WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military ******* istance from countries in Europe and the Middle East to support conservative-leaning governments in Central and South America.
The State Department on Tuesday notified Congress that it will reprogram $52 million in foreign military financing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Colombia, Ecuador and Peru last week and pledged to them additional support as the Trump administration has prioritized the Western Hemisphere in its foreign policy with an emphasis on combating drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
It is just the latest in a series of moves that have reduced either money or troop deployments to Europe in response to President Donald Trump's complaints about NATO allies not spending enough on their defense budgets and other matters. Both North Macedonia and Slovakia are NATO members.
But it also comes as the administration has put particular attention on the Western Hemisphere, aligning deeply with right-wing governments as Trump celebrates a renewal of the 19th century Monroe Doctrine establishing Washington's dominance in the Americas.

#Trump #Europe #slovakia

Aberdeen winger Kenan Bilalovic has joined Slovakian top division side MSK Zilina on a season-long loan.
The 21-year-old Swede has struggled to establish himself at the Dons since arriving at Pittodrie from IFK Värnamo in his homeland on a five-year deal last summer.
He has made 19 appearances for the first team and scored three goals.
On his loan to MSK Zilina, head coach Stepehn Robinson told the Aberdeen club website "Kenan is a talented young player but, at this stage of his development, playing consistently at senior level is really important.
"His exposure to game time here is going to be limited this season and, therefore, this loan presents an excellent opportunity for him to gain regular minutes in a demanding environment.

#aberdeen #season #slovakian #swede

Nicole Kidman is proving to be in touch with her fan base as she gave a huge shoutout to rising Slovakian singer-songwriter Adéla, promising to see her perform live after learning the musician named a song after her.
The Oscar winner has a unique type of relationship with her fans, as she previously distanced herself, saying she doesn't want to be anyone's role model.
Kidman has been in the news over her broken marriage to singer Keith Urban but has set her sights on moving on.
MEGA
Nicole Kidman acknowledged fast-rising singer Adéla, who named a song after her on her upcoming album "PRIMA," excitedly revealing that she plans to attend her live performance soon.

#rising #live

The final teams to qualify for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase were confirmed this Wednesday (26).
Seven clubs secured their spots this week after coming through the final playoff round.
The biggest clash was between Fenerbahce and Lyon, with the Turkish side coming out on top and returning to the main phase of the Champions League for the first time in 18 years.
Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), AEK Athens (Greece), LASK (Austria), Sabah (Azerbaijan), Bodo/Glimt (Norway) and Viking (Norway) also qualified this week.
The league phase draw takes place this Thursday (27), determining the eight matchups for each participating team.

#norway #coming

Great Britain's men's basketball team have turned to the NBA in their bid to progress into the full qualifying rounds for the 2029 EuroBasket campaign.
The side, led by Newcastle Eagles head coach Marc Steutel, has been able to name three players in his squad who are either current or recent players in the world's top domestic league for this week's double-header against Switzerland and Slovakia.
Boston Celtics centre Amari Williams is part of the squad, as is power forward Tobi Lawal who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks earlier this summer.
Another addition to what is, on paper, the strongest GB squad in some time is forward Tosan Evbuomwan. The 25-year-old has this summer joined Barcelona following three seasons in the NBA and its reserve G-League.
"With every squad selection, you want to try to make sure that you are getting the balance of the most talented players available," Steutel told BBC Sport.

#forward #eurobasket

Los Angeles Kings legend Anze Kopitar says that he is happy with his decision to retire after 20 years in the NHL.
Kopitar made the decision to walk away from the sport that brought him so much joy at the age of 37 following the 2025-26 NHL season. Now 38 years old, Kopitar played in fellow Zdeno Chara's farewell game, the 'Zee's Final Shift,' at Pavol Demitra Ice Stadium in Trencin, Slovakia, on Friday. He looked good in the game, but he says he's content with his decision to retire.
Speaking to NHL.com, Kopitar reaffirmed his decision to step away from the NHL, though he admitted he was happy to play with fellow legends like Chara in the tribute game.
"I am very happy. It's great. Obviously, I get to spend a lot more time with my family. I get to go (watch my) kids … my son's hockey tournament, my daughter's figure skating competition. So, there is still life in ice arenas, but I'm enjoying it very much," Kopitar said.
When Kopitar becomes eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2029, he will undoubtedly be inducted into the HHOF in his first year of eligibility, because he was an amazing hockey player who has a brilliant career in the NHL.

