Archive of articles - March 2004, page 14

PPC winner announced

Fico defeated in finance minister lawsuit

EU funds in use

Dong Jin Precision invests €6.5 million

Reader feedback: Help, but not too much

The end of the classic movie theatre?

THE STANDARD, single-screen cinema house, often the only cultural place in a village, is becoming a part of history for many municipalities. Slovakia had over 700 cinemas at the time of the revolution in 1989; today, less then 300 are still in operation."[Traditional] cinema houses may face extinction," said Miro Ulman, head of the info centre at the Slovak Film Institute (SFÚ).

An interpreter's tale about Roma migration

WE left the luxury hotel in Košice early Saturday morning and headed north in a rented Opel towards a well-known Roma settlement. The reporter (I'll call him Tim) sat in the backseat, reviewing his questions, and I sat in the front seat with a map spread out on my lap, giving the photographer/driver directions."We'll ask the regular things," Tim told me. "Are they going to Britain when Slovakia joins the EU in May? Alone or with relatives? How many of them?"

Quote of the Week

Slovak posters in Czech display

THE MUSEUM of Arts in the Czech town of Olomouc recently opened an exhibition entitled Flashback: The Czech and Slovak Film Poster 1959 - 1989, in conjunction with the Slovak Film Institute.

Cabinet withdraws tuition fee draft

Around Slavakia

Murder forgottenThief takes roofFamily of fakirsFamous painting stolenSlovak astronaut played guitar in MIR space shuttleDog tracks down thiefPope statueWorkers find skeleton in the basement46 tonnes of sugar stolenBronze Age cairn discovered

Voting with the heart, not the mind

THE PRESIDENTIAL race in Slovakia will be no contest of ideas or visions. Marketing, not agenda, will bring victory to one of the four men who stand a chance of being elected. These axioms will determine the political decisions of the candidates in the upcoming months.Most candidates hope to improve their image and boost popular support by gaining the backing of political parties or other influential interest groups, such as the labour unions. Interestingly, few seem to realise that this political backing may be useless.

Reader feedback: The internet will set you free

Finance Minister faces recall

OPPOSITION leaders will submit a proposal to recall Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš, the man they say is responsible for social distress as one of the architects of the right-wing cabinet's reforms.The idea of sacking Mikloš was initiated by the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia party and backed by all opposition parties.To recall a minister, 76 votes are needed. It remains unclear whether all seven independent MPs, former members of the ruling Slovak Democratic and Christian Union who recently founded the Free Forum (SF) party, would vote to oust Mikloš.

Fighting for inner peace

OH TOMMY boy. Tom Cruise, you try so hard to prove yourself a great actor. Yet, you frequently fail so miserably. It's not your fault: Your heartthrob status makes directors cast you in everything, forcing you to try to be the toughest of tough guys, the most earnest of do-gooders, the sappiest of romantic saps, or the most jaded of misanthropes. When will they realise that it's all a façcade: You're nothing more than a likeable, but vacant, pretty boy.

Roma outbreaks calm, relief demanded

ROMA leaders insist that the measures approved by the cabinet last week are insufficient and will not help disadvantaged Roma communities out of their financial and social strife, sharpened by the cabinet's recent social reform.Roma and other long-term unemployed people have witnessed considerable cuts in social benefits. The Labour Ministry says its changes to the social system are an attempt to motivate people to seek work rather than continue to live off the state.

Welcome to SlovaKia

AFTER months of tense anticipation, Slovakia received word from the Geneva car fair that the South Korean car colossus would build its new plant in Žilina, the country's offered site for the €700 million investment in central Europe.Hyundai's Kia Motors, which chose Slovakia over Poland on March 2, became the third global automotive firm, following Germany's Volkswagen and France's PSA Peugeot-Citroen, to take up residence in Slovakia.

Parliament fails to adopt EP related legislation

Czech Roma organisations deliver protest to Slovak embassy