List of author's articles, page 14
Ministry scraps tender under media pressure
A BILLION-crown tender for four years' worth of food vouchers for Slovakia's police corps and fire departments will have to be repeated after it was scrapped by the Interior Ministry on February 27.
Ikores wins another deal
THE IKORES firm, whose owner sponsored the ruling Smer party and built a flat for Prime Minister Robert Fico's mother, has won hundreds of millions of crowns in state contracts since 2006 elections, most recently a Sk100 million order to build a new departure ramp at Bratislava airport.
Code eludes changes
A WEEK after press freedom watchdog Miklós Haraszti promised the Slovak government a legal analysis of its draft press law, the document has been published; as expected, it is sharply critical of the cabinet's intentions, and recommends that entire sections of the bill be scrapped or rewritten.
Press law a "collection of restrictions"
OSCE press freedom representative Miklós Haraszti delivered several remarks on the draft Slovak press act at a press conference on February 7 following talks with Culture Ministry officials. The following is a collection of excerpts from his address to the media.
Chechens, Dagestanis behind shopping centre shootout
A SHOOTING at the Polus shopping centre in Bratislava on February 1 that left one man dead and two wounded has been blamed on a heated argument among a group of Chechens and Dagestanis resident in Slovakia and Austria.
Still no answers in currency fraud case
FIFTEEN years after the fledgling Czech and Slovak republics abandoned the Czechoslovak crown - a currency they had used under their federal state - an attempt in 1993 to swindle the new Bratislava government out of millions of crowns on the monetary switch is still inching its way through the court system.
The ratepayers' revenge
A BUREAUCRATIC error that allegedly led to over-billing by the SPP gas utility may end up costing Slovakia billions of crowns if a class-action suit being prepared by the Slov-Energia firm is successful.
International critics slam "dictatorial" press bill
THE FATE of the coalition's controversial draft press law remains in doubt after the parliamentary opposition vowed to block approval of an international treaty until its objections to the bill are taken into account.
Ski resort eludes Banská Štiavnica
IT HAS been an unusually foggy winter in Banská Štiavnica. Instead of the usual deep snow, sharp cold and clear skies, a freezing mist has gripped the historic town and the forested slopes of the Štiavnické vrchy.
OSCE: Draft Press Act violates pluralism
MIKLÓS Haraszti, a Hungarian writer and former dissident, was appointed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as its freedom of the media representative in 2004. On January 22 he addressed a letter to Slovak Foreign Minister Ján Kubiš criticising the Slovak government's draft Press Act, which it submitted to parliament this month. After Culture Minister Marek Maďarič dismissed the letter as the work of "not a very high representative" of the OSCE, The Slovak Spectator interviewed Haraszti to get his side of the story.
Heads roll at Land Fund
EIGHT months after dubious transfers of state land to companies close to the ruling coalition were first reported in the Slovak media, the government has finally cleaned house at the troubled Slovak Land Fund.
Mob boss catches a break
A COURT in eastern Slovakia’s Košice has halted an extortion case against a local organised crime boss based on a controversial interpretation of the country’s criminal law.
How iron is the new eastern curtain?
SEČOVCE: Above the village of Petrovce, Slovakia and Ukraine are separated only by a narrow, treeless avenue in a thick and silent forest. From here to the ridges of the Poloniny mountains in the north, this “green border” crosses 60 kilometres of some of the roughest terrain on Europe’s new eastern frontier.
'The world has changed'
KAREN Hughes, the US under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, and long-time advisor to US President George W. Bush, made an official visit to Slovakia last week to talk to Slovaks about her country.
Embattled officer keeps his post
A POLICE officer who confessed in 1995 to helping a colleague violently extort a Sk5,000 debt is to remain in charge of an elite police unit.Police corps president Ján Packa and Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák say that Marián Pecko, the head of the Anti-Drug Unit, is the victim of a smear campaign, and that he still has their confidence.
Enough is enough
A POLITICIAN who gets drunk and insults members of minority groups embarrasses only himself. If he is allowed to repeat such primitive behaviour, he embarrasses the society that tolerates it.
Labsi "dangerous", US terror analyst says
ASHLEY Bohacik of the Terrorism Research Center in the US says that Mustapha Labsi, the suspected terrorist detained in Slovakia on May 4, has a long history of "facilitating" extremists.
Slovakia detains terrorist
AN INTERNATIONALLY wanted terrorist with former links to al-Qaeda has been detained in Slovakia. Mustapha Labsi, an Algerian national who underwent terrorist training in Afghanistan, is being held at Bratislava's Justice Palace, the Nový Čas daily reported.
Power, interests and national parks
"In politics, especially international politics, values are unimportant; it's always a question of interests, economics and power," said Prime Minister Robert Fico on June 4. This was perhaps more honesty than we are accustomed to hearing from politicians, but it wasn't news.
A history of silence
MIROSLAV Lehký, one of the founding members of the Nation's Memory Institute (ÚPN), worked his last day on May 31. In explaining his decision to quit, he claimed that director Ivan Petranský is emphasizing historical research over documentation, and threatening the mission of the institute.
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- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
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- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- Slovak Matters: A flirtatious Easter of water and whipping
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- 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
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Slovakia's latest basketball star is destined for great things in the USA
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- German shoemaker Lowa joins wave of factory closures in Slovakia
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- Danish shoemaker to shut Slovak factory, axing 650 jobs in fresh blow to struggling region
- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
- 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
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Why this gorge deserves a spot on your bucket list Photo
- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss More articles ›