#happy

Switzerland's Audrey Werro clocked a meet best to win the 800m on home soil at the Lausanne Diamond League on Friday, but fell well short of the world record.
The newly-crowned European champion, the third fastest ever in the women's two-lap race, is aiming to break the 1min 53.28sec run by Jarmila Kratochvilova of then-Czechoslovakia in 1983.
It remains the oldest world record in track and field, albeit one that is highly contested having come during a period when systemic doping of athletes was prevalent. Kratochvilova, however, never failed a doping test.
Unlike the European champs, the Diamond League features wavelight technology, trackside lighting that enables runners to see at what pace they are running.
Werro also had Myrte van der Schoot as her pacemaker, but depite the Dutchwoman clocking an electric 54.64sec for the opening 400m, the 22-year-old Swiss could not maintain the pace, ultimately winning in a meet record of 1:55.33.

#werro #diamond #World

Bishop McCort Catholic High School girls wrestling coach Kaura Coles pinned Venezuela's Alexa Janniriel Alvarez Valenzuela in 2:59 to earn the United World Wrestling U20 freestyle gold medal Wednesday at 53 kilograms in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Canada's Coles beat the United States' Taylor Whiting in a 3:45 fall and India's Muskan Muskan 9-7 in her first two bouts. In a semifinal matchup, Coles topped China's Yuxuan Li 14-7.
Coles became Canada's first world champion in 2024 at the Under-17 level. She earned gold at the 2024 Pan-American Championships as a 53-kilogram wrestler.

#World #Gold

Bishop McCort Catholic High School girls wrestling coach Kaura Coles advanced to the United World Wrestling U20 final Tuesday at 53 kilograms in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The final is Wednesday as Coles, from Canada, faces Venezuela's Alexa Janniriel Alvarez Valenzuela.
Coles beat the United States' Taylor Whiting 9-7 and India's Muskan Muskan 14-7 in her first two bouts. In a semifinal matchup, Coles topped China's Yuxuan Li.
Coles became Canada's first world champion in 2024 at the Under-17 level. She earned gold at the 2024 Pan-American Championships as a 53-kilogram wrestler.

#Wrestling

Alexandros Kyziridis has penned an emotional farewell message to Hearts fans after the winger's departure to Turkish side Corum FK was confirmed.
The 25-year-old, capped for the first time this year by Greece, moved to Tynecastle as a free agent last summer from Slovakian side Zemplin Michalovce, and scored six goals and provided 11 **** ists in 45 appearances for Hearts.
Kyziridis was influential early in his time at the club and was a key part of the side that came close to a historic league **** le last season.
The winger said on Instagram: "I leave with a heart full of gratitude and memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
"The victories, the difficult moments, the celebrations, the defeats, the dressing room, the fans, and all those little moments that maybe seemed ordinary at the time but will always mean so much to me.

#side #kyziridis #moments #alexandros

Heart of Midlothian have agreed a deal to sell Greece winger Alexandros Kyziridis to a Turkish club for a fee of around £1.7m.
The 25-year-old joined the Tynecastle club last summer from Slovakian outfit Zemplin Michalovce, signing a three-year contract, and has been attracting interest from a number of clubs over the summer.
Kyziridis impressed early on at Hearts and as a key attacking player under head coach Derek McInnes as they went close to clinching a historic league ***** le.
He scored six goals and recording 11 ***** ists in 42 appearances and made his international debut in a friendly against Italy this summer.
Kyzaridis played in Lisbon against Benfica last week but will now travel to Turkey to finalise the deal.

