Identity crisis
The week's news at a glance.
Bratislava, Slovakia
The prime ministers of Slovakia and Slovenia complained this week that the rest of the world got their two countries confused. Last year, some 5,000 letters addressed to places in Slovenia were mistakenly delivered to Slovakia. When he was campaigning for president in 2000, George W. Bush greeted a Slovenian leader as the Slovak leader. Slovenia is one of five countries that emerged from the breakup of Yugoslavia, while Slovakia is one of two countries created by the split in Czechoslovakia. Slovenian Prime Minister Anton Rop, in Bratislava for an official visit, and Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda admitted some frustration over the confusion, and said they hoped the two countries would raise their international profiles in a few years, after they joined the European Union.
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