News

More than 130 people drowned and about 200 are still accounted for after the shipwreck of a vessel full of African immigrants off Lampedusa island. Approximately 500 immigrants from Eritrea and Somalia were crammed on board of the flatboat, seeking a better future in Europe.

Without trying to diminish the severity of this tragedy, the overcrowded vessel reminds me of the situation on a train that I experienced last week. Many Slovaks are coming to the capital, Bratislava, attracted by the job opportunities and the cultural life. But on Friday afternoon, all of them want to get home. This means traffic jam, hundreds of people queuing at the ticket office and trains so full that 15 of us are standing at the toilet.

It is hard to sit down and the the price of privacy is so high in the big cities. I have nothing against the establishment, but they should at least provide decent transport for those who were deprived of work opportunities at home. Or maybe they want to prepare us for the worse.

When asked about your current job, it is almost compulsory to say: "it is fine", but I am looking for something better.

The Ernst & Young employees can say, I want to work for Google. But what would a Google employee say? Fortune's list of the best employers has been topped by Google for several consecutive years.

But, why do we all like Google? Probably for the same reason we like Christmas, or weddings. At either event, you are sure to gain something for little effort, which motivates us to participate and contribute towards the collective wealth.

At Christmas, children are asked to decorate the tree and adults are expected to bring their parents handy gifts such as a new baking oven. By offering a helping hand you can make a fortune - tons of cakes and sweets for the children, for example. The same applies to weddings. What do the adults look for at weddings? Maybe we should ask Owen Wilson.

I was surprised to see that one of the UCL student residences was nominated amongst the worst new buildings in Britain. Being used to the student life, I could imagine peeling walls, dirty lavatories, rusty pipes, hoards of unattended rubbish and so on. But my surprise grew when I realized that the main concern was the lack of sunshine due to the adjacent building. Moreover, it affected only 23 rooms.

In my experience, students usually go to their rooms only if they want to sleep. Often, they get to their bed early in the morning (after a night spent partying or studying) and in that case, the shadow would be an asset. It is hard to sleep when the morning sun knocks at your window.

Student residences in Slovakia, where I did my studies, have different problems - the ones I originally expected at the UK's. But the situation is not so bad, compared to the price. The monthly prices in the UK might run so high that in some residences in Slovakia you could live for the whole academic year.

It looks like our shops' shelves are full of poison, and I am not referring to those at the Sunset Strip in 1980's. Over the weekend, it was proven that products from the world's largest dairy exporter in New Zealand were contaminated with botox. In my home country of Slovakia, it is almost weekly practice that the supermarkets apologize to the customers and ask them to return suspicious goods for a refund.

At the moment, many people are pushed by the economic situation and have no other option but to choose the cheaper option at the supermarket. They help their wallets in the short term, but can end up paying for it twofold in the long term.

First of all, cheaper suppliers often do not give as much attention to quality and safety standards in order to push the price down. Food might contain more preservatives and harmful substances than allowed. It can result in food poisoning scandals, but more likely, will simply accumulate in the body and require a doctor's attention later. Many preservatives are toxic and such waste does no good to the organism that is your body.

People were so preoccupied by the royal baby that they failed to realize that the King of Belgium resigned in favour of his son this week.

It seems that people all around the world, including Slovakia, were curious about the new prince in London.
Women with small children who still remember their own labour felt especially sorry for the Duchess surrounded by journalists. The couple confirmed my opinion that William and Kate give a good name to the Royal Family and should not be hassled by the public and press.

When I asked my friends whether they knew about the Belgian king stepping down, they did not. Well, people are so preoccupied by celebrities that they fail to take notice of the everyday happening. On the one hand, it testifies to the popularity of the Royal Family even in central Europe. On the other hand, is such a media craze necessary?

Prince William took paternity leave from his duties as a helicopter pilot in order to be with his wife. I don't think, he can realistically get much closer to the common man. New kings are not born every day, but common people are, most of them into poverty. And I believe William and Kate know that.