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NATO summits in recent years have fallen victim to efforts not to anger the alliance’s most powerful member, the US, says Czech President Petr Pavel. He made the comment in a debate with members of the public in the town of Třebíč. Mr. Pavel said a forthcoming NATO summit in Turkey would benefit from a return to informal discussions between leaders; these achieve more than mere formal approval of pre-agreed matters, he said.

The president insists he should represent Czechia at the summit in Ankara in early July, in line with general custom. However, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who has previously expressed opposition to Mr. Pavel’s involvement, says a decision on who will make up the country’s delegation will be made on June 22.

Steve Gove, founder and director of the Prague Fringe Festival, has been awarded an MBE by King Charles III in recognition of his contribution to Czech-British cultural relations. The honour was announced in the King's Birthday Honours list.

Mr. Gove co-founded the Prague Fringe Festival in the early 2000s, and this year the alternative theatre festival celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Three-quarters of Czechs view the country's labour shortage as a serious problem and 60 percent expect the situation to get worse over the next 10 to 15 years, suggests a survey conducted by the STEM/MARK agency for recruitment company Orienta Czech.

However, only 19 percent of respondents support the active recruitment of non-nationals and one in three would prefer to resolve the situation without the hiring of foreigners.

Six Czech Army tanks took part in a motorway driving drill on the D35 in the Olomouc Region on Tuesday. The Leopard 2A4 tanks reached speeds of up to 60 kilometres an hour and were fitted with rubber pads on their tracks to prevent damage to the motorway, Tomáš Suchý, commander of the 73rd Tank Battalion in Přáslavice, told Czech Television.

He said Czechia was a transit country for NATO troop movements and the country’s armed forces needed to train for such operations.

The convoy of tanks were spaced around nine kilometres apart and travelled a set route repeatedly, giving a turn to the 30 or so drivers trained to use them.