#kyziridis #midlothian

Before heading to Cyprus next Thursday, our Red Bulls will first travel to face Wolfsberger AC. At approximately 9,537 km², Austria's southernmost state of Carinthia is almost the same size as the Mediterranean island (approx. 9,250 km²) – and it certainly also boasts plenty of sunshine and beaches. However, our focus is clearly on the pitch: with away wins targeted – starting on Sunday in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga.
The hunt for points at WAC won't be a walk in the park, though, as the Carinthian side's performance in the first matchday was truly impressive. Thomas Silberberger's team made a statement with their 3-0 home win against FK Austria Vienna in their league opener and, thanks to their superior goal difference, can even call themselves league leaders (level with LASK) after the first matchday. Meanwhile, we can draw on the confidence gained from three wins in three competitive matches.
Selecting attacking players will be difficult for Danny Röhl, as our Red Bulls have several players unavailable or doubtful after the grueling home match against Pafos FC. You can find more information about the issues below.
Kick-off is at the usual time this time: Sunday at 17:00 CEST. It will be shown on TV and streamed on Sky Sport Austria.
The match can also be watched, like all our Bundesliga matches, on OneFootball (with individual match streams and season passes available) except in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the following countries and regions where the following broadcasters show one to three Bundesliga matches per matchday: the Balkan region(Sportklub), Czechia and Slovakia (Arena Sport), Italy (Mola TV), Ukraine (Maincast TV), Russia (TV Start) and Israel (The Sports Channel).

#austria

Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Motherwell and Rangers now have a clearer idea of who they might face in Europa League and Conference League qualifying after Uefa confirmed the groupings for Monday's draws.
Celtic already knew their potential opponents in their Champions League play-off, with their draw at 11:00 BST and the Europa League draw an hour later, followed by the Conference League at 13:00.
Now Rangers know that, if they defeat Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok in the third round of Europa League qualifying, they will face either Lillestrom of Norway, the winners of the tie between Northern Irish champions Larne and Iberia 1999 of Georgia, or the losers of two Champions League qualifiers - between Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) and Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan) or Mjallby (Sweden) and Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia).
Having dropped down from Champions League qualifying, Hearts face Benfica and the winners of that also have four possible opponents.
Those are OFI Crete, the winners of Thun (Switzerland) and Vikingur Reykjavik (Iceland), or the losers of two Champions League qualifiers - AGF Aarhus (Denmark) and Sabah (Azerbaijan) and Dinamo (Croatia) and Kauno Zalgiris (Lithuania).

#league #rangers

Ajax are through to the next round of the Conference League after a demolition job on Serbian side Vojvodina. They will be joined in the next round of the competition by FC Twente, who ended up losing out in the Europa League to Hungarian side Ferencvaros. Despite the hosts being down to 10 men, FC Twente were unable to capitalise and will now drop down a competition.
Things had been going badly for the Dutch side with Ferencvaros 2-0 up after 50 minutes. The Hungarian home side were already down to 10 men at this point after Belgian midfielder Philippe Rommens had been sent off in the first half. It took FC Twente until the final 10 minutes to put real pressure on, with goals from Wout Weghorts and Lucas Vennegoor of Hesselink. Yet these came too little too late for FC Twente to equalise on aggregate and they ended up losing 4-3 overall. Twente will now face Slovakian side DAC 1904 Dunajska Streda in the Conference League.
Ajax had no problem in their second leg against Vojvodina. The Amsterdam side won 4-1 on the night, 8-2 on aggregate thanks to a hat-trick from Oscar Gloukh. Ajax will now face Irish side Shelbourne who beat Estonian side Nomme Kalju over two legs.
GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson

#down

VfB Stuttgart have officially confirmed the signing of Feyenoord attacker Leo Sauer. The Swabians edged out regional Baden-Württemberg rivals Hoffenheim to obtain the 20-year-old's signature. Kicker and all other reputable German footballing media sources confirm a base transfer fee of approximately €12.5m. Moreover, all sources corroborate the existence of performance bonuses tacked onto the deal.
Sauer's new contract in the BaWü capital runs through 2031. Sauer already possesses a profile in Germany, courtesy of the fact that he made Nnamdi Collins' life a nightmare during Slovakia's September 2025 upset of Germany. The young Slovak international will now receive a chance to further enhance his career in the Bundesliga.
"Leo has repeatedly demonstrated his qualities in the Dutch Eredivisie, in the Europa League, and while playing for the Slovak national team," VfB Board Member for Sport Fabian Wohlgemuth noted in a club statement. "He is a player with great potential for us—not just because of his age. We've signed him with the firm conviction that we can further strengthen and expand our [team] attacking approach within our playing culture for the coming years."
It feels great to now be part of such a prestigious club." the player himself added. "VfB has a strong reputation, a rich tradition, and a huge fan base. I can't wait to get to know all my teammates and play for my new club for the first time. My goal is to be as successful as possible with VfB in all three competitions."
GGFN | Peter Weis

