Archive of articles - November 2014, page 17
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Average interest rate for mortgages reached new record
THE AVERAGE interest rate for mortgage reached new record when it decreased to 3.13 percent per year. The reason is a deduction of interest rates in the category of three and five years fixed rates, according to Fincentrum analysis using data from the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), the TASR newswire reported on November 3.
Former booth offers information
TOURISTS and citizens of Bratislava are getting another source of information in Slovak, as well as English, about the capital, its sights or offering of social, cultural and sports events. The first multifunctional information terminal made from a former telephone booth was put into operation on September 22. It is located near the Passenger Port on the Fajnorovo nábrežie embankment, the TASR newswire reported.
App helps orient tourists in Tatras
TOURISTS do not need to confide only in printed guides in the High Tatras any more. Since this past summer, a smart phone could be enough for them, as there is a free mobile application now available with which they can find all important information about the mountains and what is going on there. Mountain regions Trentino and the Dolomites in Italy as well as Tyrol in Austria use the same mobile application. The Tatra’s app is available in Slovak, and also in English and Polish, the TASR newswire reported.
Slovaks pay €38 for telecom services
SLOVAKS pay, on average, €38 to telecommunication operators per month. This is a conclusion of a survey Sberbank Slovensko conducted on its more than 10,000 clients who regularly pay monthly invoices to telecommunications operators for calls, internet or TV.
Mobile internet usage up
THE NUMBER of people using mobile devices to connect to the internet is increasing in Slovakia.
DT shared services centre grows
BRATISLAVA remains attractive for shared services centres. This is confirmed by Deutsche Telekom’s plan to extend its existing shared services centre (SSC).
Nicky’s Family receives 40th award
SIR NICHOLAS Winton and Matej Mináč received special prizes for Nicky’s Family film at the International Film Festival The Spirits of the Earth, organised by the St John International University in Torino, Italy. It is already the 40th award for the film project that was made in cooperation with Czech and Slovak public-service televisions.
Easy Like Water received Grand Prix at Ekotopfilm festival
THE MAIN Grand Prix prize of the 41st international film festival Ekotopfilm was granted to the American film, Easy Like Water directed by Glenn Baker. The award ceremony took place in the Mirror Hall of the Primate’s Palace where the organisers granted together 21 prizes, the TASR newswire reported.
Institutions and organisations in the telecoms sector in Slovakia
Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development, www.telecom.gov.skMinister: Ján Počiatek
Telecom services providers
- Antik Telecom, www.antik.sk
Glossary: Learning the art and skill of debating
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 Learning the art and skill of debating, you can find more expressions in our Glossary for politics & business or in the List of names of institutions in English and Slovak.
40 = 3 + 1 = Slovak jazz
IF SOMETHING is already tried and well established, there must be a very strong reason to change it. For Bratislava Jazz Days (BJD), a festival that has traditionally been a three-day October event, the reason comes only once every five years when an extra day is added to present the creme de la creme of Slovak jazz.
Learning the art and skill of debating
A glossary of words as well as an exercise related to this article are also published online.
A match marred by violence
FOOTBALL fans who attended the ŠK Slovan Bratislava and AC Sparta Praha match, not to mention a significant TV audience, witnessed a long-unseen display of football violence when infamous Czech hooligans broke a security fence at the stadium during the October 23 match.
The secondary vocational school in Sklenárova and secondary grammar school in Tomášikova celebrate 50 years
TWO secondary schools administered by the Bratislava region celebrate their 50th anniversary this year: the secondary vocational school (VOŠ) of Samuel Jurkovič in Sklenárova and the Secondary Grammar School of Laco Novomeský on Tomášikova Street in Bratislava.
Smer pushes through tax changes
TAXPAYERS will pay more in taxes as of next year even though basic rates for income and corporate taxes remain unchanged. Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer majority in parliament pushed through an extensive revision to the income tax laws on October 30. While the cabinet cites consolidation of public finances and closing legal loopholes as the motivation for the changes, the opposition calls them a covert tax hike and say they will challenge the moves with the Constitutional Court.
Bigoted balloting
NEITHER anti-gay activists, who initiated a petition for a referendum to constitutionally define the concept of family, nor LGBTI rights advocates, who called the initiative an attempt to curb minority rights, are happy with the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court. The judges ruled that three of the four proposed ballot initiatives could go forward, clearing a path for referenda on the definition of marriage, child adoption by same-sex couples and sexual education in schools, but blocking a question about registered partnerships having the same rights as marriage.
National park Slovak Paradise celebrates half-centenary
SLOVAK Paradise (Slovenský raj in Slovak) is an area in the east of Slovakia that has become a popular tourist destination and a true paradise for hikers and nature lovers. By the end of September, it celebrated 50 years since it was pronounced a national park (NP) reserve.
Interest in local elections varies
IN BRATISLAVA the right-wing parties are uniting to challenge a Smer-backed incumbent and a number of other cities promise tight races, but there are more than 500 municipalities where the November 15 elections are a mere formality because there is only one candidate. A number of villages will elect no mayor at all, because no one is running for office.
Quote of the week
“Similarly to Churchill who was an excellent right-wing politician, Fico is an excellent left-wing politician.”Czech President Miloš Zeman said before awarding Slovak PM Robert Fico with the Order of the White Lion, the highest order of the Czech Republic.
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- A bus now runs through it: Slovakia and Poland’s Tatras finally connect More articles ›
