Around Slovakia

Banská Bystrica
Man taken into custody on human trafficking chargesTHE REGIONAL court in Banská Bystrica agreed to take 35-year-old Štefan V of Turovce into custody in the Levice district on June 7. In November, a court in the Hungarian town of Koszeg issued an international warrant for the man's arrest on charges of trafficking people into Austria. Slovak police detained him on June 5 after finding him at his girlfriend's residence in Dudince.Štefan V stands accused of being in a gang from July 2001 to November 2002 that smuggled at least 142 Turks and citizens of the former Yugoslavia across the border from Hungary into Austria. His brother faces the same charges. The two could be sentenced up to 16 years in prison.Bratislava
Andersen memorial unveiledA STATUE of the world-famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen was unveiled on June 2 as part of the International Children's Day festivities organised by Bibiana, the international house of art for children.Set on the capital's Hviezdoslavovo Square, the monument, which was cast in bronze by sculptor Tibor Bártfay, features Andersen alongside characters from his fairy tales, such as the Tin Soldier and the Ugly Duckling.The multi-million-crown, 3.3-metre high sculpture was sponsored by a civic association named after him, the Danish Embassy to Slovakia and the councils of both the capital and the Old Town.Andersen lived between 1805 and 1875, and is famous for writing the Little Mermaid, the Little Matchgirl and the Emperor's New Clothes, as well as novels, plays and poetry. He visited Bratislava in 1841.Bratislava
Two life sentences in Devín Banka case