Slovaks keep up protests against Fico and mark anniversary of journalist’s murder
Bratislava, Slovakia Reuters Thousands rallied in Bratislava and other Slovak cities on Friday calling for Prime Minister Robert Fico to resign and keeping up protests against a foreign policy that critics say pulls the country closer to Russia. Protests have happened every other week since early January, sparked by a December meeting between Fico and […]
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy hits back at Slovak PM Fico as gas transit dispute deepens
Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday of opening a “second energy front” against Ukraine on the orders of Russia, as a gas transit dispute between the countries deepened. Ukraine pumps Russian natural gas through its territory to several European countries including Slovakia, but it is expected to halt […]
Floods claim more lives as torrential rain pounds central Europe
Jesenik, Czech Republic/Warsaw, Poland Reuters The death toll from flooding in central Europe rose to eight on Sunday as thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in the Czech Republic following days of torrential rain that caused rivers to burst their banks in several parts of the region. A low-pressure system named Boris has […]
Floods in Romania kill at least four people as rain batters central Europe
Visnova, Czech Republic Reuters At least four people died and thousands of homes were damaged by flooding in eastern Romania on Saturday, officials said, as surging river levels put authorities on alert in much of central and eastern Europe following days of torrential rain. Tens of thousands of households were left without power in Romania […]
Eastern Europe’s armies struggle to enlist young people with war not far away
Valec, Czech Republic Reuters As instructors shout commands, dozens of students taking part in a pilot Czech army program aimed at boosting flagging enlistment numbers crawl through forest scrub carrying combat rifles and learning proper shooting positions. Like most former Soviet-satellite states now in NATO, the Czech Republic has missed recruitment targets for years and […]
Slovak PM Fico’s attacker may not have acted alone, says minister
Bratislava/Banksa Bystrica, Slovakia Reuters The suspect in an assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico may not have been just a “lone wolf” as previously believed, the interior minister said on Sunday, as security services try to shed light on an attack that sent shockwaves through Europe. Fico is no longer in immediate danger […]
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico still in serious condition, officials say
Banksa Bystrica, Slovakia Reuters Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in serious condition and still faces risks of complications but has stabilised, officials said on Saturday, following Wednesday’s assassination attempt. The Prime Minister, 59, was shot at five times at point-blank range in an attack that sent shockwaves through Europe and raised concerns over the […]
Anger, anxiety, acrimony: Slovaks weigh what led to Fico shooting
Hanlova/Bratislava, Slovakia Reuters Slovak opposition party leader Michal Simecka, who described an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico this week as an attack on democracy, said on Friday he that his wife and child had received death threats. His experience is not uncommon, a measure of the extreme political and personal animosities in Slovakia […]
Slovak PM Fico in serious but stable condition, can speak a little, says ally
Bratislava/Banksa Bystrica, Slovakia ( Reuters Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in a serious but stable condition and is able to speak a little, the country’s President-elect said on Thursday, a day after an assassination attempt that sent shock waves across Europe. The shooting was the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader […]
Essay: Robert Fico – why the attempted assassination of Slovakian Prime Minister could fuel the information war between Russia and Europe
MICHAEL TOOMEY, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at the context surrounding the shooting of Slovakia’s Prime Minister this week…