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Good evening. This is the Wednesday, May 18 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes. SaS ready to withdraw from coalition agreement Finance Minister Igor Matovič. (Source: SITA) A picture of a happy family and the caption "two hundred euro a month per child" - the ruling OĽaNO party and its leader Igor Matovič are promoting help for families on social media as if it were a done deal. Skryť Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryť Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement But while Finance Minister Matovič had tried to persuade coalition partner party SaS to support his social help package before it was submitted to cabinet on Wednesday, conflict between his party and SaS members has only deepened in recent days. Matovič did not rule out proposing a tax hike for about a hundred companies to cover the costs for part of his proposed … [Read more...] about News digest: Slovak embassy in Kyiv reopens

Ukrainian fighters extracted from the last bastion of resistance in Mariupol have been taken to a former penal colony in Russian-controlled territory, with Ukrainian officials saying they hope that they can be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. However, their fate appears up in the air. One Moscow lawmaker has said they should be brought to “justice,” while Russian news agencies are reporting that Russia’s parliament plans to take up a resolution on Wednesday to prevent the exchange of Azov Regiment fighters. Ending the siege Russia's Defence Ministry announced on Wednesday that 959 Ukrainian soldiers entrenched at the Azovstal steel site had surrendered since Monday. "In the last 24 hours 694 fighters, including 29 wounded, have taken prisoners. Since May 16, 959 fighters, including 80 wounded, have taken prisoner," the ministry said in a statement. On Monday, buses left the steelworks in a convoy escorted by Russian armoured vehicles. Some headed for the … [Read more...] about Uncertainty over the fate of surrendered Mariupol defenders

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg hailed an "historic moment" on Wednesday after Finland and Sweden formally submitted their applications to join the military alliance. The seismic shift from long-held neutrality -- which has popular support in both countries -- was spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. “I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join NATO. You are our closest partners,“ Stoltenberg said. “All allies agree on the importance of NATO enlargement. We all agree that we must stand together, and we all agree that this is an historic moment which we must seize.” “This is a good day at a critical moment for our security,” a beaming Stoltenberg said, as he stood alongside Finland's and Sweden's ambassadors to NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded the alliance stop expanding toward Russia's borders, and several NATO allies, led by the United States and Britain, have signalled that they stand ready to provide security … [Read more...] about ‘Historic moment’: Finland and Sweden submit their bids to join NATO

A three-year-old boy died from a dog attack in Rochdale yesterday lunchtime. The toddler was rushed to hospital from a property in Milnrow, Rochdale where he was pronounced dead. No arrests have been made at this stage and enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement. Detective Superintendent Jamie Daniels, of GMP's Public Protection and Serious Crime Division, said: "This is a tragic, devastating incident and our thoughts are with the family at this horrendous time. "We are investigating the incident and previous incidents involving dogs at this address, Manchester Evening News reports . "While our enquiries to find out what happened will be thorough and are very much in their infancy, we suspect that this little boy has, sadly succumbed, to injuries received as a result of a dog attack. Were you affected by this story? Email [email protected] Police are investigating the dog attack "I understand this … [Read more...] about Boy, 3, mauled to death in ‘devastating’ dog attack known for ‘previous incidents’

UK inflation hits 40-year high - live updates I can't afford to be in my job, says constable who collared Patel Ministers warm to windfall tax after polling finds it ‘wildly popular’ EU offers UK NI Protocol olive branch... but threatens trade war Russia-Ukraine latest: Mediators attempt to save Azovstal fighters S ir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of performing the "hokey cokey" over imposing a windfall tax on oil and gas giants to help tackle the cost of living crisis. The Labour leader said "one minute they are ruling it in, the next they are ruling it out" as he urged the Prime Minister to back the levy. Sir Keir also predicted that the Government will eventually be forced into rolling out the policy as he said "every single day he [Mr Johnson] delays his inevitable U-turn - he is going to do it - he is choosing to let people struggle when they don't need to". The Prime Minister repeated the Government's position that it does not … [Read more...] about Stop the ‘hokey cokey’ and back windfall tax, Keir Starmer tells Boris Johnson

