News

The Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, led by Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša, has won the German Record Critics’ Award for its recording of all six symphonies by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.

The jury praised the recording’s musical quality and the orchestra’s historic ties to Czech music. The award comes a week after the orchestra was named Orchestra of the Year 2026 by British magazine Gramophone.

Hrůša has led the Bamberg Symphony since 2016 and is due to become chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic in 2028.

Czechia recorded 26 cyber incidents in September, the third-highest monthly total in the past year, the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) said on Friday. Only January, with 32 incidents, and August, with 28, saw higher figures. Last year, the agency recorded an average of around 17 incidents a month.

Of the 26 incidents, only one was classified as significant. The rest were considered less serious, and none were rated as highly significant.

The attacks targeted user accounts, websites and email and cloud servers. In several cases, attackers gained unauthorised access to internal networks through virtual private networks, or VPNs. The agency also reported security breaches and incidents involving malicious software.

Czechia and its Visegrád partners, backed by Italy and Greece, have urged EU leaders to review the ETS2 emissions trading scheme and delay its launch until at least 2030. Germany and other countries opposed the proposal. Currently scheduled for 2028, ETS2 would cover fuels for road transport and building heating. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said divisions over the EU’s next seven-year budget would likely delay agreement until February or March, beyond December’s target. Czechia wants to protect cohesion and agricultural funding. Talks continue on November 26. Today’s summit discussions focus on Ukraine and migration, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj attending.

Voting begins today in the second round of Czech Senate elections, with 22 seats to be decided by Saturday. Five senators secured victory outright in the first round last weekend. The run-offs will determine whether the opposition Mayors and Independents or the governing ANO movement forms the second-largest Senate group. The joint ODS–TOP 09 group is expected to remain the largest. Around 2.25 million people are eligible to vote. Ballot papers will be available at polling stations rather than delivered to homes. First-round turnout reached 43.31 percent, but participation typically falls sharply in run-offs. Results are expected on Saturday.