Slovakia's archaeology renaissance — The European Correspondent

17 March 2025 As a child, I dreamed of becoming a historian or archaeologist, imagining far-off places rather than discoveries in Slovakia. Yet,  the findings of the last few months prove otherwise and span centuries - it was a few too many to ignore a pattern. At a known archaeological site believed to be used by a shaman, experts uncovered a rock imprint of a tusk, likely from a prehistoric forest elephant that roamed Europe until 45,000 years ago. These elephants were common in western and so...

The tale of one city – Pressburg, Pozsony, Prešporok — The European Correspondent

05 February 2025 All three names refer to what we know today as Bratislava. Its multicultural history may be hidden from many, but the first multi-lingual series produced in Slovakia is trying to change that. Pressburg has been streaming on Netflix since the end of last year. The historical name for the Slovak capital from the beginning of the 20th century foreshadows the core topic – how nations interacted in Slovakia, portrayed through the love story of Slovak Zita and Hungarian Attila. Beside...

Turning crisis into clean energy: Ukraine's war-time transition

Being supported by you and many other readers keeps us free from political or corporate influence. It means our correspondents can report independently and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power. We can only produce the newsletter with your support – and work towards the bigger project: building true European media.In this crucial year for Europe, we hope you’ll choose to support us. Become a donor now!

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"Okay. Come to Kyiv on Friday."

Fico claimed Slovakia was allegedly set to lose €500 million on transit fees by stopping the gas stream in 2025. The Slovak company Eustream, a.s. was nowhere near this number even during the best-performing years, and with no income in 2024. The transit is dependent on the system connected to all neighbouring countries.

"It is not only related to the stoppage of the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, as the prime minister says, but mainly to the reluctance of our neighbours to continue ta...

Jet-setter lifestyle from Bratislava to Moscow to Hanoi

08 January 2025 Slovakia's prime minister Robert Fico went missing and was found – in Vietnam! Do not worry; he kept in touch with his voters via videos on social media. However, there was no official information on his whereabouts for 14 days following his highly controversial visit to Moscow on 22 December, where he met with Russian president Vladimir Putin.Slovak investigative outlet Dennik N was the first to uncover his location as the Madame Butterfly suite in Capella Hanoi hotel. A reader...

Climate Summit Shadows: Corruption and Censorship in Azerbaijan - VSquare.org

“Western politicians have to change their attitude towards Azerbaijan,” says exiled journalist Leyla Mustafayeva, whose colleagues remain behind bars in Azerbaijan, where world leaders gathered for the COP29 summit to discuss climate solutions. Despite the global spotlight, Azerbaijan’s relentless crackdown continued, with new arrests and fabricated charges targeting journalists and activists in a chilling display of power.

World leaders, lobbyists and businessmen gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan...

The rebirth of Bratislava public baths

After decades of abandonment, this emblematic building of the Slovak capital is the subject of an ambitious restoration project.

Tamara Kaňuchová

Français/Slovenčina
Imagine a historical place that the citizens know about without ever having been there. Used in its original function by their ancestors, immortalized over the ages by artists, the city bath of Grössling holds this legendary dimension in Bratislava’s people hearts.
After decades of desertion and decline, the capital c...

The house of cards behind PM salary gaps in Europe

Being supported by you and many other readers keeps us free from political or corporate influence. It means our correspondents can report independently and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power. We can only produce the newsletter with your support – and work towards the bigger project: building true European media.In this crucial year for Europe, we hope you’ll choose to support us. Become a donor now!

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Big Brother in Bratislava: Does Robert Fico have Pegasus? - VSquare.org

Under Prime Minister Robert Fico, the Slovak government reportedly recently acquired spyware similar to Pegasus, capable of infiltrating mobile phones and gaining full access. Once inside a phone, the spyware can extract data from its microphone, camera, and screen. It can even download app content, including from encrypted platforms like Signal. This sophisticated tool can infect the phone remotely, requires no user interaction, making it nearly impossible to prevent infiltration.

Human righ...

Social networks, but analogue

Nowadays, access to information might be a secondary function of libraries, with the search for cultural identity and collective memory taking its place. I have seen a post circulating on X saying, "If public libraries were invented today, they'd be decried as radically socialist, economically unfeasible, and the certain end of the book publishing industry." Is this radical individualism the case, or are public spaces intimidating rather than welcoming?

Even in my own experience, public places...

A hidden gem of Slovakia in Serbia

11 December 2024 Imagine yourself in the village of Kovačica, Serbia, in the 1930s. It is winter, and you have just finished a day of taking care of your land and some of your bees. How do you pass the long winter nights? The Slovak minority in the North of Serbia developed an art practice that has been among the latest additions to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.Practitioners of the Naïve painting are self-taught or learned their skills from older generations of painters in their co...

A couple of presidents, only one Zuzana — The European Correspondent

19 June 2024 Last Friday, Slovakia said goodbye to its first female president, Zuzana Čaputová. For many Slovaks, it felt more like saying goodbye to an old friend rather than a politician. Many people praised Čaputová for her sensitivity. It was almost as if Slovakia was an immature teenager that needed a mother. Even when the country took an anti-progressive political direction, she was always there to balance out the public debate. The government coalition frequently insulted her, and her fam...

