SLOVAKIA

Karim Adeyemi starred as Borussia Dortmund has run riot against Celtic while Barcelona and Manchester City claimed their first wins in the restructured Champions League.

Soldiers have dropped sandbags from military helicopters to reinforce river embankments and evacuated residents as the worst flooding in years spreads across Central Europe.

England star Jude Bellingham is being investigated by UEFA over a potentially offensive gesture made during a European Championship win against Slovakia.

England has advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Championship after Jude Bellingham scored a stunning overhead kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time to spark a 2-1 comeback win after extra time against Slovakia.

Slovakia’s transport minister says a collision between a EuroCity train with a bus in the south of the country that left seven people dead might have been caused by human error.

Officials in Slovakia says that a train traveling from the Czech capital of Prague to the Hungarian capital of Budapest collided with a bus in southern Slovakia, leaving at least six people dead and five injured.

Slovakia’s Parliament has approved a package of legislation meant to boost security for leading politicians and others following an assassination attempt on populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Kylian Mbappé got some rest ahead of the European Championship.

Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico says he believes he was targeted for having a Ukraine position contrary to the European mainstream but bears no malice toward the gunman who seriously wounded him three weeks ago.

The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been ordered to remain behind bars.

When a gunman shot Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico this week, shock rippled across the Central European country — even though the pro-Russia leader himself warned that the country was so divided that an assassination attempt was possible.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was gravely injured in an apparent assassination attempt that rocked the small country and the rest of Europe just weeks before an election.

Slovak authorities charged a man with attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Robert Fico, saying he acted alone in a politically motivated attack that left the longtime leader in serious but stable condition.

A pro-Western career diplomat and a close ally of Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico are facing each other in a presidential runoff to determine who will be the country's next head of state.

Police in Italy, Austria, Romania and Slovakia have arrested 22 people as part of an investigation into the suspected theft of hundreds millions of euros in post-pandemic relief funds from the European Union.

A pro-western career diplomat has defeated a close ally of Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico in the first round of the presidential election to set up a runoff vote between the two.

The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia says the four Central European countries are deeply divided over Russia's war against Ukraine and how to resolve the conflict.

Thousands have rallied in dozens of cities and towns across Slovakia to mark the sixth anniversary of the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee amid a wave of anti-government protests.

It has been two years since hockey at the Beijing Olympics went ahead without NHL players because of COVID-19 pandemic-related scheduling issues.

It might be an impossible task but new Napoli coach Francesco Calzona has taken over the defending Serie A champion 48 hours before facing Barcelona in the Champions League.

Juraj Slafkovsky became the top pick in the 2022 NHL draft in part because he showed in the months leading up that he could score goals with an impeccable release.

Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek have clinched a spot for the United States in the Davis Cup Finals group round by winning the doubles match against Ukraine for an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five-match qualifying series in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of major cities in Slovakia to renew their protests against plans by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to amend the country’s penal code.

A populist former prime minister of Slovakia who plans to end the country’s military support for Ukraine has signed a coalition agreement with the leaders of two other parties to form a new government.

Slovakia’s president says she will not seek re-election in next year’s presidential vote.

The leaders of nine central and eastern European countries say NATO allies should aim at further boosting their support for Ukraine and for its aspiration to become a member of the alliance.

The Czech government has approved a Defense Ministry plan to acquire 246 CV90 armoured combat vehicles as part of a massive modernisation of the military amid the Russian war in Ukraine.

A court in Slovakia has acquitted for a second time a businessman accused of masterminding the 2018 slaying of an investigative journalist and his fiancée.

Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova has sworn in a government of technocrats to lead the country to snap elections in September amid a political crisis.

Slovakia has delivered the remaining nine of the 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets that it promised to Ukraine.

The head of Slovakia’s central bank has been convicted of bribery and fined 100,000 euros.

Slovakia's Defense Ministry says the first four of 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets that Slovakia decided to give Ukraine have been safely handed over to the Ukrainian air force.

President Joe Biden met with Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar on Friday at the White House where dye turned the north lawn fountain green for the occasion.

Officials in the Czech Republic say the government will end checks on the country’s border with Slovakia that were renewed last year amid a new increase in migration.

