Archive of articles - April 2008, page 11
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Racists attack US basketball player
DENISE WILSON, an African-American basketball player from the United States who currently plays in Košice, was the victim of a racially-motivated attack in the eastern Slovak city on April 6. Wilson is rated among the best players on her team, Cassovia Košice, but is now said to be considering whether to leave the country.
'Slovakia 21': grand reform plan or utopia?
FREE computers for deprived children; taxes waived for low-income citizens; free universal pre-schooling; improved access to the Slovak education system for students from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova to ease pressure on the labour market. Some or all of this may come to pass if the Fico government's new grand plan succeeds.
City's fountains start spurting again
FOUR of Bratislava's main fountains were switched on again on April 1. The city's other fountains, which are managed by the City Organisation Paming, will gradually join them over the next few weeks. Among them will be the Fountain for Zuzana on Kupeckého Street in Ružinov, which should receive its post-reconstruction premiere soon, the Pravda daily reported.
Arms trader also bought from Slovakia
AN ARMS trading company under investigation by the United States Congress for supplying worthless ammunition to Afghani forces recently bought weapons in Slovakia, The Slovak Spectator has learned.
Association of Slovak Journalists denounces new Press Code
The newly approved Press Act, much criticised for its perceived suppression of media freedom, came under fire also from the Slovak arm of the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) on April 10.
Political analysts: Part of opposition actually wants Lisbon Treaty
Political analyst Miroslav Kusý said on April 10 that approval of the Lisbon Treaty was "an elegant solution, in which the opposition SMK party helped to overcome the opposition’s stalemate", the TASR newswire wrote.
Parliament passes Lisbon Treaty
The Slovak Parliament ratified the Lisbon Treaty on April 10, with 103 MPs out of 109 present voting in favour of it. As a treaty, it needed a minimum of 90 votes to pass. TASR
Kubiš updates parliament on situation in Mlynky
Foreign Affairs Minister Ján Kubiš briefed lawmakers at a parliamentary session on April 10 about the predicament of ethnic Slovaks in the Hungarian village of Pilisszentkereszt (Mlynky), the TASR newswire wrote.
SMK will vote for Lisbon Treaty, to SDKÚ & KDH dismay
Members of parliament representing the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) split with other opposition groups and decided to support the ratification of the Lisbon EU Reform Treaty in a parliamentary vote on Thursday, April 10, according to a report by the SITA newswire. SMK Chairman Pál Csáky announced that 19 members of the SMK parliamentary caucus supported the decision. (The party’s one other MP, László Nagy, was not present for the decision as he is on a foreign trip.) Csáky, however, said that the SMK decision did not imply support for the ruling coalition.
Publishers and journalists decry approved Press Code
The President of the Association of Periodical Press Publishers (ZVPT) Miloš Nemeček has attacked parliament’s approval of the Press Code without any of the changes proposed by the opposition or press representatives as an attack on the professionalism of journalists. The ruling coalition had enough votes in the Slovak Parliament to approve the controversial press bill without the support of the opposition, the SITA newswire wrote. The approved law includes only those amending proposals on which the governing coalition agreed before the vote.
Hospitals refuse to back demand for higher healthcare pay
The Slovak Association of Hospitals (ANS) has refused to recommend complying with a proposal by the Slovak Trade Union of Workers in Health Care and Social Services (SOZ) to increase wages by 10 percent. The association explained that its reason was the insufficient funding of hospitals by health insurance companies, the SITA newswire wrote.
Students plan fees protest at parliament
Students say they intend to protest on April 11 against the way university tuition fees are collected, the SITA newswire reported wrote. The demonstration is scheduled to take place in front of parliament at 11 a.m.. University students, who have been required to pay tuition fees since the 2007/08 academic year, sent an open letter to parliamentary deputies, the Education Ministry and other competent bodies, explaining their reasons for staging the protest.
