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Gasparovic: Successes of Slovakia\'s Foreign Affairs Reason for Civic Pride

Bratislava, January 1 (TASR) - The results that have been achieved in the sphere of Slovakia's foreign affairs in recent years should be a source of real civic pride, said President Ivan Gasparovic in his New Year speech on Saturday. "Successes of [Slovak] diplomats, who are active or are about to be active in the EU foreign service belong among the showpieces of [Slovakia's]… read more

Survey: Almost Half of Slovaks Optimistic About 2011

Bratislava, December 31 (TASR) - Around 46 percent of Slovaks are optimistic about 2011, while 23 percent take a sceptical view, and 27 percent are pessimistic, according to the results of a KMG International survey carried out earlier this month on a sample of 1,006 respondents aged above 15. The most upbeat group were university-educated people, 64 percent of which… read more

Krajcer: Transformation of TASR Among Big Issues in 2011

Bratislava, December 31 (TASR) - The Culture Ministry has prepared a host of legislative changes for 2011, including the transformation of the News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR), Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) has told TASR in an interview. According to Krajcer, the changes that will concern TASR should be drawn up by December 2011.… read more

Shipping Company to Press Charges Over Bungled Police Action

Bratislava, December 30 (TASR) - Czech shipping company J&M PAVLAT intends to file a criminal complaint against the Slovak authorities and demand compensation after its lorry-driver Zdenek Pekara was detained in Turkey during a botched police operation, company head Martin Pavlat said on Thursday. "We've decided to file a criminal complaint in response to the damage that… read more

Galko: There Are Probably More Corrupt Officials Working at Ministry

Bratislava, December 30 (TASR) - The two officials at the Defence Ministry who have been accused of bribery in connection with tenders carried out when the ministry was under the remit of Smer-SD weren't the only ones conducting illegal activities, head of the Defence Ministry press department Ivan Rudolf told TASR on Thursday. "Of course we're glad that finally somebody… read more

Caplovic: Matovic’s Plans Confirm Smer-SD Claims of 6-party Coalition

Bratislava, December 29 (TASR) – The statements of leader of Freedom and Solidarity's (SaS) faction called 'Ordinary People' (OL) Igor Matovic concerning his plans to set up a new party in the first quarter of 2011 confirms the words of opposition Smer-SD that the current centre-right Government does not consist of four but of six political parties, said Smer-SD vice-chair… read more

Spisiak: Police Action Went Awry due to Turkey\'s Failure to Stick to Deal

Bratislava, December 29 (TASR) - The international police operation, during which a Czech lorry driver unwittingly carrying substance used in production of heroin was detained in Turkey, was handled in a brilliant manner by the Slovak police while it was botched by Turkish authorities, Slovak Police Corps President Jaroslav Spisiak told a press conference on Wednesday. Within… read more

Jurzyca: Public Finances in Bad Shape, We Had To Let People Go

Bratislava, December 29 (TASR) – The Education Ministry, under the remit of Eugen Jurzyca (SDKU-DS), is reducing the number of its employees from 507 to 473 as of January 1, TASR learned from Jurzyca on Wednesday. "Due to the situation in public finances, we were forced to let people go. The truth is that at the beginning some of the employees were made redundant due… read more

Galko Refuses to Sign Car Insurance Contract, Negotiates Cheaper Price

Bratislava, December 29 (TASR) – Slovak Defence Minister Lubomir Galko refused to sign an already-agreed-upon contract concerning the insurance of vehicles used by the ministry, TASR was told by ministry spokesman Ivan Rudolf on Wednesday. Galko claimed that the initial sum for the insurance - €2.61 million – was too high and he insisted on a cheaper deal. … read more

Galko Closing Down Office With Shady Tender History

Bratislava, December 28 (TASR) - Defence Minister Lubomir Galko on Tuesday ordered the closure of the ministry's Maintenance Office in Trencin - where officials charged with fraud involving public procurements were working, TASR learned on the same day from the ministry's press department head Ivan Rudolf. "This branch office will be terminated on January 31, 2011. This… read more

Zitnanska: Court Rulings That Could Harm Children Won\'t Be Published

Bratislava, December 28 (TASR) - Even if President Ivan Gasparovic's veto of an amendment to the Judges and Judicial Assistants Act is broken in Parliament, the provision vis-a-vis making court rulings public on the web as of 2012 won't apply in all cases, Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska told TASR on Tuesday. "The rule is that if court proceedings aren't public, then… read more

Jurzyca: Teachers\' Active Work With Pupils Should be Rewarded

Bratislava, December 28 (TASR) - Teachers needn't be concerned about any substantial changes in the upcoming year, but the Education Ministry is committed to improving the education system, with teachers set to receive remuneration for extra-curricula activities with pupils, Education Minister Eugen Jurzyca has said in an interview for TASR. Jurzyca noted that teachers… read more

Analyst: 2010 Saw Shift From Leftist to Rightist Patchwork

Bratislava, December 28 (TASR) - The parliamentary elections in June and the changeover from a "leftist patchwork of Jan Slota (Slovak National Party/SNS), Vladimir Meciar (LS-HZDS) and Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to a rightist patchwork was the key event in the year about to end, political analyst Michal Horsky told TASR on Tuesday. At the same time, Horsky admitted that what… read more

Zervan Views His Dismissal as Political

Bratislava, December 27 (TASR) - Slovak Ambassador to Great Britain Juraj Zervan said on Monday that he considers the decision to dismiss him from his post to be a political one, although he's willing to accept it. Zervan protested against the reason given for his dismissal by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, however. He claims that the information is misleading, incorrect… read more

Sulik to Decide on RTS Temporary Boss by End of Week

Bratislava, December 27 (TASR) - Parliamentary Chairman Richard Sulik (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) is set to decide by the end of the week who will become interim director of Radio and Television Slovakia (RTS) following the merger of public broadcasters Slovak Television (STV) and Slovak Radio (SRo) as of January 1, Sulik's secretary Tatiana Tothova told TASR on Monday.… read more