A nationwide referendum in Slovakia on amending the constitution to make possible an early election has failed to produce a legally binding result because the turnout was too low.

A musical manuscript handwritten by Ludwig van Beethoven is getting returned to the heirs of the richest family in pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, whose members had to flee the country to escape the Holocaust.

The leaders of four Central European countries are holding a summit in Slovakia to discuss energy, migration and regional cooperation.

Austria says it will start checks at its border crossings with Slovakia following a similar decision by the Czech Republic.

The Czech government has decided to renew checks at its border with Slovakia amid a new wave of migration.

Slovakia’s president has sworn in new ministers who replaced their predecessors from a junior coalition partner that withdrew from the governing four-party coalition that left Prime Minister Eduard Heger without a parliamentary majority.

Poland and Czechia have signed an agreement to protect Slovak airspace as Slovakia gives up its old Soviet-made MiG-29 jets.

Oil shipments from Russia through a critical pipeline to Czechia have resumed after more than a week.

Slovakia's economy minister says oil shipments from Russia through a critical pipeline to several European countries have resumed after a problem over transit payments was resolved.

Slovakia's defense minister says his country may consider donating its Soviet-era warplanes to Ukraine.

Russia has reduced natural gas to Europe again as countries have worked to ease their dependence on Russian supplies amid the war in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment Monday on reports that he is planning to visit Ukraine together with his counterparts from France and Italy soon.

Host Finland rallied to beat Latvia 2-1 for a second victory in two games at the ice hockey world championship.

Slovakia and Hungary say they will not support sanctions against Russian energy that the European Union is preparing over the war in Ukraine.

Police in Slovakia say former Prime Minister Robert Fico and his ex-interior minister face criminal charges.

Slovakia has marked the anniversary of the 2018 slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee by unveiling a monument to honor them at a central square in the capital of Bratislava.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says it spoke to the men's hockey team after members were involved in a noisy late-night party at the athletes village.

Slovakia has won its first Olympic hockey medal in the nation’s history.

Slovakia is planning to gradually ease most coronavirus restrictions despite a current record surge of infections caused by the highly transmittable omicron variant.

The United States is out of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics in stunning fashion after blowing a late lead.

The top-seeded United States will face Slovakia in the quarterfinals of the men's hockey tournament at the Beijing Olympics.

Slovakia’s parliament and president have approved a defense military treaty with the United States.

Thousands of Slovaks have rallied to protest a defense military treaty between their nation and the United States, which are both NATO members.

Slovakia has limited access to what the government considers the most risky events and public gatherings as the country gets ready for the highly infectious omicron coronavirus variant.

Slovakia’s Parliament has approved a plan to give people 60 and older up to 300 euros ($339) if they are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Slovakia’s government has proposed a plan to give people 60 and older a 500-euro ($568) bonus if they get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Slovak government has approved a two-week national lockdown amid a record surge of coronavirus infections.

The leaders of three Central European countries on Tuesday expressed their support for Poland in an ongoing migration crisis on its eastern border with Belarus.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia have both reported record daily new coronavirus cases.

Slovakia is planning to limit movement of the non-vaccinated people in an effort to tame the latest wave of coronavirus infections that has caused a “critical” situation in the country’s hospitals.

Coronavirus cases have soared to a new record high in Slovakia, with some hospitals having to move COVID-19 patients elsewhere in the country because they couldn’t take any more.

Slovakia has expanded strict coronavirus restrictions to nearly half of the country amid a record surge of infections.

Croatian authorities will limit gatherings and widen the use of COVID-19 passes to curb soaring infections after the numbers of infected people reached new records again on Friday.

Slovakia has reimposed coronavirus restrictions in the hardest-hit parts of the country amid the latest surge of infections.

The Greek prime minister's pet dog Peanut has briefly interrupted a news conference attended by the visiting prime minister of Slovakia.

Pope Francis says Catholic bishops must minister to politicians who back abortion with “compassion and tenderness,” not condemnation.

Pope Francis is urging Slovakians look out for the neediest among them as he wraps up his four-day pilgrimage.

