Archive of articles - November 2002, page 2

Status Law draft under review

Slovakia vows to stand by US in Iraq attack

Communists want Nato referendum

Slovakia aging process irreversible

MOL increases Slovnaft holding

SDKÚ re-elects Palacka to central body

Dzurinda: Let’s not exaggerate corruption

Green critics take aim at low state support

THE SLOVAK government is not paying enough attention to the country's environment, say critics, charging that the state's devotion to environmental issues has been more verbal than practical.The evidence comes from the recently approved cabinet manifesto and state budget for next year, both of which, say critics, offer far less support for the environment than what the real situation demands."The government is stuck in the middle of the road. Even though the direction [it is moving in] is positive, it could go further," said Juraj Rizman, spokesman for the Slovak branch of the environmental organisation Greenpeace.

Reader feedback: Addressing immigration issues

Workers protest government plans

The coupon experiment gone wrong

VEN CASUAL Slovakia watchers are familiar with the country's most infamous direct-sale privatisation scandals - the case of gas storage firm Nafta Gbely, sold in 1996 for one-seventh its market value, or of the Piešťany spa, given away the same year for less than one-fifth of its worth.But hardly anyone besides economic historians knows the related story of coupon privatisation - the well-intentioned plan to put billions of crowns in public property in private hands that went horribly awry.The reasons the coupon plan remains obscure may be several: the strategy, while simple, is less readily grasped than the naked fraud of direct sales; the economic and social results, while clear, are less easily gauged than those of outright privatisation theft; and the inheritors of the wealth are still active, even leading, members of the Slovak business community.

Status Law being revised

Reader feedback: Dzurinda 'bought' the elections

EP agrees on enlargement

Another drunk cop causes crash

Defending the heavens together

Cutting down on spa stays

Quote of the Week

Top pick: From dance studio to stage

THE BALL season is upon us. Companies have started to throw parties and the schedule of the most versatile amateur dance group in Slovakia, appropriately called Spektrum, is hitting a frantic pace.Recently the group returned from the World Dance Show Championships in the German town of Riesa. Its dancers came seventh out of 23 in this well-regarded competition.However, parties and competitions are not the only venues where the group can be seen.