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Culture Ministry Has Drawn Up Instructions to State Language Act

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - The Culture Ministry has drawn up a methodical instruction to the State Language Act, ministry spokesman Jozef Bednar told TASR on Monday. Bednar added that the document, which has been submitted to Government ministries for discussion, was prepared in co-operation with experts from the office of Knut Vollebaek, OSCE High Commissioner… read more

Council of Europe Advisory Committee Arrives in Slovakia

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - A three-member delegation of the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities arrived in Slovakia on Monday to evaluate the situation in Slovakia vis-a-vis its commitments to this international convention, TASR was told by Slovakia's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Peter Stano on… read more

SaS: Slovakia Not Ready for Lisbon Treaty, Lacking Proper Legislation

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - The extra-parliamentary Freedom and Solidarity (Sloboda a Solidarita/SaS) party has major reservations concerning the Treaty of Lisbon, as Slovakia's legislation isn't ready yet for the Treaty's adoption, SaS Republic Council member Martin Chren said at a press conference on Monday. Chren added that constitutional changes need to be made… read more

Health Ministry Presses Charges against SDKU MP for Spreading Panic

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - The Health Ministry is pressing charges against SDKU-DS MP Viliam Novotny for spreading panic in connection with the A(H1N1) flu, said Health Minister Richard Rasi at a press briefing on Monday in Bratislava. Novotny, vice-chairman of Parliament's Healthcare Committee, accused the ministry earlier on Monday in Kosice of underestimating… read more

Gasparovic to Visit Serbia this Week, Also to Greet Slovaks in Vojvodina

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - President Ivan Gasparovic is to begin a three-day visit to Serbia on Wednesday – accompanied by Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek and a group of Slovak entrepreneurs, Sona Zanova from the President's Office told TASR on Monday. Gasparovic is to meet his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic. He will also… read more

Christian Democrats (KDH) Opening Up to Protestants

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - Opposition Christian Democrats (KDH) seek to reach as many Christian-minded people as possible and involve more Protestants in KDH policies, said the party's first chairman Jan Carnogursky in the wake of a conference Monday to mark the 20th anniversary of the first appeal to establish KDH clubs. When the first Christian-Democratic clubs… read more

Novotny: Purchase of A(H1N1) Flu Shots Could Be Overpriced

Kosice, November 30 (TASR) - According to SDKU-DS MP Viliam Novotny, Slovak Health Ministry and Public Health Office (UVZ) fatally underestimated the situation connected to the purchase of A(H1N1) flu vaccine. "In October, the Health Minister (Richard Rasi) and Slovakia's Chief Public Health Officer Ivan Rovny told the public not to succumb to panic, assured them that… read more

Medved: Interblue Group Not Settling Extra Payment for Emissions

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - Environment Minister Jozef Medved said on Monday that the Interblue Group (US) as of last week had failed to pay the first portion of a €15-million payment for the carbon-dioxide emission quotas as it was recently requested to do by the ministry to top up the original sum agreed under a controversial deal signed in 2007. The balance… read more

Simon: No Time to Lose, We Have to Protect Drinking Water Supplies

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - Most-hid does not intend to wait until the Slovak Government grants a construction approval for a crude oil pipeline through Zitny Ostrov (south Slovakia) and endanger the Slovakia's drinking-water reservoirs, said Zsolt Simon, an independent MP and member of Most-Hid in Bratislava on Monday. Therefore the party, made up of former member… read more

J&T Sells Its Hospitals to VFSolutions

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - The Slovak private equity group J&T has sold its business in the healthcare sector to a Slovak company called VFSolutions, J&T spokesman Maros Sykora told TASR on Monday. "We've entered the healthcare sector with the intention of building a functioning system of all-inclusive care for the client within the medium-term horizon. The amendments… read more

Horvath Urges Hungary Not to Cut Support for Slovak Minorities

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - Next year's financial support for the Slovak ethnic minority in Hungary will not be reduced year-on-year even though such cuts have been proposed, Parliamentary Foreign Committee chairman Juraj Horvath (Smer-SD) said on Monday. Last week Horvath wrote a letter to his Hungarian counterpart Zsolt Nemeth stressing the importance of the unanimously… read more

Smatanova: Golden Nightingale Is Voice of The People

Bratislava, November 29 (TASR) – Slovakia on Saturday night learned the winners of the popular Slavik (Nightingale) 2009 music contest, as voted by the public. The sculptures awarded in the 12th annual contest went to Zuzana Smatanova in the female singer category, Peter Cmorik in the male singer, and the rock band Desmod from Nitra in the group category. The same musicians… read more

Smer-SD: SNS Wasn\'t Able to Run Environment Ministry without Scandals

Bratislava, November 29 (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) took away the Environment Ministry from under Slovak National Party's (SNS) remit for absolute inability of its nominees to run the ministry without scandals, Smer spokesperson Katarina Klizanova Rysova told TASR on Sunday in response to SNS chairman Jan Slota's criticism levelled earlier in the day at the… read more

Analysts: Unemployment Rate to Begin to Fall But Not Until Next Year

Bratislava, November 29 (TASR) - The unemployment rate in Slovakia may not drop until as late as the end of 2010, according to analysts approached by TASR on Sunday. "The stabilisation and (subsequent) fall in the unemployment rate can be expected in late 2010 and early 2011, when the Slovak economy will be able to create new jobs thanks to increasing economic growth,"… read more

Dzurinda: We Won in Bratislava, We\'ll Manage Elsewhere too Next Time

Bratislava, November 29 (TASR) - The strongest opposition party SDKU-DS triumphed during the elections to regional authorities in Bratislava region on Saturday, winning the highest number of councillors and governor's post, drawing hopes for the triumph in the next election too, the party leader Mikulas Dzurinda said on Sunday. Speaking a day after the party saw its… read more