News

Saturday will be overcast with low cloud and patches of fog, with occasional drizzle or light snow. Daytime highs will range from 0 °C to 5 °C.

Lithuanian officials have linked the 2024 attempted arson of a company supplying radio scanners to the Ukrainian army to Russia’s military intelligence, GRU, Reuters reports. The same GRU-linked group is said to have attempted similar attacks in the Czech Republic, Romania, and Poland. In the Czech Republic, the group, made up of various nationals with ties to Russia, reportedly targeted buses, a post office, and a cinema. Moscow denies the allegations.

The Czech Chamber of Deputies, through the governing coalition, has urged President Petr Pavel to appoint ministers proposed by the prime minister without delay or assessment of their suitability. The call concerns Filip Turek, honorary president of the Motorists’ Party, whom Pavel has refused to appoint as environment minister due to his controversial views and statements.

The opposition dismissed the motion as meaningless, noting the president is not accountable to parliament. Pavel acknowledged the resolution but said that he will continue to discuss government appointments only with the prime minister, and that his position on Turek remains unchanged.

While the Chamber has the inalienable right to express its views on ministerial appointments, it cannot impose obligations on the president or dictate how he should act, the Presidential office said in a press release.

Czech senators have paid tribute to Jan Palach at his memorial on Prague’s Wenceslas Square, the Czech News Agency has reported. Senate President Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) laid flowers alongside fellow senators to mark the legacy of the student who set himself alight on January 16, 1969 in protest against the apathy that followed the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Flowers were also placed by the Mayor of Prague 1, Terezie Radoměřská (TOP09).

Palach’s memory will be commemorated later today at a traditional gathering outside the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University on Jan Palach Square, which is due to be attended by Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS).

President Petr Pavel wrote on X that Jan Palach’s act remains, even 57 years on, a reminder that people must continue to defend their fundamental values. PM Andrej Babiš said Palach’s courage and determination are a lasting symbol of the fight for freedom and truth.