News

Czechia’s helpline for old age people (Linka seniorů) registered twice as many suicide themed phone calls in 2022 as in the year before, the daily Deník reported on Thursday, citing the helpline’s operator Elpida.

The deputy of the helpline, psychologist Klára Gramppová, told the daily that this is partially down to what she calls the “post-Covid effect”. Whereas during the pandemic most seniors were pumped with adrenalin discussing fears for their life and the availability of vaccines, they have now fallen into what she referred to as a “hole” that is not helped by current fears connected to inflation and the war in Ukraine.

Elpida has therefore launched a campaign titled “Don’t die today” (Dnes neumírej), which seeks to raise awareness about the problem of suicides among the older segment of the population. One of the reasons behind the timing is that most suicides apparently occur during the spring.

The Czech Ambassador to Korea Gustav Slamečka visited the Czech doctor who has been accused of allegedly sexually harassing a hygienist while drunk, the Czech News Agency reported on Thursday citing a spokesman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting took place with a lawyer present and picked up a transcript of the relevant interrogation.

The doctor, who holds the military rank of lieutenant colonel, visited Korea last week together with the delegation of Czechia’s minister of transport. He is accused of having slapped the South Korean hygienist on the backside while she was taking the temperature of passengers as part of anti-Covid measures after they landed at the airport in Seoul.

The case is set to be evaluated by Korean procurators and no charges have yet been pressed, the foreign ministry spokesman said. Five eyewitnesses who were part of the Czech government and business delegation have come out in defence of the doctor since the alleged incident occurred.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala met with the chief political representatives of Singapore on Thursday, including President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The two parties discussed the risks associated with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine as well as China, the Czech News Agency reports.

At a business forum in Singapore, Czechia’s head of government spoke about the importance of trade relations and of further strengthening cooperation in education, science, research and innovation between the two countries. The visit is taking place on the occasion of the 50 year anniversary of the establishment of Czech-Singaporean diplomatic relations. Czechia also opened an embassy in Singapore three years ago.

Mr Fiala is currently touring several Southeast Asian countries. Before flying to Singapore he visited Indonesia and the Philippines.

Czechia’s Ministry of Agriculture has not registered any significant decrease in the country’s grain exports, the head of the ministry, Zdeněk Nekula, said on Thursday. The statement came following a claim by the Agricultural Association of the Czech Republic last week, according to which the country’s grain store reserves were up by 40 percent when compared to last year and that the relevant market had come to a halt due to cheap imports of grain from Ukraine into the European Union.

In recent days, several EU member states, including many of Czechia’s neighbouring countries, announced temporary bans on Ukrainian imports in order to protect their own farmers’ interests.

Czechia’s agriculture minister said on Thursday that Czech grain exports are continuing and that many of the future sales have already been negotiated. Grain prices in Czechia fell year-on-year in March by nearly a hundred crowns, from CZK 6,885 to CZK 6,787 per ton. According to Petr Havel, an analyst at the Czech News Agency, this was not only due to cheap grain imports from Ukraine, but also because many farmers kept the commodity in storage last year, waiting for prices to rise again.