#slovak

Anthony Michael Hall married Licia Oskerova in 2020
The couple welcomed their son Anthony Michael II in 2024 and renewed their vows in 2023 at St. Mary's Cathedral
Hall says fatherhood and marriage are his greatest roles
For Anthony Michael Hall, finding love and family later in life was worth the wait.
"I have found my soulmate," he tells PEOPLE of his Slovakian-born wife Licia Oskerova, whom he married in 2020. "I have, and I love her."

#hall #love #cathedral #people

Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who was one of the heroes of Cape Verde's fairytale run at the World Cup, is signing for Colo Colo, the Chilean club announced.
"Vozinha is set to become a Colo Colo player; he will arrive in Chile in the coming days, undergo the necessary medical tests and will then be presented here at the Monumental Stadium," club president Anibal Mosa told reporters ahead of a league match on Friday evening.
Vozinha starred at the World Cup with heroic displays in a 0-0 group-stage draw against eventual champions Spain and in a 3-2 extra-time loss to finalists Argentina in the knock-out rounds.
The goalie, whose full name is Josimar Jose Evora Dias, will move to Chile from Chaves of the Portuguese second division. Although he did not sign his first professional contract until he was 26, he has also played in Cyprus, Slovakia, Moldova and Angola.
"He's in very good form; that's why we're signing him," said Mosa.

#colo #club #chilean

No Championship head coach will have his side where they want them to be at this stage of pre-season, according to Bolton Wanderers boss Steven Schumacher.
The Trotters are preparing for their return to the Championship after beating Stockport County in the League One play-off final in May.
They beat Oldham Athletic 3-1 in their second pre-season friendly on Wednesday night having returned from a training camp in Slovakia last week.
"I don't think there's any team or manager standing here now saying they're exactly where they want to be," Schumacher told BBC Radio Manchester.
"We're still a long way physically from where we need to get to, tactically we still need to work on a few things. Defensively we've looked solid enough, really well organised and the attitude to defend has been really good."

#really #bolton

Stuttgart entered the race for Leo Sauer alongside the negotiations with VfL Wolfsburg for Dženan Pejčinović. The Slovak international scored three goals for Feyenoord in 20 Eredivisie appearances last term.
Hoffenheim are already on the track as the potential alternative to RB Salzburg's Adam Daghim, who spent last season on loan at Wolfsburg. According to several reports, the Sinsheim club are currently prioritizing the deal for the Danish winger.
Saur had his breakthrough season in 2024/25 when he scored seven league goals in his loan stint at NAC Breda. The now 20-year-old was one of the top performers when Slovakia stunned Germany in the opening fixture for the World Cup qualifiers last year.

#last

Everton have stepped up their pursuit of Genoa right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy. Representatives and intermediaries connected to the Italian side are already locked in fresh talks. Genoa look ready to sell the 22-year-old this summer if someone meets their valuation. They want around €20 million, which pans out at roughly £17 million.
It is a price tag that sits comfortably within the current budget at Goodison Park, and club chiefs view it as a highly realistic target. The player is keen too. A return to the Premier League holds massive appeal, especially with the guarantee of regular top-flight minutes on the table. Settling into the dressing room should be a breeze. He already knows several faces in David Moyes’s squad, having shared pitches with Tyrique George, Tyler Dibling, and Hayden Hackney during his time with the England Under-21s.
Born in Pimlico and polished in the ***** nal academy system, Norton-Cuffy built his reputation the hard way. He ground out dirty minutes in the Championship during loan spells at Lincoln, Rotherham, Coventry, and Millwall. Then Genoa called. Moving to Serie A is usually a daunting leap for a young British defender. He handled it. Last season, Brooke Norton-Cuffy racked up 2,216 minutes across 27 appearances, starting 25 times after making a debut against Atalanta. Two goals and an ***** ist across the campaign showed his attacking intent, even if a couple of red cards and discipline issues showed he still has a bit of rawness.
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA – JUNE 28: Brooke Norton-Cuffy of U21 England celebrates with the UEFA European Under-21 Championship trophy after his team’s victory in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2025 Final match between England and Germany at National Football stadium on June 28, 2025 in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo by Christian Hofer/Getty Images)
That brings us to the real question. Does Moyes actually need him? The right-back spot is already looking incredibly crowded, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka is still the primary target for that role. Rico Lewis and Djed Spence are hovering on the radar, too. Bringing Norton-Cuffy into that mix feels less like strategic squad building and more like a club struggling to make a definitive choice.

