The monarchs of Prague Castle
PRAGUE – Placid and stolid, the Czech Republic revels in its reputation as the level-headed heart of central Europe, a sort of Bohemian version of Switzerland. So why can’t the country place a boring...
View ArticleDirty rotten Bohemians
PRAGUE — Jana Nečasová may have directed military intelligence to spy on the Czech prime minister’s wife, but despite the resulting recordings being played in open court, she isn’t going to prison on...
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Recalculating democracy
PRAGUE — Karel Janeček made a fortune in financial derivatives, but now the Czech businessman is less interested in money and is instead planning nothing less than a “complete renovation of democracy.”...
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The Czech Donald Trump
PRAGUE — Andrej Babiš is what Donald Trump wants to be: The most powerful man in his country. He isn’t even the president or prime minister of the Czech Republic. He’s a billionaire, media mogul,...
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‘We protect Slovakia’
BRATISLAVA — Slovakia is hardly the destination of choice for migrants to the EU, but that doesn’t stop Robert Fico railing against them and using the refugee crisis to boost his chances of winning a...
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Robert Fico loses majority in Slovakian election
BRATISLAVA — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico won parliamentary elections Saturday, though to stay on in power he would have to govern in a coalition after a stronger than expected showing by small...
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5 takeaways from Slovakia’s election
BRATISLAVA — Slovakia’s parliamentary election produced more confusion than clarity. There’s no obvious path to a stable government, raising the prospect of political crisis just months before the...
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Migrants are Central Europe’s new Roma
BANSKÁ BYSTRICA, Slovakia — There’s something familiar about the anti-migrant language being used by politicians across Central Europe: It’s almost the same as the traditional attacks on the Roma, long...
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Salah Abdeslam spent three weeks in Slovakia
Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam spent three weeks in Slovakia last summer, according to a former Slovak Interior Ministry official, adding to reports that alleged terrorists had earlier acquired...
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Unbearable angst of Czech being
PRAGUE — Today’s Czechs are healthier, wealthier and safer than they have ever been. The economy grew at a robust 4.2 percent last year and the country boasted the lowest unemployment rate in the...
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Maverick Czech’s tax fraud fight
PRAGUE — Brussels is making an enormous effort to clamp down on corporate tax dodgers, but that’s now under threat due to the hardball negotiating tactics of the Czech Republic. With European finance...
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Coal baron falls foul of Czech politics
PRAGUE — The Czech Republic is gearing up for regional elections this fall, a parliamentary election next year and a presidential vote the year after that — and a big theme in all three will be the...
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Visegrad’s illusory union
BRATISLAVA — The four Visegrad countries have of late been seen as an exception to the disunity across the European Union, and plan to use Friday’s EU leaders summit in the Slovak capital to push for a...
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Czech authorities arrest Russian suspected of hacking US
PRAGUE — Czech Republic officials have arrested a Russian citizen suspected of hacking targets in the United States. The arrest, announced Tuesday, was the result of collaboration with the FBI and was...
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ANDREJ BABIŠ
.wp-caption-text, .wp-caption, .wp-caption img{max-width:658px !important;}When Andrej Babiš launched his political party in 2012, he insisted that the last thing he wanted to be was a politician. To...
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‘We protect Slovakia’
BRATISLAVA — Slovakia is hardly the destination of choice for migrants to the EU, but that doesn’t stop Robert Fico railing against them and using the refugee crisis to boost his chances of winning a...
View ArticleRobert Fico loses majority in Slovakian election
BRATISLAVA — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico won parliamentary elections Saturday, though to stay on in power he would have to govern in a coalition after a stronger than expected showing by small...
View ArticleClik here to view.
5 takeaways from Slovakia’s election
BRATISLAVA — Slovakia’s parliamentary election produced more confusion than clarity. There’s no obvious path to a stable government, raising the prospect of political crisis just months before the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Migrants are Central Europe’s new Roma
BANSKÁ BYSTRICA, Slovakia — There’s something familiar about the anti-migrant language being used by politicians across Central Europe: It’s almost the same as the traditional attacks on the Roma, long...
View ArticleSalah Abdeslam spent three weeks in Slovakia
Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam spent three weeks in Slovakia last summer, according to a former Slovak Interior Ministry official, adding to reports that alleged terrorists had earlier acquired...
View Article