Bratislava - Despite numerous citizens' protests, a local district of the Slovak capital Bratislava has decided to erect a plaque to a communist-era leader of the former Czechoslovakia, according to a decree published Wednesday.

Under the decision taken by the Bratislava-Dubravka district, the plaque in memory of Gustav Husak to be placed at the entry to the local city hall is to be installed by May
1, at the latest.

Husak became state and party leader of Czechoslovakia in 1968 after a Soviet-led invasion which put down a reform movement which was known as the "Prague spring."

Bratislava  - The Slovak parliament Tuesday overruled a presidential veto on a law that allows use of Hungarian place names in textbooks for country's Hungarian minority.

The house overrode the veto in a 106-32 vote, while 12 lawmakers were absent. An absolute majority of 76 votes in the 150-seat house was required to throw out the veto issued by President Ivan Gasparovic in December.

Bratislava  - Slovakia was looking to get up to 10 million cubic metres of gas a day from European sources as the cut-off of Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine continued, an official said Friday.

Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek told reporters that the country was evaluating technical ways how to bring in gas from Poland as well as from storages of firms Gaz de France, E. ON and OMV.

Bratislava  - Slovakia Thursday faced a blackout owing to Russia's move to shut down natural gas supplies arriving to western Europe via Ukraine, Prime Minister Robert Fico said.

Speaking after meeting his Czech, Hungarian and Polish counterparts and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Fico said that Slovakia was worst-hit in central Europe.

He said that the country had gas supplies for 10 days and was facing a blackout as part of its electricity came from gas.

Bratislava - Slovakia's carmakers halted or limited production Thursday, a side effect of Russia's decision to cut off natural gas supplies flowing to western Europe via Ukraine.

A Kia plant in Slovakia, which churns out 700 cars a day, halted production Thursday morning, spokesman Dusan Dvorak confirmed. A Peugeot plant decided to slash one of its shifts, local reports said.

Slovakia is fully dependent on Russian gas deliveries. The Slovak gas importer and distributor SPP tapped into its underground reserves to supply households, schools and hospitals. However, it asked industrial clients to limit consumption to a minimum.

Bratislava  - A decade after Slovakia set out to abandon its reputation of a thuggish post-communist backwater the country is only weeks away from crowning its new image of central Europe's economic tiger.

Slovakia is making the last preparations to switch to the euro on January 1 in a feat for the country of 5 million whose recent history serves as a blueprint for economic success.