After a nearly 2-1/2-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Swiss town of Davos is set to again host global elites from business, government and activist groups for the World Economic Forum. Russia’s war in Ukraine and climate change worries are expected to be on many minds at the event starting Monday as concern over the pandemic ebbs. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to pipe in virtually. The biggest delegation of top Ukrainian government officials to leave the country since the war started are set to attend Davos in person, organizers said. In the wake of Russia 's invasion of Ukraine, forum hosts invited no Russian officials or business leaders this year. “I’m positive that that was the right decision,” forum president Borge Brende said during a news conference Wednesday. “We do hope, though, that Russia will follow a different path … in the years to come, to start to stick to the U.N. Charter and to their international … [Read more...] about Davos returns from pandemic with Ukraine, climate in mind

Health Canada on Thursday lifted restrictions on gay men donating blood, a move Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said was “good news for all Canadians" but had taken too long. Trudeau said at a news conference the ban should have ended 10 to 15 years ago, but research proving it would not affect the safety of the blood supply had not been done by previous governments. Trudeau said his government spent C$5 million dollars (US$3.9 million) on research into the safety aspects of changing the blood donation rules and multiple scientific reports showed “our blood supply will continue to be safe.” Health Canada approved the request by Canadian Blood Services to end the policy that restricts homosexuals from donating blood for three months after engaging in gay sex. The blood service asked Health Canada to allow it to scrap questions about gender or sexuality, and instead base screening on higher-risk sexual behavior such as anal sex. Recommended First … [Read more...] about Canada to lift restrictions on gay men donating blood

Russia has been spending about a billion rubles—or around $15.5 million—per hour on the Ukraine war since Russian President Vladimir Putin 's military campaign began nearly three months ago, according to Russian Ministry of Finance data released Tuesday. Russia's federal budget in April showed 628 billion rubles were spent on national defense, which breaks down to about 21 billion rubles a day, The Moscow Times reported. The online news site noted that the daily amount is comparable to the annual budget of some entire regions in Russia. The report detailing the high cost of the war comes as Russian military forces continue to struggle against the defending Ukrainians. In recent weeks, Putin's troops have been losing ground that Russia had initially seized during the early stages of the conflict. On Sunday, the British Ministry of Defense released a report saying that "Russia's Donbas offensive has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule ." (The Donbas is an … [Read more...] about Russia’s spending $15.5 million an hour on Ukraine war

Russia delivered new anti-aircraft missile systems and tanks to its troops in Ukraine this week as Russian President Vladimir Putin 's military continues struggling in its war efforts. The Russian state news agency TASS reported that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov announced during an educational forum on Wednesday that long-range S-500 anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic missile systems had started arriving to Russian forces within Ukraine. The air defense systems join new T-90M battle tanks that a defense manufacturer announced on Tuesday had recently been sent to Ukraine. Along with not securing a quick, decisive victory like many experts had predicted, Russia has also lost ground in recent weeks that it had initially seized after beginning its invasion in late February. Russian troops are currently mostly confined to the eastern part of the country, which includes the Donbas region. On Sunday, the British Ministry of Defense released a report that stated … [Read more...] about Putin arming troops with newest weapons as Russia struggles in Ukraine

A 911 dispatcher in New York who allegedly hung up on a woman calling for help from inside the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo while a mass shooting unfolded has been suspended and is awaiting a disciplinary hearing, according to reports. The allegation was first made when a woman identified as a Tops assistant manager was interviewed over the phone by local TV news channel WGRZ and said the dispatcher had slammed the phone down in annoyance — because she was whispering. The supermarket employee said she had kept her voice down as she hid from the shooter who was roaming the store looking for victims during the incident that left 10 dead and three others injured on May 14. "I tried to call 911, and I was whispering because I could hear him close by," said the employee, who was identified only by her first name, Latisha. "And when I whispered on the phone to 911, the dispatcher started yelling at me saying 'Why are you whispering? You don't have to whisper.' And I'm trying to tell … [Read more...] about Dispatcher who allegedly hung up on Buffalo shooting 911 call put on leave