Latest news with #Slovakian
Sunday World
4 hours ago
- Sunday World
Evil killer Josef Puska going to prison school ‘courtesy of the Irish taxpayer'
'It is ironic that Puska's victim, Aisling, a teacher by trade can't go to school because he took her life, but yet he can' Evil killer Josef Puska is going to school every day behind bars, we can reveal. The brute who stabbed primary school teacher Aisling Murphy to death in a frenzied attack while she was out jogging, is learning how to read, write and speak English. The 35 year old Slovakian is serving a life sentence for a crime that shocked the nation in the Midlands Prison. Prison sources say he has yet to admit his guilt or give any explanation why he did it. Yet he is now getting an education while in jail courtesy of the Irish taxpayer and it is costing thousands of euros every year. Teacher Ashling Murphy was stabbed to death A prison source said; "It is ironic that Puska's victim, Aisling, a teacher by trade can't go to school because he took her life, but yet he can. "Every day now he goes to school in the Midlands Prison and is learning to speak English, and to read and write in English, among other things. "Most lifers take a prison job - but he didn't. "However that is no surprise since he lived off Irish state handouts for years and hardly ever did a day's work in his life.' The education system in Irish jails is among the best in the world. Inmates can go to school every day and do exams from the Leaving Certificate to a University Degree. Quite often many prisoners who were born into a life of poverty and crime just do basics like learning to read and write. Aisling was killed in Tullamore, Co Offaly while out running on January 12, 2022. Puska had been living with his wife Lucia and their children in a house on the outskirts of the town. He pleaded not guilty even though he had confessed to the murder to the Gardai while recovering in hospital after trying to take his own life. His trial heard he had been cycling around Tullamore stalking other women on the day of the murder before singling out Aisling and stabbing her 11 times in an unprovoked attack. Jozef Puska being led in to Tullamore District Court in January 2022. Photo: PA The jury saw through his denials and convicted him in November, 2023. He has been detained in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise not far from his home for most of the time since. He has launched an appeal against his conviction and no date has been set for it yet, but the speculation is it will be this Autumn. He claims his "confession" should never have been revealed at his trial in the first place because he was on medication, the painkiller Oxycodone and was recovering from surgery. Puska has been telling fellow inmates that he is confident of winning it and that he will be back on the streets free soon enough. Jozef Puska (centre) when he was charged with the murder of Ashling Murphy The killer is visited by his wife at the jail most weeks and she is firmly standing by him. He is being detained in a landing along with a number of other murderers who are serving life sentences. It is believed he decided to start going to school several months ago and is enjoying it. The prison source said; " He had no interest in doing a prison job like cooking and cleaning so going to school gives him something to do every day instead of dossing around the place. "He had to have a translator after his arrest and during the trial because he said he didn't understand English so maybe he will now understand the English language for his appeal." It currently costs 100,000 euros a year to keep a prisoner locked up in an Irish Jail. The prison source said Puska is likely to serve 30 years because no Independent Parole Board or Justice Minister will want to see him get released early. He added; "This fella is going to cost Irish taxpayers around 3 million euros for what he did, and then we are educating him as well." The Judge at the trial, Mr Justice Hunt, bemoaned the fact that he didn't have the power to impose a minimum jail time Puska must serve for what he did.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
UM men's basketball lands Slovakian forward and Texas point guard for 2025-26 season
University of Miami men's basketball head coach Jai Lucas added two more players to his 2025-26 roster, Slovakian forward Timotej Malovec and point guard John Laboy II, a Houston, Texas, native with whom Lucas has strong ties. Malovec, who is 6-8, played for Mega Superbet in the ABA League First Division in Serbia. 'Timotej is an extremely versatile player who can not only attack the basket, but also be a threat from the perimeter,' Lucas said. 'His maturity and experience playing overseas make him a great fit for our program and we cannot wait for him to get to Miami.' In 2024-25, Malovec averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 36.5 percent from 3-point range for Mega Superbet. He has represented Slovakia at the senior and junior national team levels. At the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers, Malovec averaged 8.7 points, 6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six games. In the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B, Malovec averaged 16.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. Laboy II, 6-2, is a three-star recruit per 247Sports and was named to the Houston Chronicle's All-TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Prochial Schools) Second Team as a senior. 'I have known John and his family a long time through our Houston roots and I am very excited to welcome him to the Miami family,' Lucas said. 'John has a high basketball IQ and is the ultimate teammate. He is someone I see growing with the program and I know that he will positively impact the culture we want to build at The U.' He averaged 14.2 points, 4.0 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while also shooting 45 percent from the field in 2024-25 and led St. Francis Episcopal to the TAPPS 4A State title.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pro-Putin Viktor Orban & Robert Fico lash out at EU; ‘Change is needed, this cannot go on…'
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico delivered fiery speeches at the 2025 CPAC Hungary conference in Budapest, launching scathing critiques of the European Union's leadership. Orbán accused Brussels of 'hijacking and derailing' Europe's future and echoing his sentiments was Fico, who accused the EU of suppressing dissent. Fico's comments followed his visit to Russia for the 2025 Victory Day Parade. Watch their remarks here.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hungary's Orbán says Trump offers 'hope' at right-wing conference
