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Chmel: Generally, I Support Separation of Church and State

Bratislava, August 19 (TASR) - Deputy Premier for Minorities Rudolf Chmel (Most-Hid) has said that he generally supports the separation of Church and State, but concedes that this is unlikely to take place for some time. "There's a long way to go until this happens," he admitted at a press conference in Bratislava, adding that neither his party, nor the governing Coalition… read more

Unemployment Rate Dropped to 12.33 percent in July

Bratislava, August 19 (TASR) - Slovakia's unemployment rate dropped slightly by 0.01 percentage points month-on-month to 12.33 percent in July, the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Office (UPSVaR) announced on Thursday. A total of 375,608 job-seekers were registered at job centres in July. Even though their number was 430 lower than in June, the same figure rose… read more

Sulik: Some People Paying Lower Taxes at Expense of Others

Bratislava, August 19 (TASR) - The prepared changes in tax and deductions recently announced by the Finance Ministry, the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Ministry and the Health Ministry are steps in right direction for which the co-ruling Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party will fight, Parliamentary Chairman and SaS head Richard Sulik said on Thursday. "Those who… read more

Ziping Gu: China Wants to Increase Its Trade Balance with Slovakia

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - China wants to continue in increasing its trade balance with Slovakia, new Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Slovakia Ziping Gu said while presenting his credentials to Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic on Wednesday. Gasparovic noted that Slovakia has built many industrial parks which provide scope for boosting economic… read more

SaS: Referendum to Be Preceded by Get Out the Vote Campaign

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - A referendum on six social issues declared by President Ivan Gasparovic at the prompting of co-ruling Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) for September 18 will be preceded by a three-week campaign that is estimated to cost between €120,000 and €130,000, said Chairman of SaS and Parliament Richard Sulik at a news briefing on Wednesday. Sulik… read more

Military Intelligence Service With New Chief, Hudec Under Scrutiny

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - The Military Intelligence Service (VSS) has had a new chief since August 13. "It's Mr. (Roman) Mikulec. Today I introduced him to the people who work there," said Defence Minister Lubomir Galko (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) after the Government session Wednesday afternoon. According to Galko, the new VSS director is an apolitical expert,… read more

Miklos Says Slovakia Requires Clear Guidelines to Deal with Floods

Bratislava, August 18(TASR) - Slovakia lacks clear guidelines and the wherewithal to deal with flood situations as is evident from the fact that the previous government earmarked €3.3 million to handle floods in this year's budget but €3 million of that refers to 2008 and 2009, Finance Minister Ivan Miklos said after Government discussed floods-related issues on Wednesday.… read more

Krajcer: SaS Not Giving Up on Marijuana Decriminalisation This Term

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - The co-governing Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party isn't giving up on its idea of pushing for the decriminalisation of marijuana by the end of this electoral term, Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer (SaS) told a press conference on Wednesday. "Given the negative stance of the Christian Democrats (KDH) we had two options - to prevent this Government… read more

Radicova to Distribute Rest of Premier\'s Reserve to Flood-Ravaged Areas

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - Prime Minister Iveta Radicova told journalists Wednesday that she has government support to give away some €2.2 million remaining in her special reserve as relief for floods-affected localities. The bulk of the untapped funds, €900,000, will go to the regional authority in Kosice, which has spent profusely on rebuilding a bridge in… read more

Government Allocates €13.3 million for Flood Relief

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - The Slovak Government on Wednesday approved allocation of €13.3 million from the treasury to finance flood relief measures. According to the Finance Ministry's material, towns and villages have spent the most in tackling the effects of the floods - €11.8 million, therefore money should be allocated to them by September 10. Other linked… read more

Miklos Files Criminal Complaint Against Harabin for Obstructing Audit

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - Finance Minister Ivan Miklos (SDKU-DS) on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint against Supreme Court chairman Stefan Harabin for obstructing the ministry's attempts to carry out an audit at the Court, the Finance Ministry announced on the same day. The criminal complaint dealing with Harabin's alleged misconduct was submitted to the Police… read more

Radicova: Flood Prevention Scheme Is Matter of Major Urgency Now

Martin/Drazkovce/Sklabina, August 18 (TASR) - The Government is ready to proceed quickly with adopting efficient and systematic measures designed to prevent floods, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova said on Wednesday during a working visit to the flood-stricken town of Martin and its environs, TASR learnt on the same day. "The message is clear. We have to launch prevention… read more

New U.S. Ambassador Looking Forward to Co-operation With New Gov\'t

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - Newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Theodore Sedgwick, who presented his credentials to Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic on Wednesday, views the development of American-Slovak relations as one of his priorities in office. In an interview with TASR, the nominee of U.S. President Barack Obama praised Slovakia's economic success, noting… read more

PAS: Slovakia\'s Business Conditions Have Fallen Below Average

Bratislava, August 18 (TASR) - Corruption, problems with law-enforcement, frequently-changing laws and high levies remain major impediments to business in Slovakia, according to a report on the state of the entrepreneurial sector in Slovakia for 2010 released by the Slovak Business Alliance (PAS) on Wednesday. Conditions in the country have deteriorated from above average… read more

Radicova: It\'s High Time Government Adopted Anti-Flood Scheme

Handlova, August 17 (TASR) - It's about time the Government adopted a programme aimed at launching an anti-flood system, rather than just tackle repercussions and deal with emergency operations following floods, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova told journalists on Tuesday night. Speaking upon visiting flood-stricken areas in the town of Handlova (Trencin region), the premier… read more