World

Slovakia Tests Entire Population for COVID-19

Published

4 years ago

October 31, 2020

Eric

Slovakia on Saturday begins a programme to screen its entire population for coronavirus with antigen tests in what would be a global first, but critics have said the plan is poorly thought out.

Some 45,000 medical workers, army and police are being deployed to carry out the tests in the EU member state of 5.4 million people, collecting swabs at around 5,000 testing points.

“The world will be watching,” Prime Minister Igor Matovic said earlier this week, adding that the measure would save “hundreds of lives”.

Antigen tests give quick results — sometimes within minutes — but are not seen as being as reliable as the PCR test for which nasal swabs have to be sent to a lab for analysis.

Participation in the testing is not mandatory but anyone who is not able to produce a negative test certificate if stopped by police could get a heavy fine.

Anyone who tests positive has to go immediately into quarantine for 10 days.

“This will be our road to freedom,” Matovic said, hinting that virus restrictions could be eased once testing is complete or reinforced if the programme is not carried out in full.

Slovakia would be the first country of its size to undergo nationwide testing, although mass testing has taken place in entire Chinese cities.

Smaller European states such as Luxembourg and Monaco have also announced mass testing programmes.

– Government ‘threatening people’ –

Like other countries, Slovakia has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus cases although it is below the EU average.

On Friday it reported a record of 3,363 new daily infections, bringing the total to 55,091. The death toll currently stands at 212.

The government is hoping to complete the nationwide testing over two days and carry out another round of mass tests next weekend.

But it has struggled to find medical workers to staff all the testing sites and has been forced to offer cash bonuses for doctors.

During pilot testing in four high-risk regions last weekend, people had to queue for up to two hours in some cases.

The Slovak Association of General Practitioners has criticised the government’s plan, saying it is ill-prepared.

The association said that the “mass concentration of millions of people” at testing sites “is at odds with the recommendations of infectious disease experts to reduce public contacts and mobility as much as possible”.

Many ordinary people — like Radovan Babincak, an unemployed man living in the capital Bratislava — want to stay away.

“The government and the prime minister are threatening people,” the 40-year-old told AFP.

Anton Dubovsky, a 67-year-old petrol station operator, said he and his son would not go.

“I am not convinced this testing is a good idea at all,” he said.

(AFP)

World

Elon Musk Threatens Financiers of Attacks Against Tesla with Prison

Published

44 minutes ago

April 9, 2025

Eric

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has vowed that those who financed the attacks against Tesla will go to prison.

Last month, multiple Tesla vehicles were set ablaze in Las Vegas.

Musk condemned the act, calling it an “evil attack.”

Eventually, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced charges against three people responsible for setting Tesla properties on fire in Las Vegas.

Bondi described the violent attacks on Tesla property as “nothing short of domestic terrorism.”

However, several weeks after the incident, Musk revealed in a tweet on X that those who financed the attacks against Tesla will go to jail.

“Those who financed the attacks against Tesla will go to prison,” Musk tweeted on Tuesday.

USA

‘Hands off’: Millions of People Join Protests Against Trump and Elon Musk Across All US States

Published

3 days ago

April 6, 2025

Eric

Millions of people took part in protests against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk across all 50 states and globally on Saturday, organized by a pro-democracy movement over “hostile takeover” and attack on American rights and freedoms.

According to CNN, over 1,400 “Hands Off!” mass-action protests were held at state capitols, federal buildings, congressional offices, Social Security’s headquarters, parks and city halls throughout the entire country – anywhere “we can make sure they hear us,” organizers said.

“Hands Off!” demands “an end to this billionaire power grab.”
“Whether you are mobilized by the attacks on our democracy, the slashing of jobs, the invasion of privacy, or the assault on our services – this moment is for you,” the event flyers state. “We are setting out to build a massive, visible, national rejection of this crisis.”

Nearly 600,000 people had signed up to attend the events, some of which took place in major cities like London and Paris, according to Indivisible, one of the organizations leading the movement in collaboration with a nationwide coalition that includes civil rights organizations, veterans, women’s rights groups, labor unions and LGBTQ+ advocates.

Organizers say they have three demands: “an end to the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration; an end to slashing federal funds for Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs working people rely on; and an end to the attacks on immigrants, trans people, and other communities.”

World

Jonathan Wins 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize, Tinubu Reacts

Published

2 weeks ago

March 25, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Following the pronouncement of former President Goodluck Jonathan as the winner of the 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize, President Bola Tinubu has sent his hearty congratulations.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the President acknowledged Jonathan’s pro-democracy stand, and efforts across the globe to sustain democratic principles. He noted that Jonathan has been a consistent advocate for “peace, harmony, and communality, a patriotic endeavour that has earned him global recognition”.

While thanking the organizers of the Prize for recognizing the ‘efforts of those working hard to improve the world’, he recalled Jonathan’s 2015 act of singular supervising the transition of power to an opposition government, stressing that “it bolstered the nation’s democratic profile”.

The statement in details:

“President Bola Tinubu congratulates former President Goodluck Jonathan on winning the 2025 Sunhak Peace Founders’ Award.

“President Tinubu applauds the former President for his consistent advocacy for peace, harmony, and communality, a patriotic endeavour that has earned him global recognition.

“The President states that Dr Jonathan’s winning the Sunhak Peace Award affirms his bold efforts in peacebuilding and promoting democracy in Africa and beyond.

“The President recalls the former President’s historic acceptance of the results of the 2015 presidential election and his peaceful handover of power to an opposition party, which bolstered the nation’s democratic profile.

“President Tinubu celebrates this landmark achievement with former President Jonathan and thanks the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee for recognising the efforts of those working hard to improve the world.”