Jasmine Paolini and Italy beat Slovakia to win the Billie Jean King Cup

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini capped a breakthrough season by leading Italy to its first Billie Jean King Cup title since 2013 on Wednesday, defeating Rebecca Sramkova 6-2, 6-1 to seal a 2-0 victory over Slovakia in the final of the women’s team competition....

Jasmine Paolini clinches Italy's first Billie Jean King Cup title since 2013 with a victory over Slovakia in the final

Slovak opposition rallies against the government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Thousands of protesters gathered in Slovakia’s capital on Sunday, the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that brought an end to decades of communist rule in Czechoslovakia, to oppose the policies of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico. The...

Former Slovak President Andrej Kiska loses pension after fraud conviction

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s presidential office said Thursday it has stopped sending pension payments to former President Andrej Kiska because of his tax fraud conviction, and Kiska said he would challenge the move. The presidential office said the halt in payments...

Slovak populist premier is in a spat with the UK ambassador to Bratislava over the war in Ukraine

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico reacted angrily on Friday after the U.K. ambassador to Bratislava criticized his interview with Russia’s Rossiya 1 state-owned television, saying, “Slovakia is not Britain’s colony.” “I don’t...

Court in Slovakia upholds tax fraud verdict against former President Kiska

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — An appeals court in Slovakia on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that found former President Andrej Kiska guilty of tax fraud and gave him a suspended sentence. At the same time, the regional court in the eastern city of Presov lowered the original...

400 years later, accounts of Hungarian 'Blood Countess' remain shrouded in mystery and controversy

ČACHTICE, Slovakia (AP) — More than 400 years after her death, the truth about “the Blood Countess,” a Hungarian noblewoman alleged to have been the most prolific female serial killer of all time, remains elusive. From her castle atop a rugged peak in what is today Čachtice...

Slovakia and former Czech leader settle lawsuit over collaboration with communist secret police

PRAGUE (AP) — Slovakia’s Interior Ministry agreed in a lawsuit settlement Monday that former former Czech populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis did not knowingly collaborate with communist-era secret police in what was then Czechoslovakia The ministry said it acknowledged that any...

Slovak government and South Korea's Hyundai Mobis sign a deal to build an electric car parts plant

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — The Slovak government and Hyundai Mobis on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding on the South Korean company’s plan to build a plant for engines and other parts for electric cars in Slovakia. Prime Minister Robert Fico said Hyundai Mobis will...

Flood-hit regions in Central Europe will get billions in EU aid

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday pledged billions of euros in aid for Central European countries that suffered enormous damage to infrastructure and housing during the massive flooding that has so far claimed 24 lives in the region. Von...