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Junior rider Barbora Bukovská won the world title in cyclocross. Czech success at the championships in Hulst, the Netherlands, was underlined by a bronze medal for Lucie Grohová. Silver went to defending champion and top favourite Lise Revolová of France.

Seventeen-year-old Bukovská secured a cyclocross world gold for the Czech Republic for the first time in 12 years. The last Czech to achieve the feat was Zdeněk Štybar, who won in Hoogerheide in 2014.

“I felt very strong today, it’s the best day of the whole season. This is simply like a dream, a truly beautiful dream,” Bukovská said immediately after crossing the finish line in an interview with the International Cycling Union (UCI).

Doctors recorded 293 new cases of HIV in the Czech Republic last year, the highest number since monitoring of the disease began and one more than in 2022. Foreign nationals long-term resident in Czechia, excluding war refugees from Ukraine, accounted for nearly 48 percent of cases (140). Almost half of them had already been diagnosed abroad (66) and are continuing treatment in the Czech Republic. The data were provided to ČTK by the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for HIV/AIDS at the National Institute of Public Health (SZÚ).

The Ministry of Defence has denied media reports that Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna (SPD) deliberately blocked a planned official trip by Chief of the General Staff Karel Řehka to the United States. According to the ministry, the minister designated the first deputy chief of the General Staff to represent Czechia on the given trip in view of the meetings and relevant competences required for the talks. The news site Respekt.cz wrote that part of the army’s leadership interprets the decision as retaliation by Zůna after Řehka questioned the minister’s claims regarding L-159 aircraft for Ukraine.

President Petr Pavel has invited Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) to talks at Prague Castle on Wednesday to discuss the rift in relations with Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists), the Presidential Office announced. Early this week the president accused the foreign minister of trying to blackmail him into appointing Filip Turek environment minister and made public several text messages sent to him by the head of diplomacy. Petr Macinka has rejected the claim, saying that the messages were part of “legitimate political negotiations”.

Prime Minister Babiš welcomed the invitation to Prague Castle. He said he would consider it ideal for the president to discuss the matter directly with Mr. Macinka, but added that he respects President Pavel’s approach. The two officials are also expected to discuss foreign policy matters after the cancellation of foreign policy consultations at Prague Castle this week.