Archive of articles - December 1999, page 4

German Ruhrgas talks with Economy Ministry on SPP

Letter to the Editor: Interviews challenge notion that Mečiar wrecked Slovakia

Alternative military service may be cut to 15 months

State plunges into bank restructuring

The Finance Ministry's much anticipated blueprint to revive the state's troubled banks was put into effect last week. By raising the basic capital at three of the country's largest financial institutions on December 6, 7 and 8, the state began a process of financial sector recovery that should ultimately end in the sale of Slovakia's largest banks in 2000 and 2001.The three major state-owned banks - Všeobecná Úverová Banka (VÚB), Investičná a Rozvojová Banka (IRB) and Slovenská Sporiteľňa (SLSP) - are plagued by non-performing loans, insufficient reserves and no liquidity. Unable to fulfil their credit function, the cash-strapped banks have virtually frozen money flows in the country and have choked off credit from the corporate sector.

More visa restrictions for Slovaks

Exactly one month after lifting a requirement that Slovaks obtain visas to cross its borders, Norway reimposed the visa restriction on Slovakia on December 7. The move was blamed by both sides on the 219 Slovak Romanies who had arrived in Norway within a month of the November 7 cancellation to seek asylum.Migrations of Slovak Romanies to other, principally EU countries, have prompted five nations - England, Ireland, Finland, Denmark and Norway - to slap visa restrictions on Slovakia since October 1998, while at least three more countries are now said to be weighing visas for Slovaks.But instead of tarnishing Slovakia's international image before the crucial December 11 and 12 European Union summit in Helsinki, the Roma asylum requests have been dismissed by both foreign and domestic officials as unfounded, while the Roma's claims of discrimination have been rejected.

Around Slovakia

District court releases indicted SIS officerPresidential Palace lit with 1,000 Christmas lightsHZDS to file charges for 'Kill Mečiar' messageThrown bomb fails to break window glassPolice raid leaves Roma child injured

Priemyselná Banka forced to accept SLSP sale

Community Grapevine

Pre-Christmas HashInternational Women's Club Bratislava holds their annual General MeetingThe Slovak Spectator defends Management Cup title

Brusno Spa languishes with no funds

A car with a Hungarian license plate pulls slowly up to the white socialist-era building which houses the facilities of the modern Brusno spa, and then drives on. The car's passengers are drawn instead to the rustic beauty of a sagging wooden building off the main road, partially hidden by a grove of pine trees. Cameras are whipped out, and the eager tourists explore the overgrown paths that surround the once majestic center of the spa.Scenes like this frustrate Eva Medvedová, the director of the Brusno Spa, located 20 km outside the central Slovak city of Banska Bystrica. The spa's current facilities are functional, but lack charm, and do not attract many visitors; the spa's decaying former quarters could be a magnet for tourists, but no one has enough money to renovate them.

Denmark imposes visa requirement on Slovakia

Draft-dodging new hurdle for military

A routine Army inspection at the beginning of November turned up evidence of corruption that, if found to be widespread, could damage Slovakia's chances of joining the NATO alliance in 2002, military officials said.The inspection found that five conscripts supposed to be doing their 12-month term of service at an important anti-aircraft defense base in Pezinok had never actually shown up for duty. Although such cheating is common in the regular ranks of the Slovak Army, where many unwilling young conscripts wangle medical discharges and official waivers of their draft notices, the Pezinok case is being taken seriously by Defence Ministry officials anxious to protect the reputation of the base.

New HZDS newspaper hits stands

Slovak budget deficit falls in November

Letter to the Editor: Public support for culture necessary and good

Letter to the Editor: Van Gogh no welfare bum

Around Slovakia

Early snows catch unprepared bears off guardCar bomb kills man in city centreSecret service weapons dumped in garageSlovak truck drivers captured by Kosovo AlbaniansMob boss attacked in restaurant with macheteUFO experts discuss ancient extraterrestrial Gods

Remiaš killers identified

Police on November 25 put out a nationwide warrant for the arrest of two men suspected of planting the bomb that killed a Slovak police informant on April 29, 1996. The victim of the bombing, Róbert Remiaš, was acting at the time as a go-between for the crown witness in the kidnapping of the former president's son, Michal Kováč Jr.The surprise announcement of the warrants, issued for Imrich Olah (40) of Bratislava and Jozef Roháč (43) of Levice, was made by Interior Ministry Chief Investigator Jaroslav Ivor during a regular press conference on November 29. Ivor caused a sensation by saying that the killers were known and were on the run from police.

Mečiar in the flesh: What makes him tick?

Getting a two-hour interview with Vladimír Mečiar is no easy feat, at least for The Slovak Spectator, which tried numerous times to gain entrance to the fortress that was Mečiar's press department while he was Prime Minister during the 1990's.Clearly, now that he is in opposition, the former Slovak leader has had a change of heart where the press is concerned, if one is to draw any conclusions from the interview he gave to this paper on November 19. And yet, as satisfying as it was to sit down with the elusive Mečiar and pepper him with questions, his answers by themselves seem to lack something of the essence of the man.

Letter to the Editor: New Bratislava-Munich flights a boon