• Weather forecast
    07/02/2026

    Friday will be sunny to partly cloudy, with daytime temperatures between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius, rising to 27 degrees in South Moravia. Isolated showers may develop in the mountains.

  • Fire service remains Czechia's most trusted institution, government ranks last
    07/02/2026

    The Czech Fire Rescue Service remains the country's most trusted public institution, while the government continues to rank last, according to a June survey released on Thursday by the polling agency STEM.

    The fire service was followed by the police, the Czech National Bank and the army. President Petr Pavel was trusted by 56 percent of respondents, a level that has remained stable since he took office in 2023.

    Only 32 percent of respondents said they trusted the government, while 35 percent expressed confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, 43 percent in the Senate and 47 percent in the European Union. The survey was conducted among 1,000 adults in June.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Electric car sales hit record high in Czechia in June
    07/02/2026

    Sales of electric cars in Czechia reached a new monthly record in June, with 2,142 new battery-powered vehicles registered, according to figures released on Thursday by the Transport Research Centre. The previous record of 1,684 was set in April.

    Electric vehicles made up 8.1 percent of new passenger car registrations in June. Between January and May, however, their share was 6.3 percent, well below the EU average of 20 percent.

    There were about 72,200 fully electric passenger cars on Czech roads at the end of June. Škoda Auto remained the best-selling brand in the first half of the year, ahead of Tesla and Mercedes-Benz.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Scabies cases in Czechia up 40 percent in first half of the year
    07/02/2026

    More than 7,100 cases of scabies have been recorded in Czechia since the start of the year, around 40 percent more than in the first half of 2025, the Czech Public Health Service said on Thursday. The highest numbers were reported in the Moravian-Silesian, Central Bohemian and South Moravian regions.

    Health officials are urging people to seek treatment as soon as symptoms appear to help prevent further spread. Scabies is a contagious skin disease that causes intense itching and a rash. If left untreated, it can lead to serious bacterial infections.

    Four people aged between 52 and 80 have died from scabies-related complications this year, according to the National Institute of Public Health. The disease spreads mainly through prolonged skin-to-skin contact or by sharing contaminated bedding, towels or clothing.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Pavel tells Babiš to back claims over NATO summit row or retract them
    07/02/2026

    President Petr Pavel has challenged Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to either provide evidence for his claims that the president is harming Czechia's interests abroad and interpreting the Constitution as he sees fit, or withdraw the remarks, the Presidential Office said on Thursday.

    The response came after Babiš told Deník.cz that Pavel's attendance at next week's NATO summit in Ankara would damage Czechia's interests abroad and accused the president of interpreting the Constitution to suit himself. He argued that the summit would focus on economic and defence spending issues, which are the government's responsibility rather than the president's.

    The government had initially excluded Pavel from attending the summit, but the Constitutional Court later ordered it to ensure the president could take part. Babiš will lead the Czech delegation, while Pavel maintains that protocol dictates that the head of state should head it.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Military police clear Czech soldiers over Ukraine drone deliveries
    07/02/2026

    The Czech Military Police have found no evidence that members of the country's special forces committed a criminal offence by transporting drones from the Drony Nemesis public fundraising campaign to Ukraine during official trips, according to Seznam Zprávy. The case has instead been referred to the army to determine whether any disciplinary rules were breached. The Drony Nemesis initiative, co-founded by actor Ondřej Vetchý, has raised funds for more than 10,000 drones and components for the Ukrainian military. The affair became politically contentious after politicians from the current government coalition questioned the army's involvement with the civilian fundraising project.
    Author: Vít Pohanka

  • Czech Security Council resumes debate on new military strategy
    07/02/2026

    The Czech Security Council meets in Prague on Thursday with President Petr Pavel in attendance to continue discussions on a new long-term military strategy. The debate began in mid-June but was postponed because of the broad range of security issues on the agenda. Alongside the updated armed forces concept, the council is also discussing new police and national security strategies. New Chief of the General Staff Miroslav Hlaváč is attending the council for the first time. The meeting also marks the first face-to-face encounter between Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) since their dispute over the president's participation in next week's NATO summit in Ankara.
    Author: Vít Pohanka

  • Storm dumps 100 mm of rain in two hours in eastern Czechia
    07/02/2026

    Severe thunderstorms brought torrential rain to the eastern Czech Republic on Tuesday, with around 100 millimetres falling in less than two hours near the village of Velké Karlovice. The downpour caused flash flooding, prompting firefighters to respond to 31 incidents across the Zlín Region. Crews cleared fallen trees, pumped water from flooded basements and garages, and reopened blocked road culverts. The worst-hit areas were Velké Karlovice and nearby Karolinka, where hail also fell. Water levels on the Vsetínská Bečva River briefly reached the third, or highest, flood alert before receding, while rail traffic between Halenkov and Velké Karlovice was temporarily suspended.
    Author: Vít Pohanka

  • Security Council to resume debate on army strategy
    07/02/2026

    The Czech Security Council meets on Thursday to continue discussions on a new long-term strategy for the armed forces, with President Petr Pavel attending. The government first debated the document in mid-June but postponed a decision because of its broad scope. Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna (Freedom and Direct Democracy Party) wants the updated strategy to replace the current 2040 planning framework with a concept that, according to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO Party), restores the previous ANO government's approach while meeting NATO commitments. Pavel and Babiš are also expected to attend next week's NATO summit in Ankara after months of disagreement over the president's participation in the Czech delegation.
    Author: Vít Pohanka

  • Foreign minister says president will receive NATO summit mandate
    07/01/2026

    Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka says President Petr Pavel will receive an official mandate for next week’s NATO summit in Ankara, contradicting the president’s earlier claim that the government had not provided one. Macinka said the mandate is included in the government’s resolution and in a briefing document for all members of the Czech delegation. Separately, Macinka dismissed calls by the governing SPD party to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Lion, saying Czech law provides no legal mechanism to revoke the honour and describing the proposal as a political gesture.
    Author: Vít Pohanka

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