Slovakia’s president is cutting short a trip to Asia to return home to help solve a political crisis after parliament refused to endorse more powers for an EU bailout fund and the government collapsed.

Nine bodies have been recovered from a Slovak coal mine following a fire and explosion, and 11 other people are also believed to have died, authorities said today.

To the sound of midnight fireworks and pealing church bells, Slovakia joined the eurozone, putting it under the shared currency’s protective umbrella amid a world financial downpour – and