How to force doctors to work? Threaten with jail — The European Correspondent

The president of the doctor's union called the new change an acceptance of forced labour. He criticised the government which is failing to comply with a memorandum signed by the previous government in 2022. He also said that the doctors' demands as part of the memorandum could be realistically completed by the end of the year. Those were meant to improve working conditions, for example by increasing salaries, the amount of medical staff in hospitals or reforming the education of doctors.

The mi...

Hungary connection: Orbán’s elite bodyguards protect Geert Wilders - VSquare.org

For anyone who’s experienced summer in Hungary, this image might look familiar: People are sitting by the Danube. Nearby, tourists are having a beer and pálinka after an exhausting day of exploring Budapest. But here the image becomes more striking: Among them is Hungary’s regular visitor, Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), which won the Dutch parliamentary elections in late 2023 and, following turbulent coalition talks, managed to create a government....

How Slovakia almost invented the wheel — The European Correspondent

30 October 2024 Who invented the wheel? Was it in Mesopotamia or in Anatolia, as scientific consensus goes, or was it somewhere else completely? Well, Czech news outlet ČT24 last week published an article citing American scientists claiming that the wheel was created in today's Slovakia. Slovak media quickly took over this fascinating piece of news and gladly appropriated the possible wheel-founder title. Unfortunately, the claim turned out to be a misinterpretation, as the original scientific a...

Pretty in pink, with a cause — The European Correspondent

30 October 2024 October is International Breast Cancer Awareness Month, symbolised by a pink ribbon. Breast cancer is the most diagnosed type of cancer in Europe: making up 13.14% of all cancer cases and 27.8% of cancer cases in women. With age, the risk of breast cancer increases, with a predicted surge of 21% by 2040 due to the ageing of the European population. Awareness and screening opportunities remain essential at early stages. A 2019 survey showed screening rates among eligible European...

Central Europe against the forces of nature

Being supported by you and many other readers keeps us free from political or corporate influence. It means our correspondents can report independently and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power. We can only produce the newsletter with your support – and work towards the bigger project: building true European media.In this crucial year for Europe, we hope you’ll choose to support us. Become a donor now!

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Airwaves against tanks — The European Correspondent

28 August 2024 In turbulent times, staying true to the core values of journalism comes with immense challenges. Back in 1968, the reporters from Czechoslovak Radio risked their lives to maintain freedom of speech and information. They continued airing even when the tanks of the Warsaw Pact crossed the borders of the country, marking the beginning of the occupation and strict totalitarianism under communist rule. A new movie, Vlny (The Waves), a Czech and Slovak production, tells their story. Cri...

Hundreds show up for a stinky flower — The European Correspondent

Hundreds show up for a stinky flower The "corpse flower" bloomed for the first time in Bratislava and not in any burial site but in the Botanical garden. The name originates from the strong smell it produces to attract insects to pollinate the flowers. This plant is known worldwide because of its sheer size (the one in Bratislava is over two metres tall), with the biggest flowering structure in the world. Originally from Sumatra, Indonesia, the corpse flower takes 6-10 years to start blooming an...

Les emblématiques bains publics de Bratislava vont renaître

Temps de lecture: 8 minutesImaginez un lieu historique connu de tous les citoyens, même ceux qui n'y sont jamais allés. Utilisés dans leur fonction première par leurs ancêtres, immortalisés au fil du temps par différents artistes, les bains municipaux de Grössling occupent une place légendaire dans le cœur des habitants de Bratislava, la capitale de la Slovaquie.Après des décennies d'abandon et de déclin, la ville a enfin obtenu les financements nécessaires pour offrir une nouvelle vie à ce bâti...

Play the Slovak post-communist GTA — The European Correspondent

Imagine Slovakia's capital Bratislava in the 90s, right after the collapse of the communist regime. If you cannot, this new game, Vivat Slovakia, can walk you through it in a GTA/Mafia-like setting. The 90s were (in)famously probably the most turbulent era of Slovakian contemporary history, with organised crime taking over the streets. The main protagonist is Milan, who works for the Secret Intelligence Service and is also a taxi driver with close ties to the criminal scene. Interestingly, es...

Read European Journalism now! — The European Correspondent

Being supported by you and many other readers keeps us free from political or corporate influence. It means our correspondents can report independently and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power. We can only produce the newsletter with your support – and work towards the bigger project: building true European media.In this crucial year for Europe, we hope you’ll choose to support us. Become a donor now!

Being supported by you and many other readers keeps us free from political or corp...

An apple (watch diagnosis) a day keeps the doctor away — The European Correspondent

A Slovakian startup, Seerlinq, led by Allan Böhm, developed an algorithm that can predict heart failure even weeks in advance based on data from smartwatches. A PPG (Photoplethysmography) sensor, which can detect changes in the volume of blood vessels, is present in most smart devices. Collected data is first separated into relevant pieces and then subjected to diagnosis. Böhm would like to use the same patent with other diagnoses, like diabetes or depression syndromes. However, getting data dir...

Prime ministers having the time of their life

Being supported by you and many other readers keeps us free from political or corporate influence. It means our correspondents can report independently and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power. We can only produce the newsletter with your support – and work towards the bigger project: building true European media.In this crucial year for Europe, we hope you’ll choose to support us. Become a donor now!

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