Category Archives: Slovakia

Czech Republic to suspend talks with Slovakia over Russia ties

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Slovakian foreign minister criticises ‘double standards’ in the reaction to his meeting with Sergei Lavrov

Slovakia’s foreign minister has defended a controversial decision to meet his Russian counterpart, after the Czech Republic announced it was suspending intergovernmental consultations with Bratislava amid concerns it is shifting away from western policy on supporting Ukraine.

In a statement emailed to the Guardian on Thursday, Juraj Blanár, who recently met Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in Turkey, hit out at “double standards”, noting that some other Nato foreign ministers had also engaged with the Russian minister.

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EU told Slovakia that its reforms risked ‘irreparable damage’ to rule of law

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Warnings about legislation scrapping anti-corruption office and lowering penalties were ignored

Brussels told Slovakia it risked doing “irreparable damage” to the rule of law, it has emerged, before the country’s MPs approved legal reforms that critics say are aimed at protecting the prime minister’s political and business allies.

The Slovakian news outlet SME reported on Wednesday that the European commissioner for justice, Didier Reynders, had written last week to Robert Fico’s government urging it not to fast-track the legislative package through parliament.

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‘You will not replace us’: a deadly attack on a Slovakian gay bar – and its link to a fast-spreading racist ideology

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Fifteen months after two men were shot in Bratislava, evidence suggests the killer may have been helped by an unidentified US-based extremist

The October evening was warm and sunny. At about 7pm, two young men stepped out of the Tepláreň bar on Zámocká Street in the centre of Bratislava, to sit on a concrete bench and drink lemonade. Matúš, 23, had just arrived in the Slovakian capital to study Chinese. His 26-year-old friend worked in a local clothes shop and enjoyed anime, K-pop and dance.

Standing in an alcove a few metres away was Juraj Krajčík. The 19-year-old had been loitering for about half an hour, witnesses later said. Shortly after the two patrons of the Tepláreň sat down, Krajčík stepped forward, raised a .45-calibre handgun and fired several shots at them. Then he turned and ran, gun in hand.

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Slovakian PM criticised over plan to scrap corruption prosecutor

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Critics of Robert Fico fear aim is to halt investigations into individuals connected to ruling Smer party

Slovakia’s populist new prime minister, Robert Fico, has been accused of promoting a “poisonous” plan to undercut prosecutors working on sensitive corruption cases.

Fico, a controversial figure known for railing against independent media and criticising military aid to Ukraine, has announced plans to scrap the special prosecutor’s office, an institution that deals with cases of high-level corruption and organised crime.

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Geert Wilders’ victory confirms upward trajectory of far right in Europe

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Dutch general election results show how populist and far-right parties are advancing into political mainstream

Geert Wilders’ shock victory in the Dutch general election confirms the upward trajectory of Europe’s populist and far-right parties, which – with the occasional setback – are continuing their steady march into the mainstream.

There is no guarantee that Wilders, whose anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) won 37 seats in Wednesday’s ballot – more than twice its 2021 total – will be able to form a government with a majority in the Netherlands’ 150-seat parliament.

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Slovakian prime minister sparks alarm with threat to restrict media

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Robert Fico describes leading broadcasters and newspapers as hostile and says they are ‘unwelcome guests at government office’

Slovakian journalists and international watchdogs have expressed alarm after the new prime minister, Robert Fico, described leading media outlets as hostile and threatened to restrict their access.

Fico, who took over as Slovakia’s leader in October as part of a coalition government led by his populist Smer party, said this week that some of the country’s biggest outlets were not welcome in his office.

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Slovakia’s pro-Russia former PM Robert Fico invited to form coalition

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Three-time former prime minister, who promised to end military aid to Ukraine, expected to seek deal with two other parties

Slovakia’s president has asked Robert Fico, a populist, pro-Russian three-time former prime minister who campaigned on a promise to end military aid to Ukraine, to try to form a coalition government after his party came top in weekend elections.

President Zuzana Čaputová stressed on Monday that the new government would have to be one “which will serve all citizens”, saying the coming days would be “a time of political negotiation” not just between parties but between her and party leaders.

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Who is Robert Fico, the pro-Russian leader poised to head Slovakia’s coalition government?

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Leadership of populist three-time PM could have ramifications for Ukraine, EU and Slovakia’s rule of law

Slovakia’s president, Zuzana Caputova, on Monday handed the country’s former prime minister Robert Fico a mandate to start negotiations to form a coalition government after his Smer-SD party won almost 23% of the vote in weekend elections.

If he succeeds, the populist, pro-Russian leader’s fourth term as prime minister could have significant ramifications for Slovakia’s military support for Ukraine, EU unity and cohesion, and the rule of law in the central European country.

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Slovakia election: pro-Moscow former PM on course to win with almost all votes counted

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Robert Fico’s Smer party moves ahead of Progressive Slovakia in vote that could fuel fears about future foreign policy stance

The Smer party, led by the populist former prime minister Robert Fico, was on course to win Slovakia’s election on Sunday, garnering more support than its rival Progressive Slovakia in a dramatic knife-edge race.

With almost all votes counted, Smer was poised to take nearly 23% of the vote. Michal Šimečka’s Progressive Slovakia (PS) came second with close to 18%, followed by Peter Pellegrini’s Hlas with 14%.

