Slovakia

DUNAJSKA STREDA, Slovakia -- Karoly Hodossy's family name dates back a half-millennium, but it's new to him, and he wants to keep it.Two years ago, Mr. Hodossy -- an ethnic Hungarian living in Slovakia -- changed his name from Hodosi, the Slovak spelling. Now he's afraid he may be forced to change it back again."The name Hodossy is 500 years old, but in 1919 the Slovaks made my great-grandfather change the spelling," said Mr. Hodossy, who works in the local City Hall. "In Slovakia, the Slovaks are the boss, and we Hungarians have to do what they say."

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Jozef Horvath, the gifted 19-year-old winner of the 1994 Slovak Conservatories Violin Competition, is in Annapolis this weekend to perform with the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra.Mr. Horvath, a student of master teacher Albin Vrtel, comes to Annapolis thanks to a relationship forged last summer by local musicians and the State Conservatory of Bratislava.The 40 musicians of the Chesapeake orchestra visited the Republic of Slovakia last July, not just to be sightseers at medieval castles, Gothic cathedrals, picturesque churches and impressive Baroque palaces, but to perform.

JOHANNESBURG — Marcello Lippi had been warned this might happen. He had been told time and again by Italian fans and media that his team was too old, that it needed younger, hungrier players. Take Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli or Davide Santon, they said. Take Sampdoria's Antonio Cassano. Take anyone but that old gang of yours. But Lippi ignored the warnings and advice, and on Thursday he paid the price. When referee Howard Webb blew the final whistle at Ellis Park, the scoreboard showed one of the World Cup's all-time remarkable results: Slovakia 3, Italy 2. A team playing in its first World Cup, made up largely of players unknown internationally, had defeated the defending world champions and knocked them out of the World Cup. The final line on Italy: No wins, one loss, two ties.

TURIN, Italy -- Because Slovakia was not considered one of the "Big Six" powers at the 1998 or 2002 Olympics, it had to play a preliminary round to get into the main draw. Each time it was eliminated before the stars from Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic arrived. With a new format that eliminated the pre-Games games, Slovakia is showing it can play with - and beat - the big boys. Slovakia's 2-1 victory over the U.S. yesterday, played before a rollicking crowd under the arched roof of the cozy Torino Esposizioni, put the speedy and skillful team atop Group B with a 3-0-0 record.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- A greatly diminished Pope John Paul II concluded his 102nd trip abroad yesterday, an agonizing, four-day mission to Slovakia during which he was unable to complete a single sermon or speech. The weakened condition of the pope, who is weeks shy of marking 25 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church, revived speculation that this may well be the last time he travels outside of Italy -- a thought on the minds of thousands of pilgrims who arrived here from neighboring Poland and Hungary to join Slovaks in worship with him. Yesterday, the pope presided over an open-air Mass under clear, sunny skies before about 200,000 faithful and honored two communist-era martyrs, a nun and a bishop, placing them in the running for sainthood.

U SABOTOV, Slovakia -- In this tiny hamlet of 190 souls, tucked away among rolling forested hills in the heart of what was once Czechoslovakia, a kind of bloodless ethnic cleansing has taken place.Fallen wooden slats expose the darkness of vacant barns. Modern villas fronting well-tended gardens sit next to shuttered cottages where chickens scratch among abandoned vegetable plots.Things weren't always this way. Historically, the village was proudly Czech, but during the 1950s and 1960s, Communist authorities allowed newcomers from neighboring Slovakia to move in. When the two countries negotiated their international frontier after the breakup of federal Czechoslovakia five years ago, U Sabotov was ceded to Slovakia, and a border post went up at the end of Main Street.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- Being the son of the president has its benefits, particularly for a budding entrepreneur hoping to make a killing in the rough-and-tumble markets of Central Europe.Michal Kovac Jr., the son of Slovak President Michal Kovac, enjoys instant name recognition. He does not lack for business associates, especially those wanting to exploit his familial connections. But Mr. Kovac is learning, in an unexpectedly bruising way, that having a father in high office can also be perilous in Slovakia, where business is booming but democracy is going bust.

U SABOTU, Czech Republic -- With his pasture just across the road from his house, Jan Marecek has no trouble finding grass to feed his rabbits. But soon an international boundary may separate his house and field, effectively forcing Marecek to import food for his animals."

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Carol "Lenka" Katz, who survived the Nazi persecutions in Slovakia with an assumed identity and with assistance from Christian friends who hid her and her baby son, died July 6 of complications from an infection at a hospital in Jerusalem. The former Northwest Baltimore resident was 95. Carol Leah Bernstein was born into a Hasidic family in Bardiov, a small town in eastern Slovakia, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After graduating from high school and a business school, she went to work as a secretary for an industrial firm in Bratislava.

Erika Stasakova, a 17-year-old senior at John Carroll, has made an impressive transition to life here after immigrating from Slovakia with her family when she was in elementary school. Stasakova always wanted to play sports, but girls in her native country didn't often do that. She took up soccer, and then some friends got her into cross country and running. She has developed into one of the state's top runners. Stasakova won the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland championship last year to help the Patriots capture the team title and was named to the All-Metro team.

KOSICE, Slovakia -- A case making its way through the courts in Slovakia is giving a new sense of hope to Europe's most persecuted minority. But it also could be the catalyst that unleashes the Roma people's many decades of pent-up frustration. The number of Roma (Gypsies) in the European Union roughly tripled in January, when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, making the outcome of this case consequential for all Europeans - as it should be for people everywhere who care about justice.

TURIN, Italy -- Because Slovakia was not considered one of the "Big Six" powers at the 1998 or 2002 Olympics, it had to play a preliminary round to get into the main draw. Each time it was eliminated before the stars from Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic arrived. With a new format that eliminated the pre-Games games, Slovakia is showing it can play with - and beat - the big boys. Slovakia's 2-1 victory over the U.S. yesterday, played before a rollicking crowd under the arched roof of the cozy Torino Esposizioni, put the speedy and skillful team atop Group B with a 3-0-0 record.

Croatia won its first Davis Cup title yesterday in Bratislava, Slovakia, with Mario Ancic beating Michal Mertinak of Slovakia, 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-4, in the decisive fifth match. Dominik Hrbaty had pulled Slovakia even at 2-2 by defeating an ailing Ivan Ljubicic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Ancic then downed Mertinak to clinch the best-of-five series between two first-time finalists. Goran Ivanisevic, who came out of retirement for the final, added the Davis Cup championship to his 2001 Wimbledon title.

Carol "Lenka" Katz, who survived the Nazi persecutions in Slovakia with an assumed identity and with assistance from Christian friends who hid her and her baby son, died July 6 of complications from an infection at a hospital in Jerusalem. The former Northwest Baltimore resident was 95. Carol Leah Bernstein was born into a Hasidic family in Bardiov, a small town in eastern Slovakia, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After graduating from high school and a business school, she went to work as a secretary for an industrial firm in Bratislava.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- For the first time since Slovakia was created in 1993 from the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia, its voters yesterday chose their president by direct election.While the vote was new, the two leading candidates were not. The front-runner, Rudolf Schuster, 65, is the official candidate of the four-party coalition government, a political veteran who was the Communist leader of parliament, served after the anti-Communist revolution of 1989 as Czechoslovakia's ambassador to Canada and is the widely respected mayor of the eastern Slovak town of Kosice.