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Slovak film director Juraj Jakubisko has died at the age of 84, Slovak RTVS television reported citing his daughter Janette. The respected film director died late on Friday evening in Prague, where he had lived for many years.

Jakubisko was one of Slovakia's best-known filmmakers, often referred to as "Fellini of the East". During his career he made dozens of feature films and documentaries. Among his best-known works are The Millennial Bee, Perinbaba (The Feather Fairy), An Ambiguous Report about the End of the World and the historic film Bathory.

The Health Ministry is proposing that people who test positive for Covid-19 should no longer be automatically ordered to go into self-isolation for seven days. Doctors are to decide whether this is really necessary on a case-by-case basis. Employees in high-risk professions such as health care workers or those in social services might be ordered to do so. Wearing a respirator at work may also be considered sufficient protection. It is not yet clear from when the change would apply.

The government’s decision to reduce the regular indexation of old-age pensions guaranteed by law to make up for inflation may hit the rocks in the Senate, the news site Seznam reported on Friday. The government on Monday approved a bill, which would enable the cuts, under a state of legislative emergency, provoking a storm from the opposition benches and criticism from some economists. Although the ruling coalition has a solid majority in both chambers, some senators from the governing parties, say the move is unconstitutional –both because there was no justification to approve it under a state of legislative emergency and the fact that it would be enforced retroactively so as to save money this year.

The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, says Russia has overstepped all bounds of humanity with its war on Ukraine and that is one reason why Ukraine must win. Speaking 12 months after Moscow launched the invasion, Mr. Fiala said in a video on social media – subtitled in Ukrainian – that Ukraine could still count on the support of Czechia.

The PM said the conflict that began on February 24 last year had changed Europe. He said Bucha, Mariupol, Kramatorsk and hundreds of other places in Ukraine had become symbols of the struggle between civilisation and barbarism.