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An international conference on Ukraine’s recovery begins in Rome on Thursday, co-hosted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Czechia is represented by President Petr Pavel, alongside leaders like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and heads of the EU and NATO. The three-day summit focuses on mobilising private investment, developing human capital, decentralised rebuilding, and strengthening Ukraine’s institutions.
President Pavel has presented an 11-point plan and called for a coordinated international effort, inspired by the post-WWII Marshall Plan. During his speech, the president stated that the basis of the plan for the reconstruction of Ukraine must be a global political coalition. He spoke, among other things, about the use of frozen Russian assets to support the reconstruction of Ukraine. In his view, its reconstruction should go hand in hand with the country's integration into the single European market.
The Ministry of the Interior has detected a cyber attack against its internal system, which has been disconnected in response. The ministry has reported the attack to the National Institute for Cybercrime Investigation and the Cybercrime Centre. No personal data of citizens or state information was leaked during the cyber attack on the system, Minister Rakušan has stated.
Neither were the systems of police officers or firefighters attacked. The cyber incident was discovered by employees of the Ministry of the Interior during an inspection. The Minister did not specify what information was managed in the system, nor, for reasons of investigation, when the cyber attack took place.
The ruling coalition Spolu is preparing to publish its election programme from mid-August, ahead of the October elections to the Chamber of Deputies, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Thursday in an interview with Blesk.cz. The programme will be released both as a whole and in individual parts The coalition is among the majority of political entities that have not yet published their programme.
At present, the coalition partner Mayors and Independents party have published theirs, and the opposition Pirates party have also announced their priorities in more detail. The opposition ANO movement want to publish their programme in early September. PM Fiala justified the later publication of the Spolu programme as an effort to time the campaign correctly.
On Thursday morning, people on Freedom Square in Prague's Bubeneč honoured the memory of Czechoslovak airmen who took part in the legendary Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The memorial service was held on the 85th anniversary of the battle, when the German Luftwaffe tried to control the airspace over Britain. Dozens of Czechoslovaks also participated in the battle, alongside pilots from the UK and other allied nations.
During the memorial service, members of the army laid wreaths and flowers at the monument to 546 Czechoslovak airmen who fell fighting abroad. A minute of silence followed and the Czech national anthem was played at the end.
Inflation in Czechia hit its highest level so far this year in June, rising to 2.9% year-on-year, up from 2.4% in May. Month-on-month, prices rose by 0.3%. The Czech Statistics Office confirmed the numbers on Thursday, matching last week’s preliminary estimate.
The rise was driven by higher food prices, while falling fuel costs helped ease the overall impact.
According to experts from the Czech Statistics Office, this was the highest annual inflation since last December, influenced not only by food and fuel prices but also by last year’s lower base.
The police have not yet charged anyone in the case of the escalator fire at Staroměstská metro station last Saturday. They have questioned and released six young men who they were searching for in connection with the fire. Detectives are now questioning other witnesses and have requested an expert examination, according to police spokeswoman Eva Kropáčová.
According to the police, the fire was caused by a thrown ignited object, and the preliminary damage is estimated at one million crowns. The station has been out of service since Saturday, with metro trains only passing through it. The Prague Public Transport Company estimates that it will remain closed for about a month.
The Czech National Office for Cyber and Information Security (NÚKIB) warns against products, applications and other solutions from the Chinese company DeepSeek. According to NÚKIB, it handles data in a way that may pose a security risk, as reported by the office on its website on Thursday. The company focuses on the development of artificial intelligence. especially Large Language Models.
"In the context of the legal environment of the People's Republic of China, which allows state authorities access to this data, there is a completely justified reason for concern," said NÚKIB Director Lukáš Kintr. On Wednesday, the government banned the use of any DeepSeek products in state administration, a decision made on the recommendation of the Cyber Authority.
Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård arrived at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Thursday. At this year's festival, he will receive the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema. He will personally introduce the film Sentimental Value by director Joachim Trier, which won the Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Film Festival and is considered a serious candidate for an Oscar.
Skarsgård was a guest at the Karlovy Vary Festival in 2002. He also starred in Gus Van Sant's two-time Oscar-winning film Good Will Hunting, Steven Spielberg's Amistad, the crime thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as two films in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Dune Parts One and Two, and the film adaptation of the musical Mamma Mia!
Representatives of Hřensko in the Děčín region approved the opening of Edmund's Gorge on Thursday morning and therefore the resumption of boating operations through the gorge. The gorge, one of the main tourist destinations in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, has been closed for safety reasons since a large fire in 2022.
A trial opening is scheduled for next week, and operations will be limited for now. A maximum of fifteen people will be allowed on the boats per day. The Hřensko municipality lost millions of crowns due to the closure of the gorge. It suspended investments and laid off some employees.
Friday’s weather will be cloudy to overcast, with isolated showers or occasional rain from the north in places, and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highest temperatures will be from 20 to 24 °C.
A group of researchers at the Czech Academy of Sciences developed a method of recycling rare earth minerals used in batteries for electronic vehicles. China has long been considered to hold a monopoly over mining and refining these elements. With this new discovery, Czech scientists pave the way for a potentially more sustainable and independent practice within Europe.
A brand new psychological horror game titled “Brno Transit” is in the works at the studio of Czech game developer Spytihněv. Scheduled to come out at the end of 2025, the computer game simulates the experience of an apprentice metro driver in a fictional setting of the Brno subway.
At Expo 2025 in Osaka, Czechia is using the world stage to present its most promising innovations in smart mobility and autonomous systems. During a week-long special program, the Czech Pavilion has drawn attention with emergency drones, infrastructure diagnostics, and a driverless electric formula car. It’s a chance to prove that even smaller countries can lead in tech—when they bring real solutions to global challenges.
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is currently in full swing, with the 59th edition of the region’s biggest celebration of cinema offering viewers around 200 works from all corners of the world on a very broad range of themes.
They’re in the middle of Prague’s historic core, yet many visitors never set foot on them. This episode of Prague off the Beaten Track takes you to two islands, nestled in the Vltava River, that are easily overlooked green spaces that offer history, views, and a welcome escape from the city’s busy streets.
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