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☆ Slovak PM Fico no longer in immediate danger but condition serious, deputy says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is no longer in immediate danger but still in a serious condition, his deputy said on Sunday, four days after an assassination attempt that sent shockwaves through Europe. “We are all a little calmer,” Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak told a news conference outside the hospital where Fico is being treated in the central Slovak town of Banska Bystrica. The prime minister, 59, was hit by four bullets on Wednesday in an attack that raised alarm over the polarized state of politics in the central European country of 5.4 million people. Kalinak told journalists that Fico’s condition was still too serious to consider transferring him to hospital in the capital. Local news media say the suspect is a 71-year-old former security guard at a shopping mall and the author of three collections of poetry.

Persons: Robert Fico, Robert Kalinak, Kalinak, Juraj C Organizations: Reuters, Slovak Locations: Europe, Slovak, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia

☆ Fico assassination attempt exposes risks for politicians in a polarized Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Luke Mcgee | Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The horrific scenes in Slovakia following the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico are a stark and brutal reminder of the dangers facing those who seek public office. Security personnel apprehend a suspected gunman after Slovakia's Prime Minister was shot in Handlova, Slovakia on May 15, 2024. President Zuzana Caputova appoints Robert Fico the new Slovakian prime minister at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 25 October 2023. In 2022, Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s prime minister after running on an anti-immigration, socially conservative ticket. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead in July 2022 as he gave a campaign speech.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, Zuzana Čaputová, ”, George Soros, Čaputová, Fico’s, Zuzana Caputova, Jakub Gavlak, Giorgia Meloni, Covid lockdowns, Jo Cox, DANIEL LEAL, David Amess, Shinzo Abe, Fernando Villavicencio –, – Organizations: CNN, Slovakia's, Getty, Fico, Slovakian, Parliamentary, Parliament, Political, Hamas, British Labour, AFP, Conservative, ISIS, Japanese Locations: Slovakia, Russia, American, Europe, Ukraine, Gaza, Handlova, AFP, Bratislava, Netherlands, Israel, London, Britain

☆ Robert Fico: Slovakia’s prime minister out of ‘life-threatening situation’ following assassination attempt
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, is out of danger after being shot five times and undergoing surgery, officials say, following an assassination attempt that rocked the central European country and sparked global condemnation. Footage from the scene showed the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by his staff, before it speeds away with him inside. undefined — Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico walks during the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on April 18, 2024. Unlike the president, whose role has limited scope, the prime minister holds rank as the decision-making head of government. Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018.

Persons: CNN —, Robert Fico, Fico, Tomáš Taraba, “, Zuzana Čaputová, Kenzo Tribouillard, Šutaj Eštok, ” Fico Organizations: CNN, EU, Getty, Ukraine, Kyiv, NATO, Reuters Locations: Handlova, Banská Bystrica, Brussels, AFP, Slovakia

☆ Live Updates: Attempted Killing of Slovakia’s Leader Shocks a Polarized Nation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

PinnedA day after Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, was critically wounded in what his government called a politically motivated assassination attempt, attention focused on Thursday on the security breaches that had allowed the attack to occur. Mr. Fico’s condition stabilized overnight, and doctors were carrying out more procedures in hopes of improving his condition, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak told a news conference on Thursday morning outside the hospital where Mr. Fico was being treated. Political tempers in the deeply polarized Central European nation rose after Mr. Fico’s shooting, and the interior minister, Matus Sutaj Estok, said an initial investigation “clearly points to a political motivation” behind the assassination attempt. Filip Kuffa, a state secretary, said early Thursday on Facebook that Mr. Fico was in stable condition. It said that cellphones had been taken from many staff members at the hospital to prevent them communicating information about Mr. Fico’s condition.

Persons: Robert Fico, Robert Kalinak, Fico, Matus Sutaj Estok, Mr, Filip Kuffa, ” Organizations: Facebook Locations: Bratislava, Handlova, Slovakia, Slovak

☆ Opinion: Putin’s lightning assault jolts Europe awake
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

View more opinion on CNNCNN —It was a carefully choreographed show of force in Beijing Thursday as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived for yet another meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Frida Ghitis CNNOn Wednesday, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times and gravely wounded in an assassination attempt. Russia’s lightning assault, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who cancelled all his foreign travel, aims to force Ukraine to stretch its defenses. Security officers move Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in a car after the assassination attempt in Handlova, Slovakia, on Wednesday May 15. Every day, the stark reality that what began in Ukraine will change Europe for years to come becomes more inescapable.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Robert Fico, Fico, Putin, —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, David Cameron, “, Fico —, Radovan Stoklasa, Sergei Shoigu, Andrey Belousov, laughably, Rishi Sunak, Mark Rutte, Russia's, Alexander Ryumin, Emmanuel Macron, ”, Mikko Heiskanen, Xi Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, CNN CNN, Frida Ghitis CNN, Wednesday, Slovakian, Kyiv, British, Putin, Kremlin, Moscow, European Union, Reuters, Europe, Russia, Republicans, Russian, West, NATO, Institute for, ” Locations: Beijing, Europe, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Georgia, Soviet Republic, Moscow, Moldova, Slovak, Slovakia, “, Handlova, Iran, North Korea, China, Norway, London, British, Netherlands, ”, Germany, Berlin, Finland