Pope Francis is urging Slovakia’s Roma to integrate better into the mainstream as he meets with the country’s most socially excluded minority group, who have long suffered discrimination, marginalization and poverty.

Pope Francis is paying a visit next week to a neighborhood in Slovakia most Slovaks would not even think about going, where until recently even the police would avoid after dark.

Xander Schauffele has won the Olympic gold medal in golf in a tense finish.

It always felt like a set piece would settle a tough-to-watch European Championship match between Sweden and Slovakia.

Slovakia coach Stefan Tarkovic says defender Denis Vavro and a member of the team’s coaching staff have tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the European Championship match against Sweden.

Slovakia capitalized on a second-half red card and got a goal from Milan Skriniar in a 2-1 victory over Poland at the European Championship.

Foreign ministers of Europe's four Visegrad countries discussed cooperation to boost national economies and tourism after the pandemic.

The U.S. 7th Fleet that operates throughout the Indo-Pacific says more than 14,000 of its service members have received their full doses of the coronavirus vaccine, which it began administering on January 5.

The Czech government has agreed to start easing its tight lockdown in one of the hardest-hit European countries and will allow at least some children to return to school.

Vials of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine sit in the pharmacy of National Jewish Hospital for distribution early Saturday, March 6, 2021, in east Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)DETROIT — People who are homeless will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan starting Monday. The single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the two-shot Moderna vaccine are approved for individuals 18 and older. But Limassol city authorities aren’t letting the festive spirit completely wither away, organizing some events that comply with virus restrictions. Ad___COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka has received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX program.

Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine arrives at Kosice Airport, Slovakia, on Monday March 1, 2021. In the meantime, dozens of countries have already authorized Sputnik V for use — including EU member Hungary — and many have agreed to purchase millions of doses of the shot. “No talks are ongoing between negotiation teams and the producers, or institutes, or companies or organizations behind the Sputnik vaccine,” said Stefan De Keersmaecker, the Commission’s health policy spokesman. AdThe RDIF has been pushing for the EMA to review Sputnik V for months, with Dmitriev first announcing an application to the European regulator in November. But unlike AstraZeneca’s two-dose vaccine, Sputnik V uses a slightly different adenovirus for the second booster shot, a factor that some scientists say may account for its apparently high efficacy rate.

Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine arrives at Kosice Airport, Slovakia, Monday March 1, 2021. Hard-hit Slovakia signed a deal to acquire 2 million dozes of Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. The country's prime minister says Slovakia will get one million shots in next two months while another million will arrive in May and June. (Frantisek Ivan/TASR via AP)PRAGUE – Slovakia signed a deal to acquire 2 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, Prime Minister Igor Matovic said Monday. Matovic’s coalition government originally rejected a plan to acquire Sputnik V on Feb 18 after one of his four coalition partners vetoed the move.

It plans to bring about 280 million doses to the Americas and the Caribbean by the end of the year. As of Monday, nearly 4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered, including to some 1.4 million people who have received a second dose. The country has fully vaccinated 1.2 million people while 2.6 million have received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. ___BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Hard-hit Slovakia has signed a deal to acquire 2 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. He said he understood the “conundrum” faced by developing countries as they wait for vital supplies of coronavirus vaccine.

(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)WARSAW – Central European leaders pushed Wednesday for faster deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines from every reliable manufacturer to speed up inoculations which they said is the way to conquer the pandemic and jump-start Europe’s economic recovery. The leaders of Hungary, Slovakia and Poland said they support purchasing vaccines from manufacturers regardless of “geopolitics” provided they are safe and effective. Hungary is the European Union's first and so far only member state to administer Russia's Sputnik V vaccine without waiting for approval from the European Medicines Agency. “There is no Eastern or Western vaccine, there is only a good or a bad vaccine,” Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a news conference in Krakow, Poland. European Council President Charles Michel, who attended the celebrations, said EU leaders will discuss next week ways of increasing vaccine production and of speeding up inoculations.

