News

Robert Fico, former Slovak prime minister and leader of the Smer-Social Democracy Party, which is heading the polls ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections, has criticized Czech President Petr Pavel for allegedly interfering in the election campaign. Speaking to journalists in New York, the Czech president said that Fico's views were in line with Russian propaganda and his victory in the elections could disrupt Czech-Slovak relations.

Fico said that while he and Pavel have different views on the war in Ukraine, it is not something that should lead to a deterioration of relations between their two countries, adding that it was unacceptable to try to influence voters in this manner.

The former Czech presidents Václav Klaus and Miloš Zeman openly expressed support for Fico ahead of this week's election.

Experts point out that children under 15 have become increasingly prone developing alcohol and drug addictions in recent years. The head of the Child Help Line, Soňa Petrášková, said the number of "interventions" i.e., situations in which a worker has to call professional help to a child in trouble at the other end of the line are on the rise. Most often children overdose on alcohol, stimulants and cannabis, in that order.

Health Minister Vlastimil Válek has said he wants to resume penicillin production in Czechia, so as to resolve the ongoing shortage of this medicine on the market. The health minister said on Czech Television that, if all goes according to plan, production of penicillin on the domestic market could start within a year and a half. Mr. Válek has come under fire from the opposition parties for failing to resolve the long fall-outs in some basic medicines, including penicillin, syrup antibiotics for children and insulin.

The man who stabbed a schoolgirl in Brno-Zidenice on Wednesday will remain in custody, prosecutor Iveta Eichlerová told reporters. The 37-year-old man, who was on drugs at the time of the attack, has been charged with attempted murder of a child under the age of 15, for which he faces a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years or an exceptional sentence. The man apparently selected his victim at random, running after the girl and stabbing her with a knife on the street. She was saved by witnesses who pacified him and held him captive until the police arrived. The young girl is reported to be in stable condition in intensive care.