• 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 07/01/2026

    More than 600,000 people in Czechia are expected to be living with cancer by 2030, up by almost one third from 2020, according to projections presented by the Czech Institute of Health Information and Statistics. Experts say the increase reflects an ageing population, improved diagnosis and more effective treatments that allow patients to live longer. Health officials and medical specialists are calling for stronger regional cancer care, better coordination between hospitals, expanded screening programmes and greater use of health data to help the healthcare system cope with rising demand.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 07/01/2026

    The Czech copyright collecting society OSA is preparing legal action against Suno, accusing the AI music generator of training its models on copyrighted works without permission. OSA says it has documented cases where Suno reproduces recognisable parts of songs by composers and lyricists it represents. The move follows an investigation by The Atlantic, which reported that Suno and other AI companies trained their systems on massive databases containing millions of songs, including works by Czech and Slovak artists. Suno has previously argued that training its models on publicly available music complies with US copyright law.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 07/01/2026

    Prague police have increased patrols in the city’s busiest tourist areas for the summer holiday season, including Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square and the area around the main railway station. The reinforced presence, which also includes riot police and specialised public order units, will remain in place until the end of the summer holidays. Officers have also strengthened patrols in the Anděl district, where the city has been dealing with drug-related crime and public safety concerns linked to a concentration of people with addictions.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 07/01/2026

    The Czech Chamber of Deputies has approved legislation that would remove the president’s authority to appoint and dismiss heads of the country’s permanent missions to international organisations. Under the proposal, those powers would be transferred to the foreign minister, while the president would retain responsibility for appointing ambassadors. The amendment, introduced by Libor Vondráček of the SPD/Free alliance, forms part of a broader civil service reform and now goes to the Senate. Opposition lawmakers criticised the move as politically motivated and aimed at President Petr Pavel, while supporters argued it better reflects the Czech Republic’s parliamentary system.

    Author: Vít Pohanka

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