☆ What to Know About the Shooting of Slovakia’s Prime Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia was shot five times on Wednesday, in the most serious attack on a European leader in decades. Officials said the act was a politically motivated assassination attempt, stoking fears that Europe’s increasingly polarized and vitriolic politics could tip into violence. Mr. Fico, a veteran populist politician, underwent hours of emergency surgery after being critically wounded in a town in central Slovakia. Here is what we know about the shooting. Videos from the scene indicate that Mr. Fico was shot in Banikov Square, in the center of the town of Handlova, where the prime minister had held a government meeting.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico Organizations: Hospital Locations: Slovakia, Handlova

☆ Robert Fico: Slovakia’s PM in life-threatening condition after being shot multiple times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a life-threatening condition in hospital Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico attends a European Council summit in Brussels, on April 18, 2024. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images/FILEFico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted: “I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family.”And Hungarian Prime Minister Orban added: “I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Persons: CNN —, Robert Fico, Fico, Zuzana Čaputová, “ I’m, Roberto Fico, ” Čaputová, upend, “, ”, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban, Kenzo Tribouillard, Jan Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Kuciak, Ursula von der Leyen, Orban Organizations: CNN, CNN — Slovakia’s, Facebook, Ukraine, NATO, Kremlin, Hungary’s, European Union, Slovakia's, Getty Locations: Handlova, Banska Bystrica, Bratislava, Slovak, Ukraine, Brussels, AFP, Hungarian

☆ Who is Robert Fico, the Slovakian Prime Minister?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Fico, 59, has played a pivotal role in Slovakian politics in the years since it gained independence in 1993 and has served as prime minister longer than any other leader. The country gained independence amid the so-called Velvet Revolution, a series of popular and nonviolent protests against the Communist Party in what was at that time still Czechoslovakia. Mr. Fico, who had been a Communist Party member while it was in power, founded the Smer party in the late 1990s and began the first of his three terms as prime minister in 2006. The Smer party, which started out on the political left but has increasingly embraced right-wing views on immigration and cultural issues, has always governed as part of a coalition. Much of the international focus on Mr. Fico’s leadership in recent years has focused on his ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, Slovakia’s southern neighbor.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, Vladimir Putin of, Viktor Orban of Hungary Organizations: Communist Party Locations: Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Vladimir Putin of Russia

☆ Live Updates: Slovakia’s Prime Minister in ‘Life-Threatening’ Condition After Shooting
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Pavol Strba | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot and seriously wounded on Wednesday in what the government called an assassination attempt. A post on the prime minister’s official and verified Facebook page said that Mr. Fico was in “life-threatening condition” after sustaining “multiple” gunshot wounds. Local media reported that the attack unfolded in the central Slovak town of Handlova, where Mr. Fico, a veteran politician, had been meeting with supporters. Mr. Fico has aligned with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, in opposing aid to Ukraine and challenging mainstream opinions within the European Union. On Wednesday, Mr. Orban was quick to send well wishes to Mr. Fico, whom he called “my friend.”“We pray for his health and quick recovery,” Mr. Orban wrote on social media.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, “, Zuzana Caputova, ”, Caputova, Viktor Orban, Orban, Mr, Ursula von der Leyen Organizations: Local, Facebook, Reuters, European Union, European Commission Locations: Slovak, Handlova, Russia, Ukraine, United States

A gunman shot Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, who is known for defying his fellow leaders in the European Union, multiple times at close range on Wednesday, in the most serious attack on a European leader in decades. Mr. Fico was shot after emerging from the House of Culture in Handlova, a town in central Slovakia, as he greeted a small crowd in Banikov Square. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, then airlifted to another hospital for emergency surgery. Hours later, the deputy prime minister, Tomas Taraba, told the BBC that Mr. Fico’s situation was no longer life-threatening, and he expected the prime minister to survive. The gunman, identified by Slovak news outlets as a 71-year-old poet, was immediately wrestled to the ground by security officers.

Persons: Robert Fico of, Fico, Tomas Taraba Organizations: European Union, Culture, BBC Locations: Robert Fico of Slovakia, Handlova, Slovakia, Slovak

☆ Plan to buy a home in the next year or two? Here are 5 steps to take now to get your finances ready
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Mortgage lenders will consider lots of different metrics and circumstances when assessing your creditworthiness. Check your credit reports and credit scoresTwo other factors lenders will consider are your credit history and credit score. Kill the credit card debtA key way to improve your credit score is to reduce your credit card debt. “The minute they pull your credit score, it is going to [reflect] what is on my credit card that day,” MBA’s Seiler said. “Because there are many variables that affect an individual consumer’s credit score, we can’t say a specific number of months,” FICO’s Zeibert said.

