Bratislava
Bank robbery in Dúbravka
AN UNIDENTIFIED armed man robbed a bank on Schneider Trnavský Street in the Bratislava district of Dúbravka shortly before 09:00 on September 29, Tatiana Kurucová of the Bratislava Regional Police Department said.
No one was hurt during the robbery, but the man got away with several tens of thousands of Slovak crowns.
According to witnesses, the robber was around 40-45 years old and was dressed in a dark jacket and dark trousers. He was wearing a black knitted hat, and his nose and mouth were covered by a pale-coloured scarf.
Bratislava/Prague
TV station prepares secret project
THE SLOVAK private television station TV Markíza has been preparing a new project - a Czech-Slovak TV channel - the Nový Čas daily reported.
TV Markíza has been the leader on the Slovak TV market for a decade, ever since it was established in August 1996.
According to the new project plans, TV Markíza wants to arrange a comeback for Czecho-Slovak broadcasting, a service that was well known during Communism and in the early 1990s when the two states were still joined together as a federation.
"We cannot reveal any details, as this is a strategic project," TV Markíza's spokeswoman Ivana Semjanová told the daily.
However, according to the media expert Miloš Mistrík, the Slovak TV market is already saturated. "If it wants to succeed, it must be a remarkably high-quality television channel... specialized channels have a much greater chance of success," he said.
Slovakia
Slovak model causes stir on Dubai streets
ADVERTISING materials featuring Slovak model Zita Galgóciová have caused a sensation on the streets of Dubai.
The adverts, which promote a brand of clothing, have created such a stir that the campaign has had to be changed.
"Zita has taken part in numerous advertising campaigns here. One involved adverts on taxis and these caused a series of traffic accidents. Her photograph had to be changed for a different one with less sex appeal," said Galgóciová's agent, Martin Záhumenský of the Focus modelling agency.
The original advertisement, which showed the green-eyed Zita in a light white dress with her hair worn loose, was replaced by another in which the Slovak model wears trousers with her hair tied back.
Banská Bystrica
Slovak euro coins exhibition
THE ORIGINALS of the 144 artistic designs that competed to be used on Slovakia's euro coins, along with plaster casts of the winning plans, are on exhibit at 'Slovak Euro Coins', which was opened at the end of September at the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) office in Banská Bystrica.
The preview was attended by the authors of the three winning designs that the NBS picked for the future Slovak euro coins, based on the results of a nation-wide survey.
The author of the winning design 'Dvojkríž na trojvrší' (Double Cross on Three Mountains), which will be on the flip side of the 2- and 1-euro coins, is Ivan Rehák from Bratislava.
The design 'Kriváň Mountain', which will be on 1-, 2-, and 5-cent coins, was made by Drahomír Zobek, a medal maker from Kremnica.
The authors of the design 'Bratislava Castle', which should be on the 50-, 20-, and 10-cent coins, are Ján Černaj and Pavel Károly from Kremnica, where coins were minted as early as the 14th century.
The exhibition will be open to the public until November 16.
Košice
Košice reconstructs historical centre
AFTER five months of reconstruction, an important part of Košice's historical centre, the area next to St. Elizabeth's Cathedral, is once again resplendent, Košice Mayor František Knapík told journalists on September 29.
As part of the ceremony recognising the reconstruction, the town announced that it will apply to be nominated for the 'European Capitals of Culture' competition.
The area surrounding the gothic cathedral now has new pavement and public lighting. Thanks to the reconstructed roof and the reflectors that are built into the pavement, the citizens of Košice and tourists can now enjoy the impressively lit cathedral at night.
The reconstruction of the heart of the historical centre, which started in April, cost Sk21.3 million (€568,700).
A part of the new pavement has been enriched by the inclusion of fragments found in nearby archaeological sites that reveal the medieval past of the cathedral's environment.
The winner of 'European Capitals of Culture' will be announced by the Council of Europe on the basis of a recommendation by the European Commission. According to the revised rules, starting in 2009, two cities will be elected annually instead of only one. One will be chosen from the original EU15 countries and one from the new member countries.
Slovakia and France have been chosen for 2013.
During the event, lasting one year, the winning Slovak town will have the opportunity to develop culturally and economically.
Kremnica
People of Kremnica fear for thermal pool
AN OPEN-PIT gold mine that the Canadian company Tournigan Gold Corporation wants to dig near the town of Kremnica in the central Slovak Banská Bystrica region could affect the quality and yield of a nearby thermal spring that supplies the local thermal pool, the Sme daily reported on September 29.
Demit, the company that runs the thermal pool, has already turned to experts to assess the risks that might come with the open-pit mine.
Demit is set to receive expert opinions within the next few days. "Geologists have already warned us that the risk to the thermal spring will be serious if mining begins," said Demit's Jozef Mico.
