List of author's articles, page 14
Will a new press code replace outdated law?
THE CULTURE Ministry's proposed overhaul of the country's 40-year-old press code, submitted for interdepartmental review at the end of July, is drawing fire from critics who claim it doesn't go far enough to protect media rights.
'Tabloidisation' worries syndicate
THE SLOVAK Syndicate of Journalists has already requested a meeting with Prime Minister Robert Fico to discuss his recent critical statements about the operation of the media in Slovakia, but has received no answer yet. The Slovak Spectator talked to chairman of the syndicate Zuzana Krútka who shared her views on the new draft press code, the trend of Slovak media becoming tabloid and the impact of economic pressures on journalism.
Step taken towards visa-free travel
MEETING a 10-percent limit on the number of rejected tourist visa applications to the United States is not a hardship for Slovakia or any other EU country, according to Slovakia's Ambassador to the United States, Rastislav Káčer, the SITA newswire reported on July 30.
Minister of a challenging coalition
IT IS NOT an easy coalition in charge of the country, Slovakia's Foreign Affairs Minister Ján Kubiš said. In the beginning, Slovakia's governing coalition provoked many questions for factual, legitimate reasons. But for the last several months, these questions have had nothing to do with foreign policy, he said an interview with The Slovak Spectator.
Political interference claims grip STV
THE NEWSROOM of the public broadcaster Slovak Television (STV) is in crisis.About six months after Radim Hreha was elected general manager of STV, and Ján Šmihula was appointed editor-in-chief of the news desk, three journalists are leaving: Jaroslav Barborák, Martina Ruttkayová and Mária Ölvédyová. They follow anchor Nora Gubková and editor Michal Petruška, who left in May.
Human trafficking claims Slovak victims
MORE Slovaks are being sold into modern-day slavery as sex workers or unpaid labourers, statistics show.In 1998, Slovakia recorded three cases of human trafficking. Last year, there were 40 cases, Jozef Buček, the state secretary of the Interior Ministry, told Slovak Radio in April.
Southern movement not thriving near Moča
Several hours before arriving in the village of Moča, which hosted a founding meeting of the Southern Council pro-autonomy movement the previous weekend, I call local Mayor Alexander Asbóth."I am sorry, I cannot meet you because of the funeral of Zsiga báscsi (Uncle Zsiga)," he says.But over the phone, he shares his thoughts on the meeting.
Autonomy group dismissed by SMK
ON A RECENT weekend in Moča, a small village near Komárno, up to 20 people met in the restaurant of a new boarding house. They called themselves Južanská Rada za Sebaurčenie (Southern Council for Self-determination) and put together a petition calling for the right to self-determination for the "Southern Nation": Hungarians, Slovaks and Roma living in southern Slovakia.
PM, interior minister slam latest corruption report
PRIME Minister Robert Fico and Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák have criticised the latest annual report from Transparency International Slovakia (TIS), which says the continuing fight to reduce corruption in Slovakia is at risk.
General Director: SRo's hands are tied
SLOVAK Radio (SRo) has been on a diet and it seems that cutting costs, saving funds and reducing the number of employees is a long-term prospect for the Slovak public broadcaster. Slovak Radio also received some unwanted media exposure when tens of thousands of Slovaks received notification from the law firm Lawyer Partners, giving them a choice between paying thousands of Slovak crowns in interest on overdue licence fees or paying Sk1,000 to settle out-of-court.
Government officials made millions last year
SOME OF the country's top governmental officials earned millions of crowns on top of their ministerial pay last year, according to the property returns of public officials published by the Parliamentary Conflict of Interest Committee.
Doctor wrongly blamed for Glasgow attack
THE SLOVAK Interior Ministry has said that it made a mistake when it confirmed that Khalid Ahmed was one of the attackers at the Glasgow airport, the Sme daily reported on July 7. The ministry apologized to Ahmed, a physician who studied medicine in Slovakia from 1995 to 2001, for identifying him as one of the suspects arrested in an attempted suicide bombing at Glasgow Airport in Scotland on July 4.