Persons: ”, Avi Adler, Sara Zuckerman, Margaret Poe, Poe, you’ll, Eddie Seiler, Joe Zeibert, You’re, ” Adler, MBA’s Seiler, ” FICO’s Zeibert, “, ” Seiler, Zuckerman, Adler, ” Zuckerman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Long & Foster, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Mortgage, Association Locations: New York, annualcreditreport.com, TransUnion

☆ Americans’ credit scores are falling. That hasn’t happened in a decade
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Even as unemployment remains historically low and recession fears fade, consumer credit scores are starting to buckle. Although FICO scores remain near record highs — and well above pre-pandemic levels — this marks the first drop in a decade. FICO said the one-point drop in credit scores in late 2023 was driven by an increase in Americans missing payments and also by rising debt levels. However, he said this one-point drop in credit scores is not necessarily a red flag. “The overall outlook for consumer credit quality, and consumer spending growth,” Faucher said, “is still very solid.”

Persons: FICO, FICO’s, Arkali, ”, “, ” Arkali, Banks, ‘, Gus Faucher, Faucher, it’s “, ” Faucher Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, New York Fed, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, ’ Consumers, NY Fed, PNC Locations: New York

His party more than doubled in size in parliament to tower over mainstream parties that long specialized in marginalizing him. Suddenly on Thursday, there was hope in the air again for nationalist conservative populists, especially with an European Parliament election coming up in June. Earlier, Slovakia had already turned populist with Robert Fico’s Smer party winning a general election and setting up a coalition government with an ultranationalist party. Wilders calls for a “Nexit” referendum — a Dutch version of Brexit which saw the United Kingdom leave the EU. By nature, Dutch politics rely on coalitions between several parties and no other suitable party has followed Wilders on that.

Persons: Geert Wilders, firebrand Wilders, “, Alice Weidel, Wilders, Robert Fico’s Smer, Viktor Orbán, behemoth, Le Pen, ”, Hendrik Vos, Vos, Matteo Salvini Organizations: Party for Freedom, Law, European Union, EU, France, Inter, Ghent University, League Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, Poland, Netherlands, Germany, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungarian, France, United Kingdom, Italian, Italy

☆ ‘Wish’ Review: The Sorcerer’s Disgruntled Apprentice
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Amy Nicholson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Until Asha flubs a job interview with Magnifico and realizes his flaw. The solution is the same as in every Disney cartoon: our heroine runs up a hill, hair swinging, and belts a ballad about longing. Oddly — and rather fascinatingly — this is a film about a spiritual revolution. Can Asha, a humanist, convince the islanders to reject the man in the embroidered robe who preaches that he alone is a conduit for miracles? “You’d think they’d all be content.”WishRated PG for neon-green depictions of black magic.

Persons: Asha flubs, Magnifico, Natasha Rothwell, Victor Garber, —, cribbed, Alan Tudyk, Asha, I’m, Benjamin Rice, Julia Michaels, “ Organizations: Disney Locations: E.T

☆ Kyiv: Ousting of US House speaker darkens outlook for Ukraine aid as funds dry up
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

That left the Biden administration’s $24 billion request for fresh military aid, submitted to Congress in the summer, in limbo. While it’s unclear who might succeed him, several potential candidates are skeptical about continuing support for Ukraine at current levels. Let’s be clear, if the US Congress does not pass a funding bill, Ukraine will be in deep trouble. But for Ukraine’s military planners, the uncertainty is an immense challenge as they try to plot any winter offensive or where to place air defenses. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty ImagesBut a senior adviser to Zelensky criticized “Western conservative elites” for suggesting that military aid to Ukraine should be suspended.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Joe Biden, McCarthy “, ” McCarthy, Volodymyr Zelensky, Robert Fico’s, –, Michael McCord, McCord, ”, Max Bergmann, ” Bergmann, Bergmann, “, Bergman, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba, Oksana Markarova, ” Markarova, Bryan R, Smith, Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, Podolyak, ” Podolyak Organizations: CNN, Russia grinds, Kyiv, Biden, Ukraine, Russia, NATO, Congressional, House Democrats, Pentagon, Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, Center for Strategic, International Studies, “, ‘, European Union, Facebook, Embassy of, USA, UN, Assembly, …, Congress Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Washington, Slovakia, Poland, Warsaw, Kyiv, Embassy of Ukraine, AFP

