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The number of Slovaks working in the Czech Republic is rising, Czech Television reported, citing data from the Ministry of Labour. Over the past decade, their numbers have roughly doubled and now stand at around 250,000. Among foreign workers, Slovaks earn the highest wages on average, often holding senior positions that are in demand among employers. In recent years, tens of thousands have been coming to the Czech Republic, at least for short-term work. Up to a quarter of Slovakia’s population is currently considering leaving the country, most often citing a lack of professional opportunities. Some Slovaks aim to stay in the Czech Republic long term.

The SPD party of the governing coalition has launched a petition against plans to hold the annual Sudeten German Congress in the Czech Republic. The event is scheduled to take place in late May in Brno. SPD plans a protest rally against the congress as well as a commemorative march for victims of World War II. The party says holding the event in Brno is insensitive, unethical and immoral toward victims of the Nazi regime. David Macek, co-founder of the Meeting Brno festival, who invited the Sudeten German Congress to hold its next meeting in Brno, counters that the organizers have received strong support from descendants of victims. He noted that the first event planned by the Sudeten German participants upon arrival will be a commemoration of Holocaust victims, followed by a reconciliation pilgrimage.

Junior rider Barbora Bukovská won the world title in cyclocross. Czech success at the championships in Hulst, the Netherlands, was underlined by a bronze medal for Lucie Grohová. Silver went to defending champion and top favourite Lise Revolová of France.

Seventeen-year-old Bukovská secured a cyclocross world gold for the Czech Republic for the first time in 12 years. The last Czech to achieve the feat was Zdeněk Štybar, who won in Hoogerheide in 2014.

“I felt very strong today, it’s the best day of the whole season. This is simply like a dream, a truly beautiful dream,” Bukovská said immediately after crossing the finish line in an interview with the International Cycling Union (UCI).

Doctors recorded 293 new cases of HIV in the Czech Republic last year, the highest number since monitoring of the disease began and one more than in 2022. Foreign nationals long-term resident in Czechia, excluding war refugees from Ukraine, accounted for nearly 48 percent of cases (140). Almost half of them had already been diagnosed abroad (66) and are continuing treatment in the Czech Republic. The data were provided to ČTK by the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for HIV/AIDS at the National Institute of Public Health (SZÚ).