NOVÉ ZÁMKY
Doctors defend infants' rights
František Bauner, head of the infants ward at the hospital in this town in southwest Slovakia, took it upon himself to defend the position of infants in Slovakia's health care system. Together with other doctors on his team, he established a foundation called Novorodenec (Newborn Child) to collect money for a respirator for infants. "The respirators we have were made for adults, and they are not suitable for little babies, so we are not able to save their lives at times," Bauner said. He added that such respirators cost 870,000 Sk ($25,580), and that the hospital had had to borrow one temporarily from a hospital in Western Europe. "This respirator has saved the lives of five children in the last five weeks," Bauner said. Every year, 6% of children are born smaller than the average weight of 2.5 kilogram (5.5 pounds), and often need special care. "The child that weighs one kilogram should have the same rights in the health care system as a 100 kilogram adult," concluded Bauner.
BOJNICE
Festival of Ghosts brings back old stories
The fifth annual International Festival of Ghosts and Monsters took place in a medieval castle in this small town near Trenčín between April 30 and May 10. Along with the Slovak "ghosts and monsters", the 25,000 visitors had the chance to see ghostly representatives from Poland, Italy, Hungary and Ukraine. Among visitors to this year's festival was Giulia Borresi, director of the Museum of Art in Pisa, Italy. Borresi doubted the origin of the Bojnice altar, which is believed to be painted by Nardo di Cione, a medieval painter from Florence. "The painting does not look like his other paintings, it looks more modern than the rest of his artwork," Borresi said. "I would say that it was painted by his co-workers."
