Bratislava
Rogue ship clouts Old Bridge
THE STARÝ Most bridge across the Danube river in the capital has been closed to both car and pedestrian traffic since an Austrian tugboat steering two barges, one of which was empty and the other filled with 40 tonnes of grain, crashed into one of the bridge's pillars shortly before midnight March 27.
Structural tests on Bratislava's Old Bridge (built by the Soviet Red Army and German prisoners of war in 1945) are expected to show whether the damage is so severe that the bridge has to be completely rebuilt.
The cause of the accident is unknown.
The cargo barge sank immediately after the accident. The second barge broke loose and floated uncontrolled down the Danube. A tugboat owned by Slovak shipping company Slovenská plavba a prístavy (SPaP) managed to secure it about one hour later.
None of the six Austrian crew was hurt or injured, and police reported that no leaks of fuel or other harmful substances occurred during the accident.
Skalka
Free trip to loony bin
LENIN, Hitler and several Osama bin Laden look-alikes skied down central Slovakia's Skalka mountain slopes last Easter weekend.
The 41st annual Snow Carnival attracted around 2,000 visitors and many masked guests, including movie and book character Harry Potter.
Tombola prizes included a funeral wreath and a free stay at a psychiatric clinic.
Dubnica nad Váhom
Salting new wounds
MAINTENANCE crews in Dubnica nad Váhom have made many enemies through their enthusiastic salting of roads to melt ice and snow this winter.
Heavy salting by road crews has caused major damage and erosion to the exterior walls and brick fences of some local houses.
City councillor Štefan Kunda said that salty water from melting snow had leaked into the walls and then froze again when temperatures fell below freezing last month, causing structural damage
Deputy Mayor Anton Ladecký recommended that inhabitants turn to the court, although many residents they would first be expressing their displeasure in mayoral elections in two weeks' time.
Červeník
Splashing leads to hospital treatment
SEVEN young men, who on Easter Monday visited a 16-year-old female friend for the traditional Slovak ceremony of water splashing, poured hot instead of cold water on the girl, leaving her with severe burns.
The incident, which put the teenager in hospital with second-degree burns on her arms and legs, took place in the Červeník village near Hlohovec. Doctors have said the wounds will take four to six weeks to heal.
Pezinok
Not as think as you drunk I am
POLICE have arrested a 45-year-old tractor driver who was so drunk he fell asleep at the wheel and ploughed into a train.
The accident, in which no one was hurt, happened on Good Friday near the village of Pezinok just outside Bratislava.
The man, whom police have not named, was found to have 3.18 parts per thousand of alcohol in his blood.
The state rail company ŽSR said he caused more than Sk400,000 crowns in damages, and delayed 14 trains.
Trenčín
Easter egg ends friendship
FOUR 8-year-old boys had to be torn apart by police after a bloody fight over chocolate eggs they had received on Easter Monday.
The four had gone around houses in Trenčín splashing and whipping their female classmates. All went fine until in one household one of them was given a smaller chocolate Easter egg than his three friends. A quarrel over the egg resulted in a furious and bloody fight, bystanders reported.
Compiled by Spectator Staff from press reports
