Archive of articles - April 2002, page 7

Letter to the Editor: Arab protest misses point

No more limits on currency

US embassy introduces mail-order visas, ends line-ups

APPLICANTS seeking a US tourist visa in Slovakia will no longer be able to apply in person and receive a visa the same day, the US embassy has announced. As of April 29 applicants will have to send documents, photos, proof of payment and a valid passport by registered mail to the embassy in Bratislava.Embassy officials said the new postal-only visa would ease the application process in Slovakia, and would save people hours of waiting in line-ups."We are implementing the system to help our applicants," said US Ambassador to Slovakia Ronald Weiser, referring to the long lines of visa applicants that presently form outside the American embassy in the early morning, as well as the distance that applicants from the east of the country must now travel to obtain the travel documents. The new system, said Weiser, would "eliminate this waste of time, and eliminate altogether, for some, the need to come to the embassy."

Paying for pokey

Letter to the Editor: Slovakia has tough competition for boozers

Verheugen: Beneš Decrees no obstacle

Mister Order a rip-off?

Countrywide Events

BRATISLAVAWESTERN SLOVAKIACENTRAL SLOVAKIAEASTERN SLOVAKIA

Cabinet scraps Govnet project

Slovakofarma sales up 21.8 per cent

Ster Century under sale to UCI

The American company United Cinemas International (UCI) is in the process of buying the Ster Century multiplex cinema network, which has a branch in Bratislava.UCI, which is a joint venture of movie studios Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios, is buying a total of eight multiplexes in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. The parties to the sale have not yet set a date for completion of the deal.

Security laws get Nato-ready support

DEFENCE Ministry officials have welcomed what they see as a strong sign of across-the-board political consensus on Nato entry after the passing of new legislation on the state's role in war and crises.Replacing legislation dating back to the 1960s, the entire number of MPs present in parliament, 113, voted April 11 to support the Law on Security During War, Wartime Emergency, Martial Law and State of Crisis.Although the law was expected to be passed, the level of support took those who had worked on the new legislation by surprise.

Retail Chain Law passes first reading

Slovak pirate CD market expanding

GLOBAL music sales were down five per cent last year, while music sales in Slovakia fell two per cent, according to the record industry's copyright federation. A big part of the problem, the body said, is consumer piracy.The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced in London on April 15 that a slower world economy, the proliferation of free music on the Internet and the popularity of CD writers had contributed to a year-on-year drop of around $1.8 billion in world-wide sales of recorded music to $33.7 billion in 2001.

SAD bus privatisation gathers pace

Ex-minister Ftáčnik elected head of SDA party

THE COUNTRY'S newest left-wing party, the non-parliamentary Social Democratic Alternative (SDA), padded its leadership ranks last weekend with the election of former Education Minister Milan Ftáčnik to the party chairmanship.Ftáčnik, who had served in his post as the nominee of the ruling coalition Democratic Left Party (SDĽ), agreed on April 12 to leave the cabinet seat to his former party.Having left the SDĽ to enter the SDA on March 26, Ftáčnik joined other former top SDĽ members Brigita Schmögnerová and Peter Weiss at the SDA's founding congress on April 13. The 159 delegates elected Ftáčnik party leader and Weiss vice-chairman.

Želba firm fighting for life and 1,300 jobs

State officials submit asset statements

Around Slovakia

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