(Frantisek Ivan/TASR via AP)PRAGUE – Slovakia has become the nation with most COVID-19 deaths by size of population in the world amid a surge of cases from a highly contagious coronavirus variant. AdEarlier this month, the Slovakian government announced the fast-spreading coronavirus variant first found in southern England had become dominant in the Central European country. Researchers have also found that the variant dominant in the U.K. is also more deadly than the original virus. AdAnother 111 people died in Slovakia of COVID-19 on Monday for a total of 6,063 in the nation of 5.4 million. Majdan said mathematical models suggest that between 9,000 and 11,000 might die of COVID-19 in Slovakia by June, if the current trend continues.

The deep freeze gripping parts of Europe served up fun and frustration with heavy snow cutting power to some 37,000 homes in central Slovakia. The man and three others had made holes in the ice to go ice swimming. But the southern nation is set to join the rest of Europe in the deep freeze in the coming days, with snow possible even in the capital, Athens. Even if the polar conditions persist, a legendary Dutch ice skating race over frozen canals and lakes in the northern Friesland province will not go ahead. A row of twigs jutting out of the frozen surface served as a warning for dangerously thin ice.

“We owe this to them,” said Erika Jakubovits, who organized the capital vaccination drive for the Jewish Community of Vienna. In a similar project to that in Vienna, the Jewish community of Bratislava in Slovakia also vaccinated Holocaust survivors on Wednesday. Because Israel's vaccination campaign has moved so quickly, officials said there was no need to single out Holocaust survivors. Still, about 900 Holocaust survivors died of COVID-19 in Israel last year before vaccines were available and about 5,300 survivors were infected, according to Israel's national statistics office. With World War II having ended more than three-quarters of a century ago, the world’s approximately 240,000 Holocaust survivors are all elderly.

A Chinese province grappling with a spike in coronavirus cases is reinstating tight restrictions on weddings, funerals and other family gatherings, threatening violators with criminal charges. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)BEIJING — China is now dealing with coronavirus outbreaks across its frigid northeast, prompting additional lockdowns and travel bans. ___WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming White House press secretary says his administration does not intend to lift coronavirus travel restrictions for Europe, the U.K., Ireland and Brazil. ___MADRID — Spain’s Health Ministry has confirmed 84,287 new known coronavirus cases since Friday amid a post-Christmas virus surge. He said 21 people had died from the virus in the past three days, bringing the colony's total virus deaths to 45 since the start of the pandemic.

(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia is launching a project to test almost all citizens for the coronavirus in nine days. Brazil currently has 6 million doses of Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine ready to distribute in the next few days, and is awaiting the arrival of another 2 million doses of the vaccine made by AstraZeneca and partner Oxford University. Friends and family described their deep connection and said they had been planning to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. That dilemma faces nations in southeastern Europe, where coronavirus vaccination campaigns are off to a slow start — overshadowed by heated political debates and conspiracy theories. ___BEIJING — China on Sunday reported 109 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, two-thirds of them in a northern province that abuts Beijing, and no deaths.

On Tuesday Jan. 12, 2021, an appeals court in Slovakia upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a businessman allegedly linked to the slaying of an investigative journalist in Slovakia to 19 years in prison in a separate case of forgery. A court in the town of Pezinok sentenced the two to the same prison terms in February and the country's Supreme Court confirmed on Tuesday the verdict, which is final. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)BRATISLAVA – An appeals court in Slovakia upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a businessman allegedly linked to the slaying of an investigative journalist in Slovakia to 19 years in prison in a separate case of forgery. A court in the town of Pezinok sentenced the two to the same prison terms in February and the country’s Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed the verdict, which is final. Prosecutors appealed the verdict, but the Supreme Court has yet to rule on that.

Slovakia's Petra Vlhova celebrates as she arrives at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup Slalom, in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. All rights reservedZAGREB – Petra Vlhova won the first women’s World Cup slalom of 2021 on Sunday, five days after her four-year-long joint winning streak with Mikaela Shiffrin ended. In tough conditions due to fog and rain, the overall leader from Slovakia beat Katharina Liensberger of Austria by five-hundredths of a second. At a night race in Semmering last Tuesday, Michelle Gisin became the first skier other than Vlhova or Shiffrin to win a World Cup slalom in 29 races since January 2017, when Frida Hansdotter triumphed in Flachau. Vlhova and Gisin are 1-2 in both the slalom and the overall standings.

