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Slovak police have arrested a Czech citizen who was wanted on a European arrest warrant issued by a Czech court. According to Seznam Zpravy the detainee, who will be handed over to the Czech authorities, is Pavel Zítko. He faces charges of scaremongering and spreading disinformation in connection with the covid-19 pandemic when he warned people about the negative health consequences of vaccination against the coronavirus. Zítko failed to appear in court for the trial.

On a working visit to Ankara, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský on Tuesday met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to discuss bilateral ties, Turkish-EU relations and global security issues in the light of Russian imperialism. The Turkish diplomatic chief said that Turkey was grateful to the Czech Republic for supporting its EU accession efforts. He also expressed the hope that the war in Ukraine could be ended through peace talks and noted that war crimes were being committed in the Gaza Strip every day. Lipavský highlighted the fact that the Czech Republic and Turkey have been allies in NATO for 25 years. He thanked Turkey for its support for Ukraine, noting that in helping Ukraine, Turkey is helping the Czech Republic and the whole of Europe, since Russian imperialism is now the biggest threat to the continent.

Carmaker Škoda Auto will extend the production of its Fabia, Kamiq and Scala models to the end of this decade, the head of the company, Klaus Zellmer, said in an interview with Seznam Zprávy published on Tuesday. The reasons are a slower than expected transition to electric cars at Czechia’s biggest exporter, as well as high demand for those models internationally.

Production of the Kodiaq, Superb and Octavia lines will continue even after 2030, Mr. Zellmer said.

The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský, opened an annual meeting of the country’s economic diplomats and representatives of the CzechTrade and CzechInvest agencies on Monday. The event at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Czernin Palace HQ in Prague brought together 170 economic, agricultural and scientific diplomats from Czech embassies and representatives of CzechTrade and CzechInvest foreign offices.

Addressing the delegates, Mr. Lipavský said the threat of Russian imperialism and the deterioration of the international milieu in recent years had forced Czechia to rethink its economic interests. He said the country had to eliminate dependence on unreliable suppliers, diversify sources and deepen cooperation with democratic partners.