Archive of articles - August 1999, page 4

Mečiar may testify in Kováč Jr. case

Former Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar may have to answer question about the 1995 kidnapping of Michal Kováč Jr., the son of his former rival, after parliament decides on August 24 whether or not he can testify in the case.The latest chapter in the highly politicised kidnapping investigation, began August 16 when Jaroslav Ivor, director of the investigation department at the Interior Ministry, announced that kidnapping investigators wanted Mečiar and former President Michal Kováč to testify in the case.Ivor added that the investigation phase of the kidnapping case was nearing its end, and that charges would soon be filed against those suspected of involvement.

Po-r cancels Nafta contracts with IPB All

During talks with the FNM state privatisation agency on August 18, lawyer Milan Ružbarský submitted a statement to FNM officials signed by Vladimir Po-r, owner of the Slovak company Arad. The contents of the letter appeared to resolve a recent dispute between the state and Po-r over the future of the lucrative gas storage company Nafta Gbely.According to the document, Arad, which controls Nafta Gbely and its sister company Nafta Trade, has canceled all contracts with the Czech firm IPB-All - meaning that the Nafta properties may soon be back in state hands.Po-r announced on June 22 this year that he had sold Arad, and thus the Nafta properties, to a Czech buyer who was reportedly acting for American energy giant Cinergy. The sale frustrated the government, which had been trying to acquire nafta for itself.

Community Grapevine

US Congressman Mica to speak at AmChamA gala lunch celebrates India's IndependenceBratislava hosts seminar for publishers

Racial beatings provoke outrage

Libyan diplomats in Slovakia made an upsetting announcement on August 8: Two of their sons had been attacked by skinheads in June. The diplomats also said that several other violent attacks against Arab students had taken place in January and February of this year.Weeks before the Libyan announcement, a Chinese diplomat had been seriously injured by a gang of youths in Bratislava. Also in July, two British citizens of Asian origin were attacked.Faced with increasing concern from the general public and diplomatic community about an apparent surge in hate crime, Interior Minister Ladislav Pittner took the opportunity last week to talk tough.

Slovakia's strapped hospitals: Where does the money go?

Whenever the talk turns to the errors of Slovak government ministers these days, people generally recognise two kinds of sins; those of omission and those of commission.Health Minister Tibor Šagat has certainly committed no wrong in administering the country's health care system. He's a pleasant, obliging sort of fellow who pedalled valiantly with Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda on the SDK party's bicycle tour of the country last summer. One gets the feeling that he's hard on corruption.But for sitting on his hands since appointed and letting the country's hospitals deteriorate to the extent they have, Šagat deserves to be fired.

Johnson Controls to construct new plant in Martin

Schuster climbs a mountain

Former communist Biľak could be pardoned

Cabinet and TIS watchdog to fight corruption together

SDĽ pledges not to support Strategic Company Law

Letter to the Editor: Roma need to be heard on their own situation

FinMin unhappy with offer for Slovak ČSOB stake

State had little choice in GSM 1800 tender

Harvard-educated Jozef Barta was appointed to the top position at Slovak mobile operator EuroTel Bratislava on February 16, 1999.Barta, who came to EuroTel after six years with the Prague branch of Credit Suisse First Boston, inherited a firm that was coming off the first loss-making year in its nine-year history - a 350 million Slovak crown after tax loss in 1998.Barta also must try to repair a growing clientele gap with his only competitor, Globtel GSM. Globtel reports over 400,000 customers in its GSM net, while EuroTel has around 300,000 in its GSM and NMT nets.

Tobacco producer S.I.T. reports 545 million 1H99 profit

Slovak Rail ends first half with 2 billion crown loss

Domestic violence remains concealed

Andrea is 29 years old. She got married when she was 22. She's a pretty woman but skinny, with a sad look in her eyes.When she was 21, she met her future husband, a man six years older than she. Though he was very gallant towards her before the wedding, immediately afterwards he started to drink. He hit her for the first time when she was in her fifth month of pregnancy because she had fallen asleep before he came home. There were soon other reasons to beat her - a bad meal, a dirty flat, refusal to make love to him, high phone bills.When she finally threatened divorce, he started to lock her into their home and threatened to kill her if she left. Too frightened to go to the police, she was at her wits' end, but ended up lucky. With the support of her parents and a year-old non-governmental organization in Petržalka called Hope Center, she was able to take her three children and get out.

Cancer cases up in recent years

Inflation rate hits 13.6%

Slovakia's headline inflation rate soared to an annualised 13.6% in July from 7.1% the month before, but analysts said most of the rise was due to recent price deregulations and a new import surcharge."Price developments are basically in line with projections," said Martin Barto, chief of the strategy section at state bank SLSP. Barto explained that analysts had expected the effects of the 7% import surcharge, imposed on June 1, to be felt in July.The government announced a package of economic austerity measures in May designed to raise revenue for the state budget and slash the fiscal deficit. The key components of the package were the imposition of the import surchage, a rise in the lower limit of VAT to 10% from 6%, and further price deregulations.

Eclipse leaves local observers cold

BRATISLAVA- Slovaks anticipated the coming of a near total solar eclipse with a mixed bag of feelings tending toward the unenthusiastic. On the day before the big event, one 20-something Bratislavan, asked what she was doing for an event that happens much less frequently than weddings, funerals, or name days, said, "We [Slovaks] are not American. We don't celebrate every little thing." Others were less pointed about their disinterest, but disinterest seemed to prevail all the same.Of the handful of Slovak eclipse enthusiasts, many decided to head off to the Hungarian resort lake of Balaton to view the August 11 eclipse in all its glory (100% as opposed to 98.7% in Bratislava), or to southern Austria, leaving those who stayed behind without a place to gather en masse. Some talked of going to the nearby Carpathian mountain range, or of staying near the capital and heading to the castle, one of many local lakes, or to the top of their friends' office buildings.