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Public Health Office: Five New Novel Flu Cases This Week

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - New five pandemic flu A(H1N1) cases have emerged in Slovakia this week, increasing the overall number of cases since the flu outbreak to 1,181, the Public Health Office (UVZ) reported on Friday. Most cases were reported in Bratislava region, followed by Nitra and Kosice regions. The number of fatalities related to A(H1N1) has now gone up… read more

SMK: State Language Act Isn\'t Diplomatic Success of Slovakia

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - Ethnic-Hungarian SMK Chairman Pal Csaky said on Friday that, unlike Slovak Premier Robert Fico, he doesn't view the State Language Act amendment as a diplomatic success for Slovakia. Csaky justifies his stance by reactions from abroad regarding the issue. In January, a Venice Committee delegation came to Slovakia to evaluate the Language… read more

Petrikova: Judges\' Lawsuits Apparently Organised by \'Somebody Else\'

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - The Justice Ministry has never organised any actions related to anti-discrimination lawsuits submitted by judges, Justice Minister Viera Petrikova (LS-HZDS) said on Friday in riposte to claims made by former justice minister Daniel Lipsic (Christian Democrats/KDH) earlier in the day. According to Lipsic, the mass petition of lawsuits submitted… read more

Fico Launches Site Clearance Prior to Building of Remaining D1 Section

Hricovske Podhradie, February 5 (TASR) – According to Prime Minister Robert Fico, despite the financial crisis, the Government has managed to fast-track the start of construction of another four D1 motorway sections financed within the third package of the so-called PPP (public private partnership) projects. The four sections are expected to finalise the uninterrupted… read more

Lipsic: Judges\' Complaints Organised by Justice Ministry

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - It was the LS-HZDS-led Justice Ministry that organised the mass petition of lawsuits submitted by hundreds of Slovak judges for alleged discrimination in salaries compared to judges of the Special Court, former justice minister Daniel Lipsic (Christian Democrats/KDH) said on Friday. Lipsic claimed that the Justice Ministry – in his view,… read more

Activists: Alternative to Pipeline Across Zitny Ostrov Exists

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - Activists say there is an alternative to the planned crude oil pipeline project traversing the Zitny Ostrov area, a river island in south-western Slovakia that features extensive water reservoirs. According to Miroslav Dragun from the 'Nie ropovodu' (No to Oil Pipeline) civic initiative, the pipeline could go via the Zahorie area in western… read more

Petrol Prices Go Up, While Diesel and LPG Prices Drop Late January

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - Consumer prices of motor fuels between January 25-31 were marked by lower prices for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and diesel. In turn, prices of petrol, 98-octane petrol in particular, went up, Slovakia's Statistics Office announced on Friday. LPG prices dropped by 6.93 percent to 44.3 cents per litre. Diesel prices fell by 4.04 percent to… read more

Medved: All EU\'s Demands Included in EIA Amendment

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - The Slovak Environment Ministry included all the European Union's demands into amendments to the law on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Environment Minister Jozef Medved said after extraordinary Government session on Friday. Parliament, as directed by Government, is to deal with this amendment during its ongoing session in a fast-tracked… read more

One-month Delay in Completion of D1 Financial Matters Announced

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - The completion date for settling financial matters concerning the construction of D1 motorway via public-private partnership (PPP) will be postponed by one month to the middle of March, Transport, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Lubomir Vazny told TASR on Friday. There are two reasons for the delay. One is the need to tie up some… read more

Radicova and Sulik Concede Possible SDKU-SaS Ties Ahead of Election

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - Co-operation between extra-parliamentary Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party and leading Opposition SDKU-DS party ahead of the June 12 parliamentary election is not ruled out, SaS chairman Richard Sulik and SDKU vice-chair and candidate for party election leader Iveta Radicova concurred for TASR on Friday. The two officials spoke after their… read more

Vazny: Only New Projects Concerned by Changes Required by EC

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - Changes in the assessment of environmental impact required by the European Commission (EC) and approved by the Government on Friday should only concern new infrastructure projects, Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny said after the extraordinary Government session on the same day. "In fact, this is only about projects that don't have an EIA… read more

Government Appoints Lubos Halak As Economy Ministry State Secretary

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - The Slovak Government at its extraordinary session on Friday appointed Lubos Halak as Economy Ministry state secretary. Halak will replace Pavol Kristof (LS-HZDS nominee), who had submitted his resignation through Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek on January 27. Kristof, who has been state secretary only since June 1, 2009, decided to resign… read more

Government Approves Six Nominees as SPF Council Members

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR-SLOVAKIA) - The Slovak Government on Friday approved six candidates as representatives for the Slovak Land Fund (SPF) Council. Agriculture Ministry nominated Jozef Lalo, Jozef Kubinec, Viliam Hoferica, Jan Turcek, Anton Martvon and Maria Frindrichova for the posts, which was approved by the Government. Slovak Parliament will vet the appointments… read more

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip Due to Visit Slovakia on Sunday

Bratislava, February 5 (TASR) - A delegation led by Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip will come to Slovakia on Sunday for a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico, Government Office announced on Friday. The two premiers should discuss the quality of bilateral relations and possibilities for their further development. "The Estonian… read more

Lajcak: Great Scope for Economic Co-operation with China

Bratislava, February 4 (TASR) - Opportunities for intensification of the trade and economic co-operation, Iran's nuclear programme and human rights featured among the topics discussed by Slovakia's Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak and China's Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun in Bratislava on Thursday, Slovak ministry spokesman Peter Stano told TASR. Lajcak… read more