SUMMARY - Friday, 16 January 2026 - 9 p.m.

Washington, 16 January (TASR) - My working trip to the USA is fully in line with Slovakia's sovereign foreign policy, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) posted on social media from Washington DC on Friday in response to critical comments from the opposition. https://etasr.sk/article/22846650 Bratislava, 16 January (TASR) - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) has decided to evacuate staff and temporarily close the Slovak Embassy in Tehran, making the decision due to the significantly deteriorating security situation in Iran, growing tensions, and the real threat of an escalation of military conflict, TASR was told by the ministry's communications department on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/22846887 Bratislava, 16 January (TASR) - Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) has ordered an internal audit of relevant public procurements in the health-care sector over the past few months, doing so in response to a suggestion from employees of the Health Ministry, who pointed out possible irregularities in the assessment and implementation of public procurement, as well as in the interest of maintaining the highest standards of transparency and economy, TASR was told by the ministry's spokesperson Veronika Danicova on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/22846809 Bratislava/Brussels, 16 January (TASR) - The European Commission (EC) on Friday greenlighted Slovakia's sixth request for a payment of €591 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with the Commission concluding that Slovakia has satisfactorily met all eight pre-defined milestones and 11 targets. https://etasr.sk/article/22846431 Bratislava, 16 January (TASR) - Slovakia may have 20-30 percent less funding for the agricultural sector in the new programme period, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) stated at a press conference on Friday following bilateral talks with Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida. https://etasr.sk/article/22846851 Zilina, 16 January (TASR) – The city of Zilina at 2.00 p.m. on Friday lifted the state of emergency declared on 4 December 2025 in response to the release of an unknown substance into the air on Moyzesova Street. https://etasr.sk/article/22846529 Bratislava, 16 January (TASR) - The police have charged three people with subsidy fraud, and one of them also with damaging the financial interests of the European Union, with the accused alleged to have committed the crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bratislava region police reported on social media on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/22846899 Nitra/Bratislava, 16 January (TASR) – Foxconn Slovakia will lay off hundreds of employees in Nitra, with the first of them having received their redundancy notices in December, TASR learnt on Friday. https://etasr.sk/article/22846345 Notice: If you click on the link or copy it into the search window, the browser will display the full text of the message in the new e-TASR client zone. If you have any questions, please contact obchod@tasr.sk. am