Slovakia

World Cup 2010: SLOVAKIA FIFA ranking: 33 Overall World Cup record: 0-0-0 Coach: Vladimir Weiss Best performance: Debut Overview: South Africa 2010 is Slovakia's first appearance in a major international tournament since the breakup of the former Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s. Weiss started on the Czechoslovakia team that thrashed the U.S., 5-1, at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, and his 20-year-old son, also named Vladimir, is a key player on the squad as an attack-minded winger.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined and suspended boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Thursday over a failed drug test last year before a Mexican Independence Day fight in Las Vegas. The popular 27-year-old fighter, who's the son of a famous boxer by the same name, tested positive for marijuana in September after his first professional loss. Chavez (46-1-1) was suspended for nine months from the date of the fight and fined $900,000, which amounts to 30% of his $3-million purse for the bout against Sergio Martinez . Chavez, who spoke by phone from Mexico, said through an interpreter that he was sorry for his actions and had taken the drug to curb his stress eight or nine days before the much-anticipated fight.

If you go THE BEST WAY TO BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA From LAX , connecting service (change of planes) begins on Turkish Air to Lufthansa or to UTair. The final leg of the trip is on UTair. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $960, including taxes. TELEPHONES To call the numbers below from the U.S. dial 011 (the international dialing code), 421 (the country code for Slovakia) and the number. WHAT TO DO Slovak National Gallery-Water Barracks, 2 Razusovo nabrezie, 2 5443 2081.

While the NHL and the players' association continue to exchange proposals in an effort to resolve their labor dispute and start a 48-game season by the league's Jan. 19 deadline, the world junior championships are winding toward a dramatic conclusion in Ufa, Russia. Team USA, which routed the Czech Republic, 7-0, in a quarterfinal game played early Wednesday morning Pacific time, will face Canada in a semifinal Thursday. The game will start at 1 a.m. Pacific time and will air on the NHL Network and stream live on Nhl.com.

Finland rallied from a two-goal third-period deficit to beat Slovakia 5-3 at Canada Hockey Place to win the bronze and deny Slovakia its first Olympic medal in any team sport. The fourth-place finish is Slovakia's best Olympic result. "It's just a tough pill to swallow," Marian Hossa said, "because I thought we had an unbelievable tournament, and we should be proud of ourselves, but the result is not what we wanted." Olli Jokinen scored two goals for Finland, while Slovakia fell despite a goal and assist from Hossa.

Slovakia is closing its air space due to the volcanic ash cloud drifting from Iceland. Air Navigation Services spokeswoman Aniko Fodorova says the country's air space will be closed from 3 p.m. Friday. Fodorova says the closure is expected to remain in place until Sunday evening. Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic plans to travel by car to Krakow, Poland, for Sunday's state funeral of late President Lech Kaczynski.

Group F New Zealand vs. Slovakia, Rustenburg Time: 4:30 a.m. PDT. T V: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision; Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5, KDLD-FM/KDLE-FM 103.1 New Zealand will have to look to someone other than Coach Ricki Herbert for a rousing pep talk before its World Cup opener. "We could play the best we've ever done," Herbert said, "and lose all three matches." Not exactly inspirational — but true. Older and more experienced than previous All Whites squads, the Kiwis nevertheless look to be outclassed here.

A frail Pope John Paul II struggled through a long Mass on a wind-swept hill Saturday, speaking to tens of thousands of Roman Catholic Slovaks as well as many of his fellow Poles who crossed the border fearing it would be the last time they would see him. Nearing the end of a grueling four-day pilgrimage, the 83-year-old pope often slumped in his chair, slurred his words and lost his place in the text. John Paul's voice was weak and his hand trembled as he addressed the crowd.

Bodies and sticks and skates flew at Roberto Luongo while an entire nation tensed, praying there would be no deflection or bounce that would knock the puck into the net and wrest Team Canada's ticket to the Olympic gold-medal game out of its sweaty grasp. Slovakia, cautious for too long Friday in its semifinal game against the host nation, had charged within a hair's breadth of a titanic upset. "It was the most fun I've ever had," Luongo said, smiling. His enjoyment was soon shared by all of Canada, which watched him get his glove on a point-blank shot by his Canucks teammate Pavol Demitra in the dying seconds to preserve a 3-2 victory and set up a championship match between Canada and the U.S. at noon Sunday.

Lawmakers in Slovakia on Tuesday rejected a proposal to beef up Europe's bailout fund for debt-stressed nations, but supporters are hopeful that the measure will pass in a second vote expected to take place within days. The ruling coalition of Prime Minister Iveta Radicova collapsed after failing to gather enough votes from the Slovak parliament in favor of the measure, an outcome she had warned would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence in her government. The plan for a strengthened bailout fund, which is widely seen as imperative for Europe to tame its growing debt crisis, was torpedoed in parliament by a junior party within Radicova's coalition.

