Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

World

The Latest: Slovakian leaders fail to agree on declaration

Associated Press
Published | Updated
  • 001fa1f1-
    Image 1 of 2

  • b0d4dc7e-
    Image 2 of 2

PRAGUE – The Latest on the slaying of a journalist and his fiancee in Slovakia (all times local):

1:45 p.m.

Slovakia's top three politicians have failed to agree on a common declaration meant to calm the tense situation in the country following the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee.

President Andrej Kiska and Prime Minister Robert Fico had each prepared a text for their Friday meeting with parliamentary speaker Andrej Danko.

After the meeting, Danko only said they were not able to agree on a common version.

The announcement comes amid growing tensions ahead of Friday's anti-government rallies planned across Slovakia and abroad.

The protesters demand a thorough investigation into the shooting deaths of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova, whose bodies were found in their home on Feb. 25, and changes in the government.

In his last unfinished story, Kuciak, 27, reported on the influence of the Italian mafia in Slovakia and its possible ties to people close to Fico.

Fico suggested Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros might be involved in the protests. He says he's got information the protests might turn violent.

___

8:35 a.m.

Slovakia has quickly turned from what seemed to be a stable European Union country into chaos, in the wake of the unprecedented slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee.

In a speech last month, President Andrej Kiska talked about his country as "successful, proud and self-confident." On March 4, however, he said Slovakia faces a "serious political crisis" triggered by the fatal shootings of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova. Police said Kuciak's killing last month was likely linked to his work.

For his last unfinished story, the 27-year-old Kuciak reported on the influence of the Italian mafia in Slovakia and its possible ties to people close to Prime Minister Robert Fico. A growing number of people have started to turn against the Fico government, threatening its very existence.