As of 4:36 p.m| Reading time: 3 minutes

DrSlovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in mortal danger after being attacked. This was announced by the government office in Bratislava, TASR news agency reported.

Fico was shot after a cabinet meeting at the House of Culture in the town of Handlova. He was taken to hospital. Handlova is located about 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, Bratislava. The exact background was clear at first.

TASR reported that Deputy Speaker of Parliament Lobos Blaha confirmed the attack during a parliamentary session and postponed it until further notice. A Reuters employee said he heard several gunshots and saw police arresting a man. Security forces took the arrested man to a car and took him away.

Emergency services told TASR that a helicopter carrying an emergency doctor was sent to Vico after the accident. The police evacuated the House of Culture, where the government meeting was being held.

Slovak President Zuzana Caputova condemned the “brutal and brutal attack.” She added: “I hope Robert Fico has a lot of strength at this critical moment to recover from the attack.”

A few days ago, Fico himself accused the liberal opposition of creating a climate of hostility against the government. It cannot be ruled out that violence will occur at some point in such a climate.

Schulz and von der Leyen comment on the attack

Chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly condemned the attack. He wrote on the online platform “X”: “I am shocked by the news of the cowardly assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Fico. Violence should have no place in European politics. During these hours, my thoughts are with Robert Fico, his relatives and the citizens of Slovakia.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the attack as “abhorrent.” “Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our greatest common good,” she wrote on X. Her thoughts were with Vico and his family.

European Council President Charles Michel was also shocked. “Violence and such attacks cannot be justified by anything,” he wrote on X.

Fiko has been the Prime Minister of Slovakia again since 2023. He was Prime Minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018.

Fico is one of the founders of his party Samir. Their policies fall into „socialist internationalism”, and their policies are also criticized as populist. Recently, Fico angered people by saying that Ukraine is a country controlled by the United States. Slovakia will prevent Kiev from joining NATO. During a visit to Uzhhorod, right on the Slovak-Ukrainian border However, Fico said afterwardsHe said that his country would continue to provide humanitarian aid despite differences of opinion and would not prevent private arms deals. Regarding domestic politics, Fico is accused of restructuring the state to serve his own interests, similar to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

As of: May 14, 2024| Reading time: 2 minutes

DrThe links between Hamas and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) appear to be greater than previously known: the Israeli Armed Forces released a video on Channel X on Tuesday that reportedly shows Hamas terrorists in one of the agency’s facilities.

In the video, several armed people can be seen walking through the grounds of an UNRWA warehouse. UN vehicles can also be seen. According to the Israeli institution COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories), which coordinates the delivery of Israeli aid to the Gaza Strip, the drone footage comes from a warehouse in eastern Rafah. The warehouse aims to be a central hub for aid for the Gaza Strip. The Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories called on the United Nations to investigate.

The United Nations and UNRWA have not yet responded to these accusations. In recent months it has become known that several employees of the relief organization may be involved in the Hamas attack on Israel. They were expelled. Hamas also used the relief organization’s schools and hospitals as places to hide weapons or as a command center.

Therefore, Israel also attacks these targets when Hamas uses them, including on Tuesday. The army said it killed more than 10 Hamas members in an air strike that targeted a command center. The building is said to have been a school. Hamas set up a “war room” in the middle of a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The Health Authority in the Gaza Strip said that 15 displaced people were killed in the attack on the school. The Health Authority is under Hamas control.

Delivering aid to Gaza through a temporary port

On the other hand, the US Department of Defense said that aid supplies will be delivered to the Gaza Strip for the first time through a temporary port in the coming days. Until now there was no harbor deep enough for large cargo ships.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said: “In the coming days, as part of an international effort in coordination with the United Nations and the World Food Program, the United States will begin facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip through the Cyprus sea corridor.” He said Tuesday in Washington.

The plan is for a cargo ship to transport aid supplies from Cyprus directly to a floating dock. The goods are scheduled to be loaded onto other ships there and transported to another mobile dam on the coast. From there they should go to the beach.