Cable cars are blown by strong winds during a pause of an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Semmering, Austria, Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. All rights reservedSEMMERING – A women's World Cup giant slalom was canceled following the opening run Monday after increasingly strong winds destroyed parts the finish area. “It's a really dangerous thing, even just staying in the finish area,” said the International Ski Federation's race director, Peter Gerdol. “We will need the whole morning to reset the finish area,” Gerdol said. Petra Vlhova posted the fastest time, two years after the GS world champion from Slovakia won her first race in the discipline on the same Zauberberg course.

___SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has topped 80 million. ___ATHENS, Greece — Greek health authorities announced 262 new infections from the coronavirus over the 24 hours ending Saturday afternoon. ___MOSCOW — Russia’s Health Ministry has allowed a domestically designed coronavirus vaccine to be given to people older than 60. All four of the infected people are in good health, authorities said. Japan had 3,823 new cases Friday for a national total of 213,547, with 3,155 deaths, the health ministry said.

(AP Photo/Lewis Joly)MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, has loosened lockdown restrictions as new and active COVID-19 continue to decline. Victoria state reported only two new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and no deaths. The total number of cases on the reservation is now 10,913. Nine new deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths associated with the virus to 8,466. There are 106,503 total cases reported since the pandemic began in March and 1,168 deaths due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, left, meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of a conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. Greek and Turkish officials say the ministers agreed to set a date for the start of a new round of exploratory talks between the two. Turkey’s foreign ministry released a short video of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusloglu meeting on the sidelines of the Globsec Forum in Bratislava. “We agreed that the exploratory and confidence-building talks should take place in the period ahead of us,” Cavusloglu said, adding that as host of the meeting, Turkey would be suggesting some dates. A Greek diplomatic official said the two agreed to set a date for the exploratory talks.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – The Latest from the French Open (all times local):___11:10 p.m.Danielle Collins grabbed the last four games to come back and beat 2016 champion Garbiñe Muguruza 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the last third-round singles match at the French Open. Next up for Djokovic as he pursues a second French Open title and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall: No. ___4:20 p.m.Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the fourth round at the French Open for the second year in a row. He came through the qualifying tournament to reach the French Open main draw. ___1:10 p.m.Andrey Rublev advanced to the French Open fourth round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win against the unseeded South African Kevin Anderson.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – The Latest from the French Open (all times local):___9:35 p.m.American teenager Coco Gauff’s French Open debut has ended in the second round after she double-faulted 19 times in a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 loss to 159th-ranked qualifier Martina Trevisan. Stefano Travaglia beat the Japanese player 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-2 in the second round of the French Open after nearly four hours. 2-seeded Spaniard is looking to win his record-extending 13th French Open title and equal Roger Federer’s men’s record of 20 major titles overall. ___2:55 p.m.U.S. Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka is out of the French Open in the second round. They said it was "a fighter plane which has broken the sound barrier.”___12 p.m.Serena Williams is out of the French Open.

(AP Photo/YK Chan)WASHINGTON — Federal health officials are extending the U.S. ban on cruise ships through the end of October amid reports of recent outbreaks of the new coronavirus on ships overseas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that it was extending a no-sail order on cruise ships with the capacity to carry at least 250 passengers. In the 24 hours since 10 a.m. Tuesday, the state reported 1,048 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 88,555. Oklahoma is in the red zone for virus cases, meaning 101 or more new cases per 100,000 population, with a rate of 201 new cases per 100,000. The number of reported coronavirus cases in the state increased by 980 on Wednesday and there were 13 additional deaths due to COVID-19, the health department said.

(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)PERTH, Australia — Authorities are concerned by a COVID-19 outbreak aboard a cargo ship off Australia's northwest coast that has infected most of the crew. The Bluegrass State had nearly 5,000 coronavirus cases last week — the most in a single week since the pandemic began, Gov. In recent weeks, Kentucky has repeatedly set record highs for weekly virus cases. New York has reported just over 11,500 new coronavirus infections over the past two weeks. Italy added 1,494 coronavirus infections and 16 deaths to its confirmed COVID toll Monday, in line with its daily increase for the past few weeks.