Slovakia Financial News

The European Union has decided not to renew a ban on Ukrainian food imports heading to nearby countries

WARSAW—Russia’s blockage of Ukrainian food exports has become a painful political issue next door in the European Union. EU authorities must decide Friday whether to extend a ban preventing Ukrainian grain from being sold in neighboring EU countries, an issue that has sparked a rift between Kyiv and Poland, one of the Ukrainian government’s strongest backers in the war. The temporary ban, aimed at keeping out cheaper exports, expires at midnight Friday.

Poland's prime minister says his government will not lift its embargo on imports of Ukrainian grain as scheduled Friday because it would hurt Polish farmers

The United States’ major pickleball tournament is expanding to Australia under an ambitious plan to professionalise a sport that high-profile athletes including NFL star Tom Brady and Nick Kyrgios have put money behind.

By Sruthi Shankar and Shashwat Chauhan

HYBE, the makers of the current most popular boy band BTS, is looking for a new girl band. The company held worldwide auditions in association with the USA's Geffen Records to create a new global girl group. This is being done on a big scale for Netflix as a docuseries and also on YouTube. The two record companies recently announced the 2024 series and also a companion-piece online show that will begin on Thursday, August 30, as part of their The Debut: Dream Academy. The selection process for the girl group started in November 2021, when 120,000 applications of girl group potentials were screened. The worldwide hunt resulted in 20 candidates being selected. The females come from countries as diverse as Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, Sweden, Japan, Belarus, Switzerland, Slovakia, the Philippines, South Korea, and the USA. Now, in the docuseries, fans will be able to follow the selected contestants through the final stages of the auditions.

Netflix has officially ordered a second season for the Danish medical drama series, marking over a year since its initial debut. The six-part series, which landed on Netflix on June 8, 2022, centers on a fertility doctor, Josephine Park, who unintentionally inseminates herself with her former boyfriend's sperm after a night of drinking.

Porsche is exploring opportunities to start assembly of its iconic model SUV Cayenne in India amid an “unprecedented surge” in demand, senior industry executives aware of the German luxury carmaker’s plans told ET. Porsche AG board members Detlev von Platen, executive board for sales and marketing, and Matthias Becker, vice president of region overseas and emerging markets, are in Delhi to meet senior government officials, the sources said. They are scheduled to meet officials at Invest India and Niti Aayog on Tuesday. “Porsche is examining possibilities to locally assemble the SUV (Cayenne) to avail of tax benefits and expand its footprint in this fast-growing space,” a senior executive in know said on condition of anonymity. The company’s sales in India grew 64% on year to 779 units in 2022 with Cayenne accounting for almost half of it, the person said. Porsche did not share any information on the development in response to a query from ET. India recently surpassed Japan to become the third largest automobile market in the world. The country imposes 100% import duty on cars with cost, insurance and freight value of more than $40,000 and 70% on cheaper vehicles.

European Union nations are resisting an updated climate pledge showing the bloc is on course to over-deliver on emissions cuts ahead of COP28, in the latest sign of concern over the pace of the green transition. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, is aiming to submit by September a revised pledge showing it’s on course to slash carbon emissions by 57% by 2030, according to a draft document seen by Bloomberg. But Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Romania are concerned that the figure — higher than the 55% targeted under the bloc’s green deal — is too ambitious, according to people familiar with the matter.

Poland’s oil pipeline operator says that it has temporarily shut down a pipeline carrying oil from Russia to Germany after discovering a leak

The European Union will look at helping fund the costly transportation of grain out of Ukraine after Russia halted a deal that allowed Black Sea exports vital to global food security

ATHENS (Reuters) — A wildfire raged uncontrolled on the Greek island of Rhodes on Saturday, forcing hundreds of people to flee affected villages and beaches, authorities said.

Five European Union countries will extend their ban on Ukrainian grain to protect their farmers’ interests

Kosovo’s government has decided to reduce by one-fourth the number of special police officers and also hold new mayoral elections in four Serb-majority municipalities

The head of Slovakia’s central bank — a member of the European Central Bank committee that decides monetary policy for 20 countries — says he won't step down despite bribery charges against him

Slovakia's Komarno town are facing an unprecedented challenge as swans have developed an unexpected addiction to their crops, according to reports from Baltic News. This phenomenon began in February of this year when the swans first arrived at the poppy farms, and they have since remained, wreaking havoc on the fields. Not only have these birds destroyed the poppy plants, but they have also become dangerously intoxicated, rendering them unable to fly properly and easy targets for predators.

European Union (EU) lawmakers have agreed to move ahead with the controversial European Data Act, which has previously drawn criticism from the crypto community. The act, aimed at encouraging greater use of data resources to train algorithms, would update the EU’s rules on smart contracts to include a kill switch option that would allow them to be safely terminated. Obviously, this contradicts the fundamental idea of trust in smart contracts. 

The deputies of Slovakia's National Council, the country's legislative body, voted on June 28 to endorse an amendment that will reduce the taxation of cryptocurrencies in the country.

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Members of Slovakia’s National Council of the Slovak Republic — the country’s parliament — have voted to approve lower crypto taxes, along with additional measures affecting cryptocurrency holders.

Slovakia will codify the right to use cash as a method of payment after a vote to amend the nation’s constitution passed in parliament on June 15.