• Czech foreign minister: no invitation yet to Trump’s proposed Peace Council
    01/19/2026

    The Czech Republic has not yet received an official invitation to join the proposed Peace Council being set up by US President Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said on Monday after talks in Prague with his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó.

    Macinka also reiterated the Czech position on Greenland, saying the country supports a diplomatic solution. Szijjártó said he does not consider the issue an EU matter and sees no need for a joint statement from the bloc.

    The Peace Council is intended to support stability and peace in conflict zones, initially focusing on Gaza. According to Reuters and AP, countries that have expressed interest include Hungary, Vietnam and several Central Asian states, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has already received an invitation.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Weather forecast
    01/19/2026

    Tuesday will be mostly clear. Highs will range from -3 to +2 °C, around -2 °C at 1,000 meters in the mountains.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech government moves to scrap public broadcasting fees
    01/19/2026

    Leaders of the governing coalition have agreed to abolish licence fees for public Czech Television and Czech Radio and to adjust the timetable for changing their financing. Lower house Speaker and Freedom and Direct Democracy leader Tomio Okamura announced the decision after a meeting of coalition leaders on Monday.

    Okamura said the abolition of fees is part of the government’s policy programme, and work is under way on legislation to introduce a new funding model. According to earlier reports, the coalition plans to replace licence fees with state budget funding from 2027. During a transitional period, it is considering exemptions for certain groups, such as pensioners.

    The opposition opposes scrapping the fees, warning that the move could undermine the independence of public service media.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Shooting at municipal office in North Bohemia leaves two dead, six injured
    01/19/2026

    A shooting at the municipal office in Chřibská, near Děčín in North Bohemia, on Monday morning left one man and the attacker dead. At least six others were injured, including three police officers. The attacker is believed to have taken his own life after a shootout with police. Authorities said there was no extremist or terrorist link, and the motive may have been personal or relationship-related.

    The attack was reported shortly before 10:30 a.m., after witnesses alerted authorities. Emergency services responded immediately, with one patient airlifted to hospital.

    Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar was on the scene, and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš expressed condolences to the victims’ families. Police continue to provide updates as the investigation unfolds.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Ice Age engraving discovered in Moravian Karst cave
    01/19/2026

    Scientists have discovered a 15,000-year-old Ice Age engraving in a cave in the Moravian Karst, marking the first evidence of prehistoric cave art found in Czechia.

    The engraving shows the head and neck of a horse and was found on a limestone block in the Švédův stůl cave. The discovery was made by an international team led by researchers from the Czech Academy of Sciences.

    Dating to the late Magdalenian period, the find suggests that figurative cave art was not limited to western Europe. The results of the research have been published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Film Franz leads Czech Lion Awards nominations with 15 mentions
    01/19/2026

    Agnieszka Holland’s film Franz, about Prague author Franz Kafka, has received the most nominations for this year’s Czech Lion Awards, with a total of fifteen. The film Broken Voices, directed by Ondřej Provazník, follows with thirteen nominations, while Zuzana Kirchnerová’s Caravan earned eleven.

    Also competing for Best Film of the Year are Summer School, 2001 and Promise, I’ll Be Fine.

    The nominations were announced on Monday by the Czech Film and Television Academy. The Czech Lion Awards ceremony will take place on March 14 at the Prague Congress Centre.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech president received by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican
    01/19/2026

    Pope Leo XIV received Czech President Petr Pavel and First Lady Eva Pavlová in a private audience at the Vatican on Monday morning. The presidential couple later met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

    Topics on the agenda included Russia’s war in Ukraine, relations between Europe and the United States, global challenges, and sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

    This was President Pavel’s first visit to the papal residence since the election of the new pontiff last year. He planned to invite Pope Leo XIV to visit Czechia, a trip no pope has made since Benedict XVI in 2009.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Ruling coalition rejects sale of L-159 fighter jets to Ukraine
    01/19/2026

    The ANO, SPD and Motorists coalition has decided that Czechia will not sell L-159 aircraft to Ukraine. SPD leader Tomio Okamura said after a meeting of coalition leaders that while the jets have low residual value, their combat value remains high. He added that replacing them would cost far more than any sale and that the army still needs the aircraft.

    President Petr Pavel said on Sunday that Ukraine had proposed buying the L-159s, calling it an opportunity for Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody. He added that providing four aircraft from the army’s fleet of twenty-four would pose an acceptable level of risk.

    Okamura emphasized that the jets are not surplus equipment but part of the Czech military’s active arsenal, adding that even the general staff had previously questioned whether they should be transferred.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech tennis players advance to 2nd round of Australian Open 
    01/19/2026

    Czech players Linda Nosková and Karolína Muchová have reached the second round of the Australian Open. Nosková, ranked 13th for the tournament, won against Latvia’s Darja Semenistaja 6–3, 6–0 on the hard courts in Melbourne, while Muchová, ranked 19th, saw off Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6–3, 7–6.
    Author: Hannah Vaughan

  • Czech freed from Venezuelan jail returns to Prague
    01/19/2026

    A plane carrying Czech national Jan Darmovzal, who was imprisoned for 16 months by the Venezuelan authorities, landed in Prague on Sunday evening, the Czech News Agency reported.

    Darmovzal was released alongside several other foreign detainees following the dramatic US military operation that saw Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife taken from the country to the US.

    Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) confirmed that the Czech aircraft also brought back three other former prisoners of the Venezuelan regime — citizens of Poland, Romania and Ireland.
    Author: Hannah Vaughan

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