STARÉ HORY
Deer rut climax
The deer rutting season, presently approaching its climactic peak, is a characteristic phenomenon chiefly in the mountainous areas of Slovakia, where the deer population enjoys the most optimal conditions for breeding and living. Sexually excited stags roar noisily and call to their mates from their perches on hilltops and mountain ridges. "In cases where there are numbers of strong rivals trying to attract the attentions of a group of does, the rutting area may turn into a bloody hormonally-fuelled battleground," said Miroslav Saniga of the Research Station of the Forest Ecology Institute at Slovak Academy of Sciences in Starý Hory. Saniga added that due to a rapid decrease in the deer population, "mornings in the mountains of Starý Hory are much quieter than they used to be."
BRATISLAVA
Woman killed by tram
An accident with tragic consequences happened on September 27 at 9:25 pm on Púchovská Street in Bratislava, when a 50-year old woman who was getting off the tram fell between the tram's two cars. After being dragged for 115 meters, she fell beneath the wheels. Meanwhile, the tram driver, who had not noticed the incident, continued driving. The pedestrian died on the spot.
BRATISLAVA
Barefoot Bangladeshis in Bratislava
On September 24 night, a police patrol received information that a group of barefooted foreigners was walking around the city. It was later discovered that they were Bangladeshi nationals who reported to police that they had been robbed and that their personal belongings, including their documents and even their shoes, had been stolen. The case is currently under investigation.
PRIEVIDZA
Fake thousand crown bills
The owner of the Archa disco club in Pravenec (close to Prievidza), while counting the evening's receipts, found two forged thousand crown bills on September 23. They were printed on low quality paper and carried the same production number. The silver watermark had been drawn by hand. Due to the dim light of the disco, the waiter had not recognized that the bills, now in the possession of the police, were fakes. František Belan, District police unit headquarters spokesman, told of another fake thousand crown bill which was discovered in Bojnice (also close to Prievidza). It had been used in a financial transaction by a young man thought to be of Romany origin. Both fake bills have been sent to the Slovak National Bank monetary checking office.
POPRAD
Fatal accident under High Tatras
One man and two women died and one man was seriously injured in a car accident near the village of Jánovce (close to Poprad) on September 24. The driver of a Daewoo lost control and hit a tree. Individual units of the security system, including the Air Security Service from Poprad, were involved in the rescue effort. The accident is the most serious car crash in the Poprad district this year.
DUNAJSKÁ STREDA
Two districts without electricity
At 4:15 pm on September 25, the first day of elections, a blackout occured in two districts in south Slovakia - Dunajská Streda and Komárno. The blackout lasted about an hour, and according to the District Electoral Comission (OVK), did not cause any problems with the elections in these mostly Hungarian nationality districts. Employees of the state-owned utility Slovak Energy Works (SE) denied the blackout had been deliberate.
