Archive of articles - January 2004, page 6

Unemployment up in December

Interior Ministry plans Roma specialists

Snow Paradise Veľká Rača Oščadnica

SNOW Paradise Veľká Rača Oščadnica is a mid-sized ski resort located just 25 kilometres north of Žilina, near the Slovak-Polish border. The resort boasts a respectable 420 metres of skiable vertical and has snowmaking on 100 percent of its terrain. Just under a three-hour drive from Bratislava, Snow Paradise is quickly becoming one of Slovakia's most popular weekend destinations for winter sports enthusiasts.

Italian films in original language at ic.sk

BRATISLAVA filmclub ic.sk is screening Italian movies in their original versions with Slovak subtitles each Thursday until February 5. The films start at 18:30 (January 22) and 18:15 (January 29 and February 5).

Plastic bottle battle rages in Slovakia

ECONOMY Minister Pavol Rusko is against the introduction of deposits on certain types of plastic bottles, which the Environment Ministry celebrates as the most effective approach to waste reduction.Under the new deposit system, retailers will be obliged to collect deposits on currently non-returnable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and packages for recycling.Rusko argues that the effect of collecting deposits is much weaker than the burden it puts on retailers. He warned Environment Minister László Miklós that if his department insists on implementation of this measure without the consent of the ruling partners, the coalition might slide deeper into crisis.

Reader feedback: Slovak-Hungarian support the right move

Palach's burning provokes march

THIRTY-FIVE years ago, on January 16 a student of the Charles University in Prague, Jan Palach, set himself on fire on Wenceslas square. Through this shocking act the 20-year-old man protested the August 1968 Soviet occupation of what was then Czechoslovakia.Palach became the symbol of the first great resistance against the invasion, as well as the precursor of the 1989 Velvet Revolution.

Csáky tackles steel overproduction

Thousands of refugees disappearing

INTOLERANCE towards refugees in Slovakia is minimal. However, the country's asylum system is fragile and might not be effective enough to handle the increasing number of asylum seekers once it enters the EU. The numbers are critical. In 2003, only 10 of 10,350 asylum seekers in Slovakia received a positive decision on their application.

Reader feedback: Slovaks face psychological pressure

Roma Christmas songs on CD

WITHIN the project entitled Phurikane giľa - Ancient Roma Songs, ethnographer Jana Belišová, who has long been devoted to preventing Roma songs from slowly disappearing, recorded over 130 songs with her team during her 2002 travels around various Roma settlements in eastern Slovakia. Later, they produced a CD, a songbook, and a diary of a selection of the songs released under the project's title.

Presidential hopefuls line up

ALL THOSE who aspire to run in the April presidential elections must submit their candidacies by the end of January, as speaker of parliament Pavol Hrušovský has officially announced the date of the direct presidential vote.Weeks before the January 31 deadline for the submission of candidacies, Slovakia had more than a dozen prospective candidates supported by either the signatures of 15 MPs or 15,000 voters.

Žilina - industrial heart of Slovakia

THE ŽILINA region is trying to overcome the consequences of its recent industrial past.After the second world war, officials of the socialist government approved the development of heavy industry oriented towards military production in this region's green, rural lowlands and pastures.After the dissolution of the military Warsaw pact, of which the former Czechoslovakia was a member, conditions changed and military production stopped.

Slovaks spend Sk26.5 billion gambling

Quote of the Week

Vote on early elections not binding on MPs?

A NEW TURN came in the debate over possible early elections in Slovakia with the statement by the country's Constitutional Court President Ján Mazák that the result of a referendum is not binding for MPs.Mazák, who heads Slovakia's authority for resolving legal disputes, said on January 8 that the result of a referendum did not automatically bind any state bodies to act in a certain way. The people's vote, he said, is only of an advisory character for lawmakers.

Hyundai representatives visit Žilina, STV info denied

Schuster denies information on his presidential candidacy

Opposition fails to unite; Fico and Mečiar part on bad terms