News

The Motorists’ party of the ruling coalition plans to propose the introduction of a three-month voluntary military training program for civilians. According to party leader and foreign minister, Petr Macinka, the proposal will now be discussed within the coalition. The three-month training course would combine military and firefighting training, as well as basic topography, advanced first aid, radio communication, and anti-drone operations.

The Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) of the ruling coalition is not opposed to the plan, and the idea of helping boost new recruits for the military has also been welcomed by the Chief of the General Staff, Karel Řehka.

However, the plan is not included in the government’s policy program, and it is unclear whether funding and military personnel would be available to implement it.

The Czech Republic is prepared to lead a mission to assess the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline damaged in Russian attacks in Ukraine, Industry Minister Karel Havlíček said in Brussels on Monday.

According to Havlíček, Ukraine should allow a group of European experts to visit the site. He said the Czech Republic is ready to assemble a team of professionals, for example from the state fuel distributor Čepro, capable of evaluating the situation.

Russian oil has not been flowing through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary since January 27, when Kyiv says it was damaged by a Russian strike. Bratislava and Budapest accuse Ukraine of intentionaly delaying the pipeline’s restoration and attempting to influence Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April, in which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is fighting to remain in power.

The pop-culture festival Comic-Con Prague attracted more than 28,000 fans over three days, the highest attendance in its seven-year history. This year, the organizers also managed to bring a record number of international and Czech stars.

“The biggest success was certainly enjoyed by Mads Mikkelsen, Billy Boyd, Iain Glen, Robert Llewellyn and Claudia Black, but also Jiří Lábus and Jaroslav Satoranský,” said Pavel Renčín, marketing director of the company Active Radio, which co-organized the event.

According to the organizers, the attendance shows that Comic-Con Prague’s reputation is growing across Europe. “Every year more fans visit us from neighboring countries such as Slovakia, Poland, Germany and Austria, but also from Italy or Spain. The cosplay competitions traditionally received a huge response,” noted the festival’s program director Václav Pravda.

The Czech Republic has a pre-negotiated long-term contract to reserve 1.4 billion cubic meters of gas per year at terminals in the United States. This was told to ČTK and Czech Television by Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček (ANO) after his return from the United States. According to him, the goal is to diversify energy sources and strengthen security.

“The company ČEZ is already discussing the details of the gas reservation contract at this moment. It is clearly a step toward energy security. In this way we will secure 20 to 30 percent of the Czech Republic’s gas consumption,” Havlíček said.