"Who else?"
When Jude Bellingham scored an injury-time equaliser against Slovakia to keep England in Euro 2024, the midfielder raced towards the stands shouting that phrase in celebration.
Henry Pollock chose Bellingham's more familiar outstretched-arms celebration to mark his hat-trick in England's 73-8 rout of Fiji, but there was that same feeling of inevitability.
Former England wing Chris Ashton, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, had already predicted it.
"A Pollock hat-trick would be a nice way to end this game," said Ashton on air as England prepared for a last-minute line-out just outside the Fiji 22m.

THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, London — Like so much in women's tennis, it all goes back to Martina Navratilova.
She was the first great female champion of the modern era from what is now called the Czech Republic. She won on the Wimbledon grass like no one has, before or since. Nine singles **** les, plus seven more in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles.
Navratilova defected from Czechoslovakia to the U.S. in 1975, but as she became the best player the sport had ever seen, the little girls in her birth country kept watching.
Navratilova spawned Hana Mandlíková, who led to Helena Suková and Jana Novotná and Petra Kvitová and Karolína Plíšková and Barbora Krejčíková and Markéta Vondroušová and Kateřina Siniaková, the world's top doubles player these days, who is also now on the cusp of the top 30 in singles. Suková was No. 1 in doubles and No. 4 in singles.
All of them won Grand Slam **** les or became the world No. 1. All except Plíšková, Suková and Siniaková won the Wimbledon singles **** le. Plíšková made the singles final in 2021; Siniaková has three Wimbledon women's doubles **** les, two with Krejčíková; Suková won the women's doubles four times and the mixed three times.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A referendum held in Slovakia on Saturday to decide whether to cancel lifelong payments for populist Prime Minister Robert Fico and other leaders after their terms in office expire failed to produce a valid result due to low turnout.
With the votes from 99.5% of all polling stations counted by the Slovak Statistics Office, turnout was 16.1%, far less than the required 50%.
The Slovaks were also voting on whether to reopen the office of the special prosecutor and the National Criminal Agency, which both dealt with major crime and corruption.
The referendum followed a petition organized by the Democrats, a non-parliamentary pro-Western opposition party, and was signed by more than 350,000 citizens in the nation of 5.4 million, the threshold required by law.
Only one of the 10 referendums in Slovakia's history — the 2003 vote on the country's European Union membership — was successful. Others failed due to low turnout.

Jude Bellingham unleashed a furious boot into an advertising board at the New York Stadium to demonstrate the passion that drives the No 10 when England are frantically chasing games. There is now no mystery behind which England player might emerge during these spells of adversity. Bellingham can be trusted to take the game over and dovetail with Harry Kane, a vital relationship on the field that is likely to define this team’s journey.
Bellingham’s eighth international goal came in a precious 2-0 World Cup win over Panama to wrap up top spot in Group L over Croatia and Ghana and secure what appears to be an easier path in the knockout stage. Of Bellingham’s eight goals for the Three Lions though, five have come in major tournaments, showing just how he can elevate his game when others around him routinely shrink.
Yes, it was only Panama, but England were drifting and had spent 51 minutes stuck in second gear as Croatia led Ghana in Philadelphia, knowing an easier run in theory and the morale of advancing as group winners were slipping away.
Adding to his catalogue of goals on the big stage, which includes that miraculous 95th minute bicycle kick against Slovakia at the last Euros, Bellingham settled nerves with the breakthrough before setting up Kane for the goal that saw him surpass Gary Lineker as England’s all-time leading World Cup goalscorer (11).
Bellingham had match-leading key passes (4), dribbles (3) and tackles (4), underlining his status as one of the most complete players in the world.

