8 Apr 2024

Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney

From Nine To Noon, 9:50 am on 8 April 2024

Slovakia has elected a pro-Russian populist as its new president, cementing the country’s switch towards policies more friendly towards Moscow. A big police operation linked to allegations of fraud involving post-Covid funding has seen raids in numerous EU countries. And shock in Finland as one person is killed in a school shooting committed by a 12 year old.

Police tape cordons off the Viertola School in Vantaa, in the north of  the Finnish capital Helsinki, on April 3, 2024, one day after a 12-year-old opened fire inside the school, killing a classmate and seriously injuring two other children. Finland will fly its flags at half-mast on April 3, 2024, to mark the country's mourning after a 12-year-old opened fire at a school, killing one classmate and seriously injuring two others in the city of Vantaa. (Photo by Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUT

Police tape cordons off the Viertola School in Vantaa after a 12-year-old opened fire inside the school, killing a classmate and seriously injuring two other children. Photo: JUSSI NUKARI