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán described US President Donald Trump's presidency as a "true civilizational turning point" at an international conference of right-wing populists and Russia supporters on Thursday. "We will not drown in a sea of 'wokeness,' migrants will not overrun us, Donald Trump has given [the world] back hope for a normal life and for peace," Orbán said in his opening speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Budapest. Trump sent a welcome video to the event, recorded in the Oval Office. In it, he praised Orbán as "a great man who is highly respected by everybody." "He has done a brilliant job of leading, and he is a very special person," Trump added. Other speakers at the two-day conference include the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, Alice Weidel, the head of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria, Herbert Kickl, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze. Orbán has been ruling Hungary with increasingly authoritarian methods since 2010. He has repeatedly advocated watering down EU sanctions on Moscow and has obstructed the bloc's support of Ukraine in its defence against Russia's full-scale invasion.e
The Journal
4 days ago
- The Journal
Jozef Puska's brother denied telling someone to dispose of knife used to murder Ashling Murphy
JOZEF PUSKA'S BROTHER denied to gardaí that he told someone to dispose of the knife used to murder schoolteacher Ashling Murphy, the Central Criminal Court has heard. The jury also heard that Lubomir Puska Jnr (37) denied that he had asked anyone to dispose of the clothes worn by his brother on the day Jozef Puska murdered Ms Murphy. Jozef Puska (35) attacked Ms Murphy (23) on the canal towpath at Cappincur in Tullamore on 12 January 2022. She died having suffered 12 sharp force injuries to her neck, eleven of which were stab wounds. Puska's brothers Lubomir Puska Jnr and Marek Puska (36) are charged with withholding information, knowing or believing that the information might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution, or conviction of Jozef Puska for a serious offence involving loss of human life or serious personal injury to another. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are charged under the Offences Against the State, Amendment Act 1988. Jozefina Grundzova (31), who is married to Marek Puska, and Viera Gaziova (38), who is married to Lubomir Puska Jnr, are accused of assisting in burning clothing between 12 and 14 January, without reasonable excuse, intending to impede the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska, knowing or believing him to have committed the offence of murder or some other arrestable offence within the same category or of a similar nature. They have pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are charged under the Criminal Law Act 1997. All the accused have an address at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Tullamore, Co Offaly. The jury previously heard that in his first statement to gardaí, Lubomir Jnr said he first saw his brother Jozef in the early afternoon that day. He seemed 'a bit sad, not in a good mood,' Lubomir Jnr said. He told gardaí that he left the house at about 11.30 and did not see his brother again. However, he later returned to the garda station and made a second statement, in which he apologised for lying and said that when Jozef arrived home on the night of January 12, it looked like he had been struck on the forehead. Jury watch garda interview The jury at the Central Criminal Court today watched video footage of Lubomir Jnr's interview with gardaí on 18 January 2022, in which he said he returned home on the day Ms Murphy was murdered to find his brother Jozef looking 'like he was beaten by someone'. Through a Slovakian interpreter, Lubomir Jnr said that Jozef was 'swollen on the forehead' and his cheek was red like he had been scraped. He said his brother had 'a weird walk, kind of broken,' as though something had happened to him. He told the gardaí that his brother, who was just out of the shower, opened the towel he was wearing to reveal three stab wounds. Advertisement 'He looked drunk, but he wasn't drunk,' said Lubomir Jnr. He told gardaí that he asked Jozef what had happened to him, to which his brother replied that he had wanted to kill himself and he had done a 'horrendous thing'. 'He said when he was stabbing himself, there was a girl running or exercising, she went towards him,' the accused told gardaí. 'She said: 'What are you doing? Don't do it, you are too young.' He said to her, 'Leave me alone, it's my life, my business.'' The accused said that Jozef 'probably wanted to push her away to leave him alone', but he thought that Jozef 'cut her with the knife'. After telling the gardaí this, the accused said it had been 'very heavy, very hard to say'. 'I never said anything like that in my life,' said the accused. He told gardaí that he could not believe what his brother was telling him, so he asked him again what he had done. 'Don't make any secrets' He said that Jozef told him: 'I don't know whether I hurt her so much, but I think I did… it must have been an accident, I didn't want to do this, but I just switched my hand as she was coming near me.' The accused said he told his brother to tell their parents immediately what he had done, to which Jozef said that he would tell them but only after they brought him to Dublin. The accused said he told his brother to tell their parents everything and 'don't make any secrets'. In a further interview, the accused told gardaí that he thought Jozef had his clothes in the bathroom with him. When asked if anyone removed those clothes, he said that he did not know. Detective Garda Joanne O'Sullivan gave evidence to prosecution counsel Sean Gillane SC of the accused's next interview with gardaí, conducted on 26 January 2022. In this interview, it was put to the accused that someone had asked his wife to move Josef's clothes and put them beside the bin. 'I don't know who it was, it wasn't me,' replied the accused. In a further interview on 27 January 2022, it was put to the accused that when he knew Jozef had murdered Ms Murphy, he 'bundled him up and sent him to Dublin' before giving instructions to dispose of the clothes. The accused denied this and also denied that he had asked anyone to dispose of the knife. The trial continues tomorrow before Ms Justice Caroline Biggs and a jury of seven men and five women. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
