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Actress Magda Vášáryová will receive the President’s Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which will take place this year from July 3 to 11. By honoring one of Slovakia’s most prominent actresses, the festival aims not only to recognize her acting achievements but also to highlight the unique artistic collaboration between Czech and Slovak filmmakers who have shared a common film history. This was announced today by the festival’s executive director Kryštof Mucha.

As a tribute to Vášáryová, the festival will screen the film Vtáčkovia, siroty a blázni by Juraj Jakubisko. The screenplay was co-written by Jakubisko and writer Karol Sidon, according to the organizers.

A breakthrough role early in Vášáryová’s career was the title character in the historical drama Marketa Lazarová, directed by František Vláčil. In 1998, this film was voted the most important work in the history of Czech cinema by domestic film critics and journalists.

In the first quarter, older apartments recorded the highest year-on-year price increases in the Pardubice and Ústí nad Labem regions. In both cases, their prices rose by roughly one-fifth over the year. One of the reasons is strong demand from investors who have been buying up properties in these two regions. The Ústí nad Labem region showed the largest percentage difference in prices between older buildings and new developments.

According to the analysis, the average price of apartments in the Czech Republic was CZK 89,612 per square metre in the first quarter (up 16% y-o-y). In the Pardubice region, the price per square metre was CZK 70,666 (up 21% y-o-y). In the Ústí nad Labem region, it was CZK 46,333 per square metre, with the price of older apartments rising by 20% over the year. Despite the significant increase, apartments in the northwestern region remained the cheapest in the entire country.

However, prices per square metre in all regions except Prague and the South Moravian region were below the national average. The overall value of older apartments in the Czech Republic was thus driven mainly by prices in the capital, where the average price per square metre reached CZK 153,640 in the first quarter.

Incoming Prague Archbishop Stanislav Přibyl believes work on a long-prepared treaty between Czech Republic and the Vatican will likely not continue after a recent court ruling blocked its ratification. The agreement, negotiated over 22 years, was partly deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. Přibyl said he did not expect the document to be reopened or revised, arguing such treaties are rarely rewritten after signing. The court raised concerns over unlimited confidentiality of confession and restricted access to church archives. The deal, signed in 2024 by Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Civic Democratic Party), aimed to define relations between the state and the Catholic Church, but now appears unlikely to move forward.

Amnesty International says xenophobic attacks on Ukrainian refugees, segregation of Roma pupils and pressure on NGOs persisted in Czechia last year. In its annual report, the organisation also criticises continued military supplies to Israel and a lack of stronger climate policies. It highlights cases of anti-Ukrainian incidents and notes that disinformation about refugees was spread even by some politicians. The report also points to ongoing inequalities in education, with more than 130 segregated schools.

At the same time, Amnesty International acknowledges progress, including a new definition of rape, stronger protection for victims, a ban on corporal punishment of children and extended compensation deadlines for unlawfully sterilised women.