News

On Sunday, much of the country will be covered by low cloud, with fog in places and occasional drizzle. Highs will be between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius, reaching around 7 in parts of Moravia and Silesia, and about 5 degrees in the mountains.

Czech Finance Minister Alena Schillerová says it is likely that next year’s state budget deficit will have to be increased. Speaking to Czech Television on Saturday she said the draft prepared by the previous government projected a shortfall of CZK 286 billion.

Schillerová said she has tried to limit spending demands in talks with ministers, but added that areas such as transport and social affairs are short of funds. She did not say how much higher the deficit could be, calling the current proposal unrealistic.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the cabinet is expected to discuss a new draft budget on 19 January. Until then, Czechia will operate under a provisional budget, limiting monthly spending to one twelfth of this year’s total.

Two historic trams will carry the Bethlehem Light through Prague on Saturday in cooperation with local scouts. The trams will set off shortly after midday on circular routes. Passengers will not be able to board, but people can light a candle at 16 designated stops, where the trams will pause briefly.

The Bethlehem Light will also be available in front of the Public Transport Museum in Střešovice on Saturday and can be collected until Monday at Prague’s New Town Hall on Mariánské Square, as well as at many other locations across Prague and Czechia.

The Bethlehem Light is a Christmas tradition that began in Austria and is shared each year across Europe as a symbol of peace and goodwill. In Czechia, it is traditionally distributed by scouts.

Russia is set to terminate a number of military cooperation agreements signed with foreign countries, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom. The move was reported on Friday evening by Russia’s state news agency TASS, citing a decision published in the government gazette.

The decision includes a military cooperation agreement between the defence ministries of the Czech Republic and Russia, signed in Moscow on April 16, 2002. TASS provided no further details and did not explain the reasons behind Moscow’s move.

The Czech Foreign Ministry continues to list the 2002 defence cooperation agreement among treaties formally in force between Prague and Moscow.

Relations between Russia and Western countries have sharply deteriorated since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after many Western states began supporting Kyiv, including through military assistance.