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Martonyi: FIDESZ to Provide Help to SMK Ahead of General Election

Bratislava, May 12 (TASR) - It's in the interest of Hungary's FIDESZ party to see ethnic-Hungarian parties in the surrounding countries post good results in elections, Hungary's incoming foreign minister Janos Martonyi said after meeting Slovakia's ethnic-Hungarian SMK party chairman Pal Csaky in Bratislava on Wednesday. Martonyi pledged that FIDESZ will provide all necessary… read more

Ten Slovak Hooligans and One Czech to Appear Before Hungarian Court

Bratislava/Budapest, May 12 (TASR) - The Hungarian police are reported to be putting 11 arrested football fans before the Municipal Court in Encs, a town in north-eastern Hungary, on Thursday, following disturbances linked to the Slovak Cup final on Tuesday. The case, involving 111 fans, of which ten Slovaks and one Czech ended up facing criminal charges, is therefore… read more

Simon: No Rule Of Law in Slovakia Under This Government

Bratislava, May 12 (TASR) - Slovakia lacks the rule of law under the leadership of the current Government, said non-parliamentary Most-Hid party vice-chairman Zsolt Simon at a protest in front of the Government Office in Bratislava on Wednesday. "If the rule of law existed, scandals such as the construction of a landfill site in Pezinok (Bratislava region), the High Tatras… read more

Government Okays Slovak Embassy in Montenegro

Bratislava, May 12 (TASR) - According to a decision made by the Government at its session on Wednesday, Slovakia will have an embassy in Podgorica in Montenegro as of June. Montenegro also plans to open its own embassy in Bratislava in 2010. The Slovak office premises in Montenegro should be rented with start-up expenditures of €86,500 and an annual operating… read more

Radicova: No Reason Why Right Shouldn\'t Reach Coalition Agreement

Bratislava, May 11 (TASR) - SDKU-DS election leader Iveta Radicova told TASR on Tuesday in an interview that she sees no reason why the right-wing parties shouldn't be able to reach an agreement after the June 12 parliamentary elections and form a Government. According to Radicova, SDKU-DS has similiar experiences from the past. "The so-called first Mikulas Dzurinda's… read more

Slovakia to Open Embassy in Montenegro, Lacks Funds to Do More

Bratislava, May 11 (TASR) - Except for the embassy proposed to be opened in Montenegro sometime next month, Slovakia this year cannot afford to launch diplomatic offices elsewhere because of the lower 2010 budget allocations in the wake of the global economic crisis, said Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak on Tuesday. Slovakia, however, does need to increase its diplomatic… read more

SDL Demands Ban on Smer\'s Billboards Promising Cheaper Medicine

Bratislava, May 11 (TASR) - The Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) has filed a complaint to the Central Election Committee (UVK), demanding the removal of Smer-SD's election billboards with the slogan: 'Cheaper medicine', describing it as misleading advertising, said SDL chairman Marek Blaha on Tuesday. "The Smer-SD party promotes cheaper drugs on them (the billboards),… read more

Most-Hid Preparing Change in Financing of Ethnic Minorities

Bratislava, May 10 (TASR) - The Most-Hid party wants to have state resources allocated to ethnic-minority culture projects part financed from the Culture Ministry's budget, Most-Hid chairman Bela Bugar told TASR in an interview. To this end, Most-Hid is preparing a relevant piece of legislation to set up a lower authority in charge of distributing the aforementioned resources.… read more

Kalinak: Banks Refuse to Improve Their Security

Bratislava, May 10 (TASR) - Banks refuse to introduce more stringent security measures, said Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Robert Kalinak (a Smer-SD nominee) on Monday, referring to a bank robbery in Malacky (Bratislava region) on the same day in which a security guard was killed. "We offered to install some monitoring devices for free, but unfortunately it doesn't… read more

Parliament to Discuss Loan for Greece on Wednesday

Bratislava, May 10 (TASR) - The extraordinary session of Parliament at which Slovakia's contribution to the bailout plan for Greece is set be debated will take place on Wednesday (May 12) afternoon, parliamentary spokesman Jozef Plsko told TASR on Monday. Parliamentary Chairman Pavol Paska (Smer-SD) summoned the session after receiving a petition from opposition lawmakers… read more

On-line Form Simplifies Applications for Visa to U.S.A.

Bratislava, May 10 (TASR) - The American Embassy in Slovakia on Monday told TASR that a new U.S. visa application form (DS-160) for people unable to use the Electronic System of Travel Authorisation (ESTA) - which is only available to citizens of approved counties holding a biometric passport and travelling for tourism or business - is now available online for applications from… read more

Fico: Ministry Merger Should Help Sooth Extremist Attitudes

Bratislava, May 10 (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico believes that the merger of the agriculture and environment ministries as of July 1, 2010 will help to calm "extremist attitudes" in relations between the forestry sector and conservationists, TASR learnt on Monday. "I'm deeply against extremes as far as this relationship goes, be it on the part of wood processors… read more

President Gasparovic to Take Part in Russian Celebrations to Mark End of WWII

Moscow, May 8 (TASR) - Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic on Saturday departed for Moscow to attend celebrations on Sunday marking the 65th anniversary of the victory over fascism and the end of WWII. A total of 56 heads of state, prime ministers, representatives of international institutions and ex-presidents will attend the ceremony on Moscow's Red Square, which will… read more

Polish Bus Crashed in Zvolen District, Two People Seriously Injured

Dobra Niva, May 8 (TASR) - Eighteen people were injured in an accident of a Polish bus between Dobra Niva and Podzamcok in Zvolen district (Banska Bystrica region) on Saturday morning, TASR was told by spokesman of Banska Bystrica Regional Directorate of the Fire and Rescue Corps Miroslav Podhradsky. Two people are seriously injured, one of them has already been transported… read more

Meciar Hopes to Again Join Fico in Forming New Slovak Government

Bratislava, May 7 (TASR) - Of the political parties running in the June 12 general election, co-ruling LS-HZDS is the only suitable one for both the country and Smer-SD party, which opinion polls show should emerge as the winner and form the new Government, LS-HZDS Chairman Vladimir Meciar told TASR in an interview Friday. Assessing the prospects of some of the best-placed… read more