News

Refusing to provide further care to a patient with no hope of recovery, which would only prolong their suffering, cannot be regarded as an act of discrimination, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, rejecting an appeal by the parents of a young girl who succumbed to fatal complications caused by a congenital disease in a Prague hospital. The parents sought an apology and financial compensation over doctors' refusal to transfer their daughter from intensive care to the hospital’s anesthesiology and resuscitation department. Doctors argued that her condition, which included multi-organ failure, was irreversible and would only prolong her suffering.

The rector of the Prague University of Economics, Petr Dvořák, has announced his decision to dismiss the dean of the Faculty of Economics, Miroslav Ševčík, on the grounds that he is damaging the institution's reputation. Dean Ševčík, who has been under fire over his behavior for months, said he considers the rector's decision illegal and politically motivated. He told journalists that he would defend himself against it in court.

The academic, who works with the ultra-conservative Tricolour party, made headlines when he appeared at a pro-Russian rally in Prague and was implicated when a mob tried to remove the Ukrainian flag from the National Museum. The Ethics Committee at Prague’s University of Economics later ruled that he had violated the school's code of ethics.

Twelve European countries, including Czechia, have called on the EU to end its temporary political and economic measures against Kosovo, which include the suspension of high-level visits, events, and financial cooperation, news site Politico reports. In a letter addressed to the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell and the special representative to the Western Balkans, officials wrote that the international community should reaffirm support for Kosovo’s sovereignty, and pointed to questions about Serbia’s role in the recent months of violence.

Elections were held in North Kosovo, where more than 90 percent of the population are ethnic Serbs, in April, but were boycotted by the Serbian population, resulting in wins for ethnic Albanian mayors. Months of violence followed, including attacks by Serbs on international peacekeeping forces, police and the media.

The agreement reached by around 200 nations at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels is a step towards modernisation through renewable energy, nuclear power, carbon storage, and hydrogen, Environment Minister Petr Hladík said on the social media site X on Wednesday, following the announcement of the deal. However, Richard Brabec, the Czech environment minister from 2014 to 2021, told the Czech News Agency that people should be wary of excessive optimism, particularly in light of the limited action on fulfilling the agreed goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Accords.

The deal struck at COP28 is regarded by some as historic, as it is the first time that fossil fuels have been explicitly mentioned in a COP treaty - previous agreements talked about reducing greenhouse gas emissions without explicitly mentioning fossil fuels. However, some were unhappy with the deal, which they view as having been watered-down.