Nine Slovaks honoured for saving lives in WWII
NINE SLOVAKS who risked their lives to help Jews during the Second World War were posthumously awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations at Bratislava's Pálffy Palace on June 28.Those honoured were: Johanna Budin, Ján Droppa and his wife Mária, Pavol Dubovec, Ernest Jurkovič and his wife Anna, Ľudovít Rehák and his wife Ľudmila, and Peter Komendák.
Coalition partners spar over spy service
THE RULING coalition's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) is unhappy with how the country's intelligence service is run."The management of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) lacks transparency and no one really knows what is happening there," HZDS chairman Vladimír Mečiar said during a political debate on the television channel Joj, while lashing out at the senior ruling party Smer. Mečiar said his party no longer trusts the SIS because it lacks supervision and because Smer has been transforming it into its own intelligence service.
Corruption still a grave problem in Slovakia: report
AFTER one year in office, Prime Minister Robert Fico's government has not adopted sufficient measures to fight corruption in Slovakia, according to a new report from Transparency International Slovakia (TIS).The non-governmental corruption watchdog published the report on July 4 to mark the first anniversary of the Fico government taking power.
Roma caste system got in the way
ROMA who can no longer be educated could work on the revitalization of the agriculture sector under the guidance of an experienced farmer, said Deputy Prime Minister for National Minorities Dušan Čaplovič, who recently sacked Klára Orgovánová, the cabinet appointee for the Roma community, and, in an interview with The Slovak Spectator, explained his reasons for doing so. Čaplovič, deputy chairman of the ruling party Smer and an archeologist by profession, said he has connected better with the Roma than Orgovánová has.
ÚPN archives go online
THE NATION'S Memory Institute (ÚPN) has posted on its website a list of the files about collaborators with the Communist-era secret police (ŠtB) based on the country's Archives Act. The ÚPN also released the names of 2,927 former collaborators and agents on June 21 and made the archives accessible through the internet.
Roma have new representative
ROMA'S living conditions in Slovakia, the protection of their rights and their greater integration into society are big political issues not only on the national scale but on the European as well.
Agent Široký served ŠtB in D.C. embassy
TYCOON Juraj Široký, president of the Slovak Ice Hockey Association and an alleged sponsor of the ruling party Smer, was a paid agent of the communist secret police - Štátna Bezpečnosť (ŠtB) - from 1979 to 1990, according to a copy of his ŠtB file that was provided to the Slovak media by the Nation's Memory Institute.
Survivors' memoirs released
THE MEMOIRS of the two men who were the first to escape from Auschwitz and tell the world what was really happening in Hitler's concentration camps has finally been released in English.Earlier this month, Alfréd Wetzler's memoir "Escape from Hell - The True Story of the Auschwitz Protocol", was published in English by Berghahn Books.
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
- Perk, Trnava: “Stylish, affordable, and seriously tasty” – restaurant review
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- From Mexico to Slovakia – finding a new life Audio
- Slovakia mourns Pope Francis, a shepherd of hope and humility Photo
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- Slovakia mourns Pope Francis, a shepherd of hope and humility Photo
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
- Danish shoemaker to shut Slovak factory, axing 650 jobs in fresh blow to struggling region
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- Slovakia's latest basketball star is destined for great things in the USA
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- German shoemaker Lowa joins wave of factory closures in Slovakia
- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- Cyclists, sausages and a railcar called Hurvínek Photo
- Slovakia’s labour market falters as migration policy falls behind EU neighbours
- Remembering the priest-scientist and pioneer of wireless communication
- Perk, Trnava: “Stylish, affordable, and seriously tasty” – restaurant review
- What is Pope Francis’s message to the powerful?
- Slovakia mourns Pope Francis, a shepherd of hope and humility Photo
- Confetti, chants and history: Hejková’s dream goodbye after nearly 40 years at the top
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble More articles ›