☆ Republican blockade of Ukraine aid and Slovakia’s election play into Putin’s hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Fico anchored his campaign on his anti-US rhetoric, vows to stop sending weapons to Ukraine and a pledge to thwart Kyiv’s NATO ambitions. The GOP tide against Ukraine gathers strengthZelensky’s visit to Washington to shore up Ukraine aid last month looks prescient. At Republican campaign events, voters often voice antipathy to sending billions of dollars to Ukraine, and polls show rising public skepticism. Still, for now, there is a bipartisan Washington majority in favor of Ukraine aid, although the chaos in the GOP raises questions about how it will be delivered. So we’ve got to find a way that we can do this together.”But if McCarthy is toppled and replaced by a more radical speaker, Ukraine could run out of luck.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy didn’t, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden, McCarthy, Robert Fico’s, Fico, –, Putin, Donald Trump, Fico’s, Trump, embolden Putin, “ Putin, Mike Quigley, “, ”, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, “ Joe Biden, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba, “ They’re, we’ve Organizations: CNN, Russia, Ukraine, Republican, NATO, Ukraine –, Kyiv, Brexit, “, Soviet MiG, European Union, GOP, Democratic, Illinois, Congressional Ukraine Caucus, Democrat, Rep, Trump Georgia Rep, Foreign, CBS, Trump Locations: Ukraine, Slovakia, US, Poland, Warsaw, Western, Kyiv, France, Germany, “ Slovakia, Slovakian, Russia, Soviet, United States, Turkey, Sweden, Moscow, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, Bratislava, Washington, Biden’s, Florida, ” Ukraine

According to preliminary results released by Slovakia’s Statistical Office at 6 a.m. local time, Robert Fico’s populist SMER party won 23.3% of the vote. While in opposition, Fico became a close ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban, especially when it came to criticism of the European Union. Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. Kuciak reported on corruption among the country’s elite, including people directly connected to Fico and his party SMER. In the Czech Republic, which used to form one country with Slovakia, 71% of people blame Russia for the war.

Persons: Robert Fico’s, Fico, upend, Peter Pellegrini, Hlas, ”, Pellegrini, Slovakia “, “, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Victor Orban, Orban, Jan Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Kuciak, Věra Jourová, GlobSec, – Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, NATO, Slovakia’s, SMER, Progressive, Ukrainian, Ukraine, European Union, Russia, Hungary’s, European, Justice, Kyiv Locations: Slovakia, Ukraine, Progressive Slovakia, Slovak, Kyiv, Brussels, Russia, Bratislava, Baltic, Czech Republic, States

☆ Slovakia's election could turn Ukraine's stanchest supporter into a Kremlin ally
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The frontrunner, former Prime Minister Robert Fico, has made no secret of his affinity for the Kremlin during the election campaign. Fico’s left-wing populist SMER party has been leading for months, although opinion polls published earlier this week showed SMER neck-and-neck with the Progressive Slovakia (PS) party. “The approach to Russian war in Ukraine is a divisive line (in the election),” she said. It is also far from certain that the leader of the biggest party will become the prime minister. While in opposition, Fico has also become a close ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban, especially when it comes to criticism of the European Union.

Persons: Robert Fico, Slovakia’s, Zuzana Čaputová, Fico’s, Michal Šimečka, Věra Jourová, ”, Peter Pellegrini, Pellegrini, Fico, Ján Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Russia ”, OLaNO, Kyiv’s, “, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Victor Orban, Orban Organizations: CNN, European Union, Kremlin, NATO, Progressive, EU, Kyiv, West ., “, Coalition, Republika, Russia, ”, and Solidarity Party, Independent, Ukraine Fico, Hungary’s, Justice Locations: Ukraine, NATO, American, Progressive Slovakia, Slovakia, “ Slovakia, Russia, Russian, Brussels

☆ Slovak election: A NATO country could soon have a pro-Russian leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. Heger continued as a caretaker prime minister but he, too, ended up quitting in May and was replaced by a technocrat, Ludovit Odor. Eduard Heger, pictured in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2022, resigned as caretaker prime minister in May. In the Czech Republic, which used to form one country with Slovakia, 71% of people blame Russia for the war. “The government took a very quick and firm decision — and I’d say in doing so found itself on the right side of the history — to support Ukraine,” he said.

Persons: Robert Fico’s, Kyiv’s, “, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Fico, Grigorij, Jan Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Kuciak, Igor Matovič, Matovič, Eduard Heger, Heger, Ints Kalnins, ” Mesežnikov, “ SMER, GlobSec, —, Dominika Hajdu, Mesežnikov Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, NATO, Institute of Public Affairs, Voters, Independent, Republika, for Democracy, Resilience, Austro, Ukraine, “, it’s, European Union Locations: Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine, Slovak, Moscow, SMER, Tallinn, Estonia, ” Slovakia, Bratislava, Baltic, Czech Republic, States, Hungary, Trianon, “ Slovakia

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