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Slovakia election 2023: exit poll shows Progressives in lead but Smer ahead in early counts – live

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Election could decide whether country sticks with liberal, pro-western line or begins to lean more towards Russia

Slovakia’s election day in pictures

“There is a real concern that after the vote Slovakia could become some sort of Trojan horse of Russia in the EU and NATO,” said Andrej Matisak, a journalist at Slovak daily Pravda.

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Slovakia election: polls open in knife-edge vote with Ukraine high on agenda

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Election could decide whether country sticks with liberal, pro-western line or begins to lean more towards Russia

Voting has started in a knife-edge election in Slovakia that could decide whether the country sticks with its liberal, pro-western line or abandons its staunch support for neighbouring Ukraine to lean more towards Moscow.

After a virulent campaign that has included physical brawls and amid a wave of online disinformation, the populist, nationalist three-time prime minister Robert Fico and his Smer-SD party were neck and neck with the newcomers Progressive Slovakia heading into the vote, with PS just ahead in two of the final four opinion polls.

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Feline uncertain? Cats do give clues if the fur’s about to fly, study finds

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Study of 105 pairs of interacting felines decodes the cat behaviour that puzzles humans – and flags up the unsubtle battle cry of claws and yowling

When cats get together it can be difficult to tell rough and tumble play from a full-blown scrap. Now researchers say they have decoded feline behaviour to help owners spot when the fur might be about to fly.

Dr Noema Gajdoš‑Kmecová, first author of the research from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, in Košice, Slovakia – a cat owner herself – said understanding feline interactions could be difficult.

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UK battles to keep Jaguar Land Rover’s planned EV production

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Britain lagging behind in race to build vital large-scale and local battery factories

Britain is locked in a battle to hold on to production of Jaguar Land Rover’s future range of electric vehicles as concerns grow that the UK is falling behind in the race to build vital large-scale battery factories.

The company, which is owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, said it continued to “explore all options” for battery supply amid reports it could build electric cars in eastern Europe.

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Ukraine: UN says more than 1.3 million have fled since Russian invasion began

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United Nations calling exodus Europe’s fastest-moving refugee crisis since end of second world war

More than 1.3 million Ukrainians have crossed borders since the Russian invasion started on the 24 February in what the United Nations is now calling Europe’s fastest-moving refugee crisis since the end of the second world war.

Figures released today by the United Nation’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) show that to date 1.37 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring European countries after the military offensive ordered by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

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As 1.3 million people flee, Ukraine’s refugee crisis is only just beginning

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Analysis: despite the EU’s solidarity in helping those escaping war, aid agencies are overwhelmed with many people stuck at borders

Just over a week after Russian rockets first began to slam into Ukraine, more than 1.3 million people have fled over the borders of neighbouring European countries into a frightening and uncertain future. What we are witnessing, the United Nations has warned, is the largest refugee crisis in a century.

All week, the world has watched families fighting to board trains in chaotic crowds, fathers kissing their children goodbye through car windows, and seen the shock and exhaustion on the faces of those who have made it to safety.

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Germany ‘at crossroads’ as Covid cases surge across Europe

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Urgent measures needed to avoid ‘chaos’, warns expert, as Spain, Portugal and Netherlands tighten rules

Germany’s top health officials have raised the prospect of a national lockdown, warning that a rapidly rising number of coronavirus cases and a dramatic increase in the number of patients in intensive care meant contact reduction was the only way of tackling the crisis and avoiding “the road to chaos”.

“We need a massive contact reduction immediately,” said Prof Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s federal disease control agency.

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Covid live news: cases increase in 75% of UK local authorities; France reports sharp rise in cases

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Latest updates: Torridge in Devon had the highest rate in UK followed by Mid Ulster in Northern Ireland; France reports over 30,000 cases

Here’s the latest from Reuters on the situation in Germany, where the acting health minister called on Tuesday for further restrictions to contain a “dramatic” surge in coronavirus cases as the country’s infection rate hit a record high and the United States advised against travel there.

The seven-day incidence rate - the number of people per 100,000 to be infected over the last week - hit 399.8 on Tuesday, up from 386.5 on Monday, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

Access to healthcare is expensive and, in an emergency, villagers are forced to walk for hours to the nearest health facility. For women, the lack of facilities, combined with patriarchal attitudes, means they have had no control over their reproductive health. But Communities Health Africa Trust (Chat) organises mobile healthcare outreach to poorly served communities such as Lekiji. Chat identifies vulnerable communities with limited access to health facilities and significant family planning needs, and brings health provision and education to their door.

Lack of roads is no barrier to their work. If they cannot reach the communities by car, they switch to an older form of transport: camel. In the past three years Chat has reached more than 100,000 people with behaviour-changing messages that focus on family planning but include TB, HIV and Covid prevention services across 14 counties in Kenya.

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Flying car makes successful test run between airports in Slovakia – video

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A flying car is seen completing its first intercity flight in Slovakia. The prototype, called AirCar, takes off from Nitra airport and lands in Bratislava 35 minutes later. Using wings that fold away in less than three minutes and a propeller at its rear, the dual-transportation vehicle has now completed more than 40 hours of test flight

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