News

Prime Minister Petr Fiala is set to hold talks with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, in Rome on Monday. During his one-day visit to Italy, the Czech head of government will also meet President Sergio Mattarella. The main topics on the agenda will be the development of defense cooperation, the strengthening of economic relations, migration and the EU's strategic agenda.

Italy is one of Czechia’s main trading partners with a volume of foreign trade of CZK 316 billion. A number of leading Italian companies operate in Czechia in industry and services. In recent years, the interest of Czech companies and investors in the Italian market has also been growing.

Residents in the Zlín area have been advised to exercise caution after a brown bear was sighted on the outskirts of the town. The animal was first spotted on Saturday morning by a local man, who went for a run to a forest near Zlín.

The animal’s presence was later confirmed by experts, who examined its traces. According to their size, the animal could weigh up to 200 kilograms. The police advised people to avoid densely overgrown areas and keep their dogs on a leash when walking in a forest.

A Holocaust Memorial for Roma and Sinti opened to the public on Sunday at the site of a former concentration camp in Lety, south Bohemia, with a commemorative ceremony.

Over 1,300 Roma passed through the camp between 1942 and 1943 and more than 300 died there, mostly women and children. Over 500 inmates were sent to extermination camps.

The memorial includes a place of remembrance and a visitor centre with a permanent exhibition that presents testimonies of witnesses in audiovisual form.

The site originally served as a pig farm and it took close to three decades for post-communist governments to buy out the property and erect a dignified memorial in its place.

Among those attending the comemorative event. on Sunday was Senate speaker Miloš Vystrčil, who stressed the importance of creating values for the future.

Czechs also won their second game at the Ice Hockey World Championship, coming up from two goals deficit to beat Norway 6-3 in Prague on Saturday. Two goals were scored by captain Roman Červenka, who played his 200th national team game.

The 38-year-old Červenka opened the scoring in the seventh minute, but Norway tied the game after 31 seconds and quickly took a 3-1 lead. By the break, Červenka managed to reduce the deficit. Ondřej Beránek equalised in the second period, with Matěj Stránský, Libor Hájek and Ondřej Palát adding the last three goals.

The Czech ice hockey team will next face Switzerland on Monday.