News

The Czech government has proposed stricter rules for the sale of kratom, including raising the minimum purchase age from 18 to 21 and banning online sales. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said the proposal would also introduce an excise tax on the substance and move it from the reduced to the standard VAT rate. Kratom has been legally available in Czechia under strict regulation since last November, when it was classified as a psychomodulatory substance. It is currently sold only in licensed specialist shops and to adults.

The Czech Rectors Conference has called on the government to reconsider its plan to replace licence fees with state budget funding for Czech Television and Czech Radio. In an open letter to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), the country's university leaders said public service media need independent and predictable funding to maintain the quality of their educational and science outreach programmes. They warned that the planned 15 percent reduction in funding would undermine activities that contribute to public education, scientific literacy and the Czech Republic's long-term competitiveness.

Doctors at Ostrava University Hospital have become the first in Czechia to use laser thermal ablation to treat brain tumours. The minimally invasive procedure is intended for a small group of patients whose tumours cannot be removed through conventional surgery because of their location or the patient's condition. During the operation, surgeons insert a laser fibre into the tumour before destroying cancer cells with heat under MRI guidance. Hospital officials stressed that the technique is not a replacement for standard brain surgery but expands the range of treatment options available to patients. Two women have successfully undergone the procedure.

Most people in Czechia believe freedom of speech should not be unlimited, according to a new survey by Czech Radio, the Czech Academy of Sciences' Centre for Public Opinion Research and MEDIAN. Nearly 70 percent of respondents said people can express their views freely in the country, while a majority also supported restricting speech in the interests of national security, democracy or to prevent incitement to hatred. More than 60 percent agreed that social media platforms should be allowed to remove content they consider hateful. The survey also found sharp political differences, with supporters of Freeddom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and Motorists being the least likely to support restrictions on free speech.