Slovakia to ask World Bank for inclusion among developed economies
Slovakia's recent successful macroeconomic development as well as the planned adoption of the euro in 2009 lay good foundations for the reconsideration of Slovakia's status in the World Bank (WB), according to a proposal that was approved by the Slovak government on April 8, the TASR newswire wrote.
Dzurinda: We won't take part in vote on Lisbon Treaty
Opposition parties are dissatisfied with the version of the Press Code that was approved on April 8, so the chairmen of the opposition SDKÚ-DS and KDH parties have announced their MPS will not take part in the vote to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
Influx of foreigners rises in 2007
Slovakia recorded a 6.6-percent annual rise in the arrival of foreigners and a 5.1-percent increase in departures by its own citizens in 2007, the Ministry of Economy reported on April 8, citing information from the country's statistics office and central bank.
Parliament approves new Press Code
A new Press Code will govern print media and agencies in Slovakia after having passed in parliament on April 8.
Eurostat: Slovakia's Q4 2007 GDP growth highest in the EU
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union increased 2.5 percent year-on-year in the last quarter of 2007 based on seasonally adjusted data, according to the European Union’s Statistical Office, Eurostat.
Debate on new Press Code continues in Parliament
Slovak Members of Parliament continued to debate the proposed new Press Code during their session on April 8, the SITA newswire reported. The author of the bill, Culture Minister Marek Maďarič of SMER-SD, warned that if the bill didn’t contain the right to reply, this would amount to a muzzling effect. He dismissed criticism by the chairman of the opposition SDKÚ-DS party, Mikuláš Dzurinda, who again asked the culture minister to explain why there should be such a right. Dzurinda disagrees with the proposal that the right to reply should be granted even if the information printed is correct. Maďarič reiterated that the right to reply would be mainly for ordinary people, and that even those who didn’t use it would welcome the fact that newspapers would be obliged to present them with the opinions of people who responses were published.
Cabinet approves plan for greater use of bio-fuels in Slovakia
The Ministries of Economy and Agriculture are planning to draw up a revision to the law on the excise tax on mineral oils in order to increase the use of bio-fuels in the transport sector, the SITA wrote. It is intended to encourage more widespread use of bio-fuels in the transport sector.
ŽSR railway network operator gets new chief
The current deputy director of economy of railway network operator Železnice Slovenskej Republiky (ŽSR), Štefan Hlinka, became the new director general as of April 9, ŽSR spokesperson Martina Pavlíková told the SITA newswire. Transport Minister Ľubomír Vážny appointed Hlinka after he was proposed by the company's board of directors. Hlinka replaces Dalibor Zelený, who stepped down for personal reasons as of April 4.
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Liberal MP's boxing challenge backfires as far-right MEP seizes the moment
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- From eight to thousands of runners. How Košice marathon rose to prominence Photo
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- From eight to thousands of runners. How Košice marathon rose to prominence Photo
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Iconic Slovak barn still draws crowds. Without donors, it might have been lost Photo
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Digital Jarvis is real now. He is coming for your to-do list
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- Maria Theresa on the banks of Bratislava
- No more photos or bank statements? Slovakia moves to ease residence process
- The Kremlin’s security agency has a Russian contractor in Slovakia - no one has noticed
- Fico praises China and Vietnam as models, says liberal democracy has failed
- News digest: Violent gang in Bratislava is under arrest
- A mayor resigns over €2.7 million fraud scandal at town hall
- Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
- Legendary captain Zdeno Chára inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame Video
- Liberal MP's boxing challenge backfires as far-right MEP seizes the moment
- The law changed. Our family papers were ready. Now my kids are Slovak citizens
- News digest: Prosecutor seeks jail for NBS Governor Kažimír as his political support wanes
- Slovakia loses another EV model to Spain as Stellantis chooses Zaragoza over Trnava
- Slovak female triathlete shatters barriers with historic win at Himalayan event
- Weekend: Celebration of fun comes to Malacky Photo
- News digest: Fico’s bloc wants to save money by restricting electoral access More articles ›
