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Figel: Works on Missing Sections of D1 Highway to Begin in Spring 2011

(STV, October 3, 'O 5 Minut 12') Works on two missing D1 highway sections to complete the road between Dubna Skala and Presov (Presov region) should be launched in spring 2011, Transport Minister Jan Figel announced on STV weekly debate show 'O 5 Minut 12' (5 Minutes to 12) on Sunday. "We'll kick off the tender by the end of November," said Figel. However,… read more

Initiative for Open Judiciary Criticises Legal Proceedings against Wienk

Bratislava, October 1 (TASR) - The judicial initiative 'For Open Judiciary' on Friday expressed its view that the Supreme Court's legal proceedings aimed against Fair-Play Alliance director Zuzana Wienk for suspicion of libel is inappropriate and undignified. "We think that the courts, which should guarantee basic human rights and freedoms, should be reserved when it… read more

Truant MPs to Be Penalised for Absences in September

Bratislava, October 1 (TASR) - Due to their absence from Parliament in September, Slovak MP Katarina Cibulkova (SDKU-DS) will lose her monthly salary and MP Stanislav Kubanek (Smer-SD) will lose half of his salary, Parliamentary Chairman Richard Sulik (Freedom and Solidarity party) announced on Friday. Sulik also ordered SaS MPs Lubos Majer and Jozef Viskupic to pay expenses… read more

EC Sends Reasoned Opinion to Slovakia Over Road-Toll System Tender

Brussels, September 30 (TASR) - The European Commission on Tuesday sent a reasoned opinion – the second stage of the infringement procedure - to Slovakia for breaching the rules of the European legislative by discrimination of candidates and failure to announce a Europe-wide tender for the electronic road-toll system operator. "The Commission is concerned that Slovakia… read more

Poll: 69 Percent of Slovaks Bothered by Unhelpful Shop Assistants

Bratislava, September 30 (TASR) - When it comes to shopping, Slovak customers view unhelpful personnel as the biggest bete noire, according to the GfK Loyalty Report Slovakia - a poll carried out on a sample of 810 people in September and published on Thursday. Unhelpfulness, unpreparedness or unkind shop assistants and sales staff were stated by 69 percent of interviewees… read more

Bones Found in Bronze Age Settlement Large as New York in Bratislava Region

Budmerice, September 29 (TASR) - Archaeologists have uncovered more remnants of a settlement dating back to the Bronze Age near Budmerice village (Bratislava region) – with a well-preserved human skeleton and two thigh bones being added to the artefacts, local archaeologists reported on Wednesday. The site was discovered in the 1950s during agricultural works, and has… read more

Slovakia to Withdraw Its Forces from Kosovo by End of This Year

Bratislava, September 29 (TASR) - Slovakia will withdraw its soldiers from the KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo by the end of 2010, the Slovak Government decided at its session on Wednesday. However, even after withdrawing its Armed Forces, Slovakia will continue to fulfil the tasks of the international crisis management team in the Western Balkan region. Currently,… read more

Galko: Slovakia Reinforces Contingent in Afghanistan

Bratislava, September 29 (TASR) - Slovakia this year will increase the number of its soldiers in the ISAF operation in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Lubomir Galko announced on Wednesday. Currently 300 Slovak servicemen are deployed in Afghanistan; the exact number by which the Slovak contingent should be increased is still unknown, however. According to the defence… read more

Berenyi: State Language Act a Legal Rubbish

Bratislava, September 27 (TASR) - The ethnic-Hungarian SMK party considers the amendment to the State Language Act to be a legal rubbish, SMK chairman Jozsef Berenyi said at a press conference on Monday. According to the proposal, the Education Ministry will be entitled to impose fines when announcements made by public administration or relevant information concerning… read more

Political Analyst: SaS Sees Drop in Popularity Due to Leaders\' Behaviour

Bratislava, September 27 (TASR) - A significant drop in popularity of the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party is caused mainly by its unfulfilled election promises and the behaviour of SaS chairman and Parliamentary Chairman Richard Sulik and other party representatives, political analyst Juraj Marusiak told TASR in reaction to the election polls published on Monday. According… read more

Radicova: Slovakia Plans Drawdown of KFOR Mission

Sajkovac, September 27 (TASR) - Slovakia will gradually withdraw its soldiers from the KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova confirmed during her one-day visit to the Slovak contingent based in a military facility in Sajkovac. "The original contract signed by Slovakia is valid until the autumn of this year. Hence, we've met our obligations,"… read more

Dzurinda in Budapest: We Want to Build New Bridges

Budapest, September 27 (TASR) – Slovakia and Hungary want to build new bridges, both physically and metaphorically, said Foreign Affairs Minister Mikulas Dzurinda after meeting his Hungarian counterpart in Budapest on Monday. Dzurinda is visiting Hungary for the first time since he became chief of Slovak diplomacy following the June 12 election. Both officials… read more

Horsky: Re-election of Slota as Chairman Good News for Slovaks

Bratislava, September 25 (TASR) – Re-election of Jan Slota to the post of Slovak National Party (SNS) chairman, as well as his nominees to the party leadership, is in fact a good news for Slovak people, political analyst Michal Horsky told TASR on Saturday. "The party is step-by-step following the fate of LS-HZDS [which didn't make it to Parliament in June - ed. note],"… read more

Kollar: Hayeks Case Was Prepared in Advance to Weaken Coalition

(Slovak Radio, September 25, 'Sobotne Dialogy') The much-discussed "Hayeks" case has been prepared in advance and it was aimed at weakening the current governing Coalition, claims Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP and head of the Parliamentary Committee for Finance Jozef Kollar. "I'm sure that this was a purpose-built media pressure to weaken this Coalition. I don't rule… read more

Supreme Court Files Criminal Complaint for Libel Against Wienk

Bratislava, September 24 (TASR) - The Supreme Court on Friday filed a criminal complaint for libel against Fair-Play Alliance NGO director Zuzana Wienk, the Court press department told TASR on the same day. Wienk allegedly falsely accused Supreme Court Chairman Stefan Harabin and former vice-chair Daniela Svecova of unlawfully changing the make-up of senates and interfering… read more