Archive of articles - July 1996, page 5

Development going up in Záhorská Bystrica

A development of 140 houses plus sports and cultural facilities is being built in the Záhorská Bystrica district of Bratislava, Národná Obroda reported. Of the 1 billion Sk ($333 million) planned investment, 250 million Sk has already been invested by a firm called HREC. Construction on the first 21 homes has already begun and should be completed within three years. For the second time in two years, the city of Košice has received a big loan from a major Slovak firm to help beautify the city and upgrade its infrastructure, according to the weekly Trend. Všeobecná Úverová Banka (VÚB) announced in late June that it was providing Slovakia's second-largest city with an eight-year loan worth 250 million Sk with an 11 percent interest rate

Kováč may grant his son amnesty

Opposition trio agrees to integrate

Casting an eye toward the 1998 elections, three opposition parties have decided to unite and present an alternative bloc to Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar's dominant Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) party. The three opposition parties - the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), the Democratic Union (DU) and the Democratic Party (DS) - have met five times since March with the goal of reaching consensus on a common political agenda by September. "These three parties are so close," said Roman Kováč, a DU vice-chairman, "and our goals are similar enough that we can cooperate together."

Mečiar, Slota, Ľupták are solid again

Vladimír Mečiar, Slovakia's ingenious political gambler and the country's prime minister, has again demonstrated that he is the one who pulls the strings, relegating other political leaders - including those in the opposition - to powerless observers. After two weeks of high political drama in which it appeared that the government coalition of Mečiar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), the Slovak National Party (SNS) and the Association of Slovak Workers (ZRS) was on the verge of collapse, their leaders emerged from ten hours of talks on June 28 to pronounce that everything was fine. "The current ruling coalition remains," Mečiar told the press after the talks.

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Newspaper editor cites owners' interference

Canoeing: Michal Martikán

When canoeist Juraj Minčík speaks of his teammate, Michal Martikán, he does so with the appropriate respect for a world champion. "Although I'm not on a par with Mišo Martikán, I have beaten him twice," Minčík says. "Maybe he wasn't fully focused and motivated. Beating him helped my self-confidence. For now, a place behind Mišo is fine with me." But what makes 19-year-old Minčík's comments extraordinary is the fact that Martikán himself just turned 17 years old.

Middle East may be source of oil

Lebed: Russia need not worry about NATO

Real Estate Corner

Holiday Inn to open in BratislavaA three-star Holiday Inn hotel is planned to open this month on Bratislava's Bajkalská ulica. The hotel was constructed and will be managed by Slovkarpatia in Bratislava, which has become a member of the Holiday Inn International chain. Slovkarpatia's majority shareholder is Slovenská Poisťovňa (Slovak Insurance company) with 57 percent. The retail chain Jednota is another major shareholder. The hotel's manegement expects to secure a continuous inflow of guests from abroad by linking the hotel to a global reservation system called Holidex 2000.

Slovnaft gets cash infusion from record-breaking loan

A group of seven of the world's leading banks have teamed up to forward the oil and gas refinery conglomerate Slovnaft the largest non-government backed syndicate loan in Slovakia's history. Arranged by Citibank, the $250 million (7.5 billion Sk) loan will be used by Slovnaft to introduce a project that will convert crude oil residue into petrol and kerosene. Before, the company would take crude oil waste and turn it into low value-added products such as oil for electrical generators or be forced to burn it off altogether. Slovnaft will match the syndicate loan with its own funds, bringing the total allocated to the project to $500 million (15 billion Sk).

Swimming: Martina Moravcová

Twelve of this year's Slovak Olympians represented Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Barcelona Games, but perhaps none of them embody their country's international athletic coming-of-age as well as Martina Moravcová. Four years ago, as the youngest member of the entire Czechoslovak delegation, the promising 16-year-old swimmer was a small fish in the vast Olympic sea of excitement. "I was amazed by everything," Moravcová said recently of her first international senior event. "I was watching with wide eyes. I didn't do my best there. I just felt a little bit lost - it was so huge."

Stay under water to escape the summer heat without air-conditioning

When the weather heats up, there's no better way to cool off - especially in an air-conditioning free zone - than with a day at an outdoor pool. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to find a place to swim no matter where you are in the country. The highest concentration of swimming spots is in the capital, where a string of seven locations - Dolné Krčace, Krasňany, Lamač, Rača, Tehelné Pole, Delfin, and the lake at Zlaté piesky - are all managed by a single organization. The lake, which has three waterslides, kayak, waterbike, and canoe rentals as well as volleyball and tennis courts, is the only exception to the rules governing the six pools, all of which consist of a pool, cafe, and ice cream stand.

Second edition book on Slovakia is bigger, better

Last year, a private company embarked on an ambitious venture to produce what turned out to be a fine book on Slovakia in English, replete with useful data and extensive visuals promoting the country. This year, the company, Slovakia for the World, has done it again, printing a second edition of the book, also titled "Slovakia for the World." Including a second book introducing Slovakia's neighbors and creating a CD-ROM version, this set is better than before. These slick, high-quality softcover books, beautifully designed with stunning full-page photographs and state of the art graphics, also are packed with facts and figures with a clear intent to educate the reader.

WTO pressures Slovakia to eliminate import tariff

In a sudden turnaround last month, the Slovak government announced that it would cancel its ten percent import surcharge by the end of this year, thus eliminating a bone of contention that had existed between Slovakia and the World Trade Organization (WTO). But government officials, increasingly nervous over the country's burgeoning trade deficit, did not rule out the notion that they may look for a way out if the trade balance worsens. The decision was issued smack in the middle of a visit by Slovak ministry officials to WTO headquarters in Geneva. The group left Bratislava for the WTO's Balance of Payment Committee meeting on June 23 with plans to defend its decision to trim the import tariff by 2.5 percent to 7.5 percent as of July 1.

Regional TV station makes a go of it in Košice

KOŠICE - A new commercial television station operating on a shoe-string budget and offering a rough and ready brand of local programming arrived in Košice on May 2. TV Naša, or "Our TV" has situated itself in many ways at the other end of the broadcast spectrum from Markíza TV, another private commercial TV venture which aims to cover virtually all of Slovakia once it begins airing on August 31. However, "this was the niche in Košice," explained Marcel Dekanovský, the director of Mac TV, a video production company that formed and operates TV Naša. "We were sure that once we started filling this gap, people would watch loyally."

Riflery: Jozef Gönci

More than a decade ago, a 10-year-old boy strode into the riflery club at his Košice primary school, eager to sign up. He was a pretty good shot having beaten his cousins a few times with his grandfather's air rifle. "That's nice," said the club's director, "but come back next year when I think you'll be big enough to carry a rifle." Many children would be discouraged, but instead Jozef Gönci became determined. He came back the next year and showed he belonged. Today, Gönci's dedication is paying off, as he heads to Atlanta as one of the world's best riflemen and a medal contender.

France Telecom guarantees lowest prices

NATO decision rests on perception of democracy