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The final approval of a controversial amendment, which includes a nearly seven percent salary increase for top politicians this year, faced criticism from the opposition in the lower house today. ANO leader Andrej Babiš was the first to speak before the vote on the draft agenda for the extraordinary session. He described the government's proposal as unacceptable and immoral, and called for a freeze on the salaries of top politicians until the end of 2029. This position is also supported by Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), another opposition party, alongside ANO.
As in previous meetings, ANO leader Andrej Babiš exercised