News

Czech Airlines is planning to lay off 77 pilots, 150 cabin crew and 60 administrative staff, a third of its total workforce. A spokesperson for ČSA said the layoffs were in response to the removal of Airbus A320 planes from its fleet for economic reasons. It will try to find positions for some pilots at other Sky Team airlines. Korean Air bought a 44% stake in ČSA last year after several years of poor results for the Czech national carrier.

The Czech Republic is not planning to take part in air strikes against Islamic State radicals. The country’s prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, and defence minister, Martin Stropnický, outlined the country’s position shortly after the US and five Arab allies launched strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria on Tuesday. The US had previously carried out air attacks on the group in Iraq. Mr. Sobotka said Prague welcomed efforts to stabilise the situation in Iraq, but did not expect to become involved in the military operations. He had earlier pointed out that the Czech Republic had sent munitions to Kurds in Iraq fighting Islamic State. Czech police chief Tomáš Tuhý said Islamists did not represent a threat to the Czech Republic at present, but Mr. Sobotka said the matter would be discussed by the Security Council.

An ANO candidate standing in next month’s Senate elections who has appeared on billboards in a negligée says Czech health insurers should fully cover erectile-dysfunction drugs such as Viagra, the news website iDnes.cz reported. Laura Janáčková said at the launch of her programme on Tuesday that some men required the drugs as they were incapable of having quality sex lives otherwise. Ms. Janáčková, who is a psychologist, said she was inspired to appear in campaign materials in her underwear by an ad for the TV show Sex in the City.

Priest and theologian Tomáš Halík has described statements about Islam made by President Miloš Zeman as stupid and populist. Speaking on Rádio Impuls on Monday, he said the two gravest threats today were Russian aggression and Islamic State militants. He said the latter had been condemned by Islamic authorities, which was something Mr. Zeman had failed to take into consideration. The president has been criticised in the past for his statements about Muslims, including saying that “Islamic ideology” was behind an attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels. The recipient of last year’s Templeton Prize, Tomáš Halík has himself been spoken about as a possible future candidate for head of state.