Archive of articles - October 2002, page 13

Reader feedback: A film is as good a means as any

Car parts producer opens factory

Review: Finding your way out of a maze requires patience

THE AUSTRALIAN movie Lantana is as mysterious as its title, and as dark and intimate as its poster, which portrays an embracing couple.The film starts with the close-up of a dead female body hidden in a bush. It is the beginning of the movie's mysterious journey back in time, which will reveal the circumstances of the woman's disappearance and death.Set in Sydney, the story revolves around Leon (Anthony LaPaglia), the policeman in charge of investigating the suspected murder. He is cheating on his wife, Sonja (Kerry Armstrong), who suspects him of doing so, but instead of confronting him, she seeks the help of her therapist, Valerie (Barbara Hershey).

Spoils please coalition parties

RAPID PROGRESS in talks among four centre-right parties forming the next cabinet has yielded a deal on power-sharing, as well as a compromise on key ministry posts between the Christian Democrats minor coalition partner and the SDKÚ party of Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda.Unlike in 1998, when the four victorious parties of that year's elections took the full 30 days allowed by law to hammer out a cabinet deal, this year the Christian Democrats, SDKÚ, Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) and the New Citizen's Alliance (Ano) agreed on a division of cabinet seats within a week of September 20-21 elections.While not receiving an official mandate to lead cabinet talks from President Rudolf Schuster until September 27, Dzurinda started cabinet negotiations with the other three party leaders the day after the ballot, and by September 30 was able to announce that all sides had agreed on a framework deal.

Elections in the bag, Slovakia braces for Nato entry

FOLLOWING general elections and the majority victory of a pro-Western right-wing coalition, Slovak officials are bullish on the country's Western integration prospects, and say the nation is ready to become a reliable member of Nato at the Alliance's expansion summit in November.Not counting the new West-friendly government grouping, which is still in cabinet talks, the major change solidifying Slovakia's Nato hopes has been the election failure of authoritarian ex-PM Vladimír Mečiar and his opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) party.

IMF advises Slovakia to reform pensions

FinMin approves treasury decision on HP

Christian schizophrenia helps communists

KDH wrestles Interior post from partners

IN THE ONLY major battle over seats in the next Slovak cabinet, the Christian Democrats party fought for - and won - the Interior Ministry seat, beating out incumbent Ivan Šimko from the outgoing Mikuláš Dzurinda government.With the four centre-right parties that secured a majority victory in September 20-21 elections on the verge of announcing their new cabinet slate, the Christian Democrats' insistence on the Interior Ministry post stood out against an otherwise calm division of power.

Reader feedback: Brits need more than film help

Trade figures better in August

What bribe?

Train tender charges laid

Reader feedback: Rams in sheep's clothing

Central bank still cautious about crown

New coalition to form broader IT policy

DESPITE the outgoing government's attempts to build up Slovakia's nascent information technology sector, IT insiders say that the new government needs to focus more on overall strategy to avoid falling further behind neighbours and western partners.Since assuming power in 1998, the government of Mikuláš Dzurinda has pushed IT development through the programmes eSlovakia and Infovek, designed to develop school IT capacities, as well as Govnet and eEurope+, intended to establish a government network infrastructure and define broader state IT goals."Unfortunately, that is practically all," said Juraj Sabaka, head of the IT Association of Slovakia, who along with other IT experts has criticised the government for delaying some projects and leaving others unfinished.

Top Pick: Works as diversified as an artist's life

ARTIST and fashion designer Albena Chteniovska-Egloff travels a lot. On her trips, she meets many people and interacts with many different cultures. And she does not keep her reactions to these experiences to herself. Instead, she conveys them to people by turning them into colours."Everything that is going on in my life stays with me as feelings, and I feel the need to express them," says Chteniovska-Egloff.The Bulgarian artist is showing 27 large-scale paintings at the Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Bratislava. At 17:30 on the last day of the exhibition, October 15, she will hold a fashion show, presenting designs she created out of natural materials and paint.

'The Cleaner' goes on trial

Café helps seniors surf the Internet