS were once a common sight in Slova-kia, with draught hor-ses used widely in agriculture, transport and early industry. Nowadays, they are a rarity, but some Slovaks are preserving the skills of their ancestors.
Judicial body gets short term chief
THE BODY overseeing the operation of the judiciary in Slovakia has a new boss, for the time being. Several weeks after the tenure of Štefan Harabin expired, Ján Vanko, a judge from Nitra, was unanimously elected as deputy chairman on July 21 and will temporarily lead the Judiciary Council until a new full-time head is chosen.
Košice inhabitants can meet Scottish writers
THE LITERARY festival Mesiac Autorského Čítania (Month of Authors Reading) brings writers closer to readers in four cities across three neighbouring countries (the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland), all sharing the same 62 authors in a total of 248 book readings. The festival’s 15th year takes place between July 1 and August 3 in Brno, Ostrava, Košice and Wroclaw. Of the participating authors, 31 are Czech and Slovak, with the same number coming from Scotland – which is the honorary guest country this year. The reading starts with an evening in Brno before moving on to the other cities.
Traditional Japanese dolls on exhibit in SNM
THE WORLD of Japanese Dolls comes to Bratislava this summer with 70 examples of Japan’s most typical traditional dolls.
Mixed message on sanctions
THE JULY 17 downing of Malaysia Airline flight 17 (MH17) continues to reverberate as European Union foreign ministers were still engaged in discussions about boosting sanctions on Russia when The Slovak Spectator went to press. In Bratislava, leaders were sending mixed messages.
UK institutions in Slovakia
British EmbassyCharge d’Affaires: Gill Fraserwww.ukinslovakia.fco.gov.uk
Quote of the week
“I have been waiting for seven weeks, naively [thinking] … that he would come and say: ‘Yes people, I was fooling you. I am sorry; try to forgive me’.”
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