News

Czech car racer Martin Prokop and motorcyclist Milan Engel both improved their overall positions at the Rally Dakar after the seventh stage in Saudi Arabia. Prokop lost around ten minutes to stage winner Mattias Ekström, but is expected to move up to 13th overall, while Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah remains in the lead. Among motorcyclists, Engel moved up one place to 20th overall. He said the very fast stage favoured riders with quicker bikes, while he was also limited by pain in his hand.

The Motorists’ party plans further steps in its dispute with President Petr Pavel over the nomination of Filip Turek as environment minister, party leader Petr Macinka said on Sunday. Speaking on CNN Prima News, Macinka declined to specify the moves but ruled out filing a constitutional lawsuit, arguing that lawmakers—not judges—should decide how governments are formed. Macinka insisted that Turek should still take the post and said an office is being prepared for him, while Macinka continues to run the ministry temporarily. Opposition figures criticised the president’s refusal, while others said the government could challenge Pavel’s decision in court. Turek has announced a personal lawsuit seeking an apology.

Firefighters have brought an injured man to the surface from a normally inaccessible cave near Rudice in the Moravian Karst. The man was handed over to paramedics on Sunday morning after a demanding rescue operation that lasted nearly 21 hours. He had been trapped an estimated 50 to 70 metres underground and some 250 to 300 metres from the cave entrance. Fire crews had been working at the site since early Saturday afternoon, with the transport through narrow cave passages alone taking about five hours. Firefighters described the rescue as an exceptional and extremely challenging operation without precedent in Czech conditions.

Trade unions are sticking to their demands from last year for higher public-sector wages in 2026. They want a nine percent rise in pay tariffs for lower-paid professions and the civil service, and a six percent increase for doctors, nurses and social service workers, effective from January. Josef Středula, head of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions, told Czech Press Agency (ČTK) ahead of Monday’s talks with the government. The previous cabinet approved January pay rises for teachers, teaching assistants and security forces, but left other professions unresolved. The new coalition government of ANO, the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party and the Motorists' party is expected to discuss its draft budget later this month, with union talks continuing after Monday’s tripartite meeting.