Stage 6: A flat 129-mile ride from Epernay to Metz across the green vineyards of the Champagne region. Winner: Peter Sagan of Slovakia, who won his third stage victory at this year's Tour after a massive crash 16 miles from the finish thinned the ranks of sprinters, including world champion Mark Cavendish, who finished six minutes behind. Yellow jersey: Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland kept the race leader's jersey for a seventh consecutive day. He leads Bradley Wiggins of Britain by seven seconds.

If you go THE BEST WAY TO BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA From LAX , connecting service (change of planes) begins on Turkish Air to Lufthansa or to UTair. The final leg of the trip is on UTair. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $960, including taxes. TELEPHONES To call the numbers below from the U.S. dial 011 (the international dialing code), 421 (the country code for Slovakia) and the number. WHAT TO DO Slovak National Gallery-Water Barracks, 2 Razusovo nabrezie, 2 5443 2081.

If your destination is Bratislava, be prepared for a few questions: Is that in Eastern Europe? (No, it's in Central Europe.) Capital of Slovenia, right? (Uh, no.) Where is that? (The last question courtesy of a Customs employee at LAX.) Until recently, my schooling on all things Bratislavan occurred during a 20-minute stop on a train traveling from Prague, Czech Republic, to Budapest, Hungary, almost a decade ago. Several travelers boarded; a few disembarked. Some of them flashed passports, suggesting that we had stopped in a different country, in a major European city about which I knew … nothing.

As a certain British super-sleuth might observe, there was nothing elementary about the path that Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer took to bring Gypsy folk music into his soundtrack for "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. " Whether the score earns him an Oscar nomination or not, as the first "Sherlock Holmes" movie did two years ago, Zimmer hopes it will draw attention to the plight of one of the world's most maltreated and marginalized ethnic groups - the Roma people of Eastern Europe, more commonly (and pejoratively)

Slovakia's parliament approved an expansion of the European Union bailout fund, reversing its course and thereby removing the final barrier to using the money to deal with the Eurozone's debt crisis.  Slovakia's parliament approved an expansion of the European Union bailout fund Thursday, reversing its course and thereby removing the final barrier to using the money to deal with the Eurozone's debt crisis. The plan, which needed the support of all 17 Eurozone nations, had been approved by the other 16 when the Slovak parliament said no Tuesday, causing the collapse of the government led by Prime Minister Iveta Radicova and forcing early elections.

Lawmakers in Slovakia on Tuesday rejected a proposal to beef up Europe's bailout fund for debt-stressed nations, but supporters are hopeful that the measure will pass in a second vote expected to take place within days. The ruling coalition of Prime Minister Iveta Radicova collapsed after failing to gather enough votes from the Slovak parliament in favor of the measure, an outcome she had warned would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence in her government. The plan for a strengthened bailout fund, which is widely seen as imperative for Europe to tame its growing debt crisis, was torpedoed in parliament by a junior party within Radicova's coalition.

Slovakia's parliament approved an expansion of the European Union bailout fund, reversing its course and thereby removing the final barrier to using the money to deal with the Eurozone's debt crisis.  Slovakia's parliament approved an expansion of the European Union bailout fund Thursday, reversing its course and thereby removing the final barrier to using the money to deal with the Eurozone's debt crisis. The plan, which needed the support of all 17 Eurozone nations, had been approved by the other 16 when the Slovak parliament said no Tuesday, causing the collapse of the government led by Prime Minister Iveta Radicova and forcing early elections.

Defending champion Spain was eliminated from the Davis Cup on Saturday when Slovakia took an insurmountable 3-0 following a doubles victory at Bratislava, Slovakia. Karol Beck and Michal Mertinak beat Albert Costa and Rafael Nadal, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (8), as Slovakia got to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2000. Spain, which beat the United States to win its second Davis Cup three months ago, was without three top players -- Carlos Moya, Tommy Robredo and Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Following approval by the tiny island of Malta, a crucial plan to beef up Europe's bailout fund for debt-strapped nations now lies in the hands of lawmakers in Slovakia, where the outcome remains up in the air. The Maltese parliament voted unanimously Monday in favor of the plan, which would increase the rescue fund's lending capacity to about $600 billion and enable it to buy government bonds and extend credit lines to distressed banks. European leaders hope the extra firepower will help contain the debt crisis that has rocked both the regional and global economy.

For a man accused of holding an entire continent hostage, Richard Sulik cuts a modest figure. With his shiny pate and geeky glasses, he looks more like a mild-mannered economist than a rough-and-tumble politician. In fact, he's both. But it's as leader of the Freedom and Solidarity party in oft-overlooked Slovakia that Sulik finds himself in the unfamiliar glare of the international spotlight. He has the power, some say, to save Europe's economy or push it over the precipice, with serious consequences for the rest of the world.