Bruins Pick 2nd Goalie In 2026 NHL Draft, Boston College Commit originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The first pick the Boston Bruins made in the 2026 NHL Draft was for 17-year-old goaltender Yuri Ivanov in the second round. Nearly 100 picks later, the Bruins used a second selection on a netminder in the sixth round.
With the 170th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Boston Bruins selected 19-year-old goaltender Roberto Henriquez out of the USHL.
Henriquez is actually a Bratislava, Slovakia native, but he played for the Green Bay Gamblers in the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2025-26.
During 37 games with the Gamblers, Henriquez posted an impressive 21-9-4 record with a .921 save percentage and two shutouts.

A Dominican-Slovakian, huh?
Henriquez comes to us from the USHL, though he is heading to Boston College this fall. His story absolutely rules; he chose to pick up goaltending in Middle School, and promptly just sort of stayed good at it throughout his career, only really stumbling in his first year in a new system before rebounding big. He also had a goalie fight last year???
This dude rules and I want him to be a Boston Bruin very, very badly.
Anyway, his stats!
Let’s all welcome Roberto to the Boston Bruins!

Tottenham have confirmed the signing of experienced goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
The Slovakian will join the club in July following the expiration of his contract with Burnley.
"It's an exciting time for me, a new journey and new experience for me and my family," Dubravka said. "I'm looking forward to it.
https://static.smartframe....
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Tottenham have made two free agent signings thus far and according to Alasdair Gold might be close to a third. Gold is reporting that Tottenham Hotspur is close to a free agent acquisition of former Burnley and Slovakia international keeper Martin Dubravka.
This is fine, and actually a quite decent signing, especially if he's coming in as an experienced backup. The scuttlebutt around the club right now is that Robert De Zerbi and Spurs are ready to part ways with Guglielmo Vicario, with Juventus very interested in the Italian keeper. Antonin Kinsky impressed in Tottenham's run-in this past season, ably filling in for the injured Vicario and even keeping him out of the side for the last couple of matches. That's an impressive thing for a young keeper, especially after the disasterclass performance in the Europa League loss to Atletico Madrid at the Wanda, a performance that surely dented his confidence. Spurs are expected to give Kinsky the shot at the #1 spot in Vicario's place, and that means Dubravka would be coming in to both push and back up Kinsky.
Honestly, bringing an experienced and elder keeper in to back up your young potential star is a good move. Dubravka is 37 but has been around the block a LOT over his career. Should Kinsky be injured or simply find himself not up to the task of being Tottenham's starting keeper, I have no doubt Dubravka could come in and do a job. I wouldn't imagine that his deal would be longer than 1-2 years – he's certainly not a long term signing, but he'd be able to mentor Kinsky and step in easily if required. He's also not Czech like Kinsky but is from the same part of Europe and could be a good life mentor as well.
I don't hate this at all. While it'd be nice to have a backup keeper be English, homegrown and club trained, that doesn't matter so much this season as Spurs don't have to contend with European competition this season. It might make less sense next year if Spurs get back into Europe, but for now this is both fine and good. Let's make it happen.

PRAGUE (AP) — Thousands of Czechs rallied in the capital on Sunday to condemn a plan by the government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to overhaul funding for public broadcasters that is considered dangerous for their independence.
The protesters gathered in front of the Czech public television offices in Prague to voice their support for the media a day before their staffers plan to go on a warning strike, and after recent protest marches in the regional capitals and Prague.
According to the plan approved last week, public radio and television would be financed from the state budget starting next year, and not from fees paid by individuals, households and businesses.
Critics say that change would give the three-party coalition government a means to take control of the media following the examples of populist governments in Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico and in Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
"The media don't belong to politicians," Mikuláš Minář, a main organizer from the Million Moments for Democracy group said. "They belong to us all and we won't allow them to be stolen from us."

2026 Slovak Darts Open: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explained originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Euro Tour heads to Slovakia, with the Slovak Darts Open marking the ninth ET event of 2026.
As usual, 48 qualifiers will battle it out, starting on Friday, in hopes of advancing to the final on Sunday night.
Let's take a look at some of the specifics of the tournament.
MORE: 2026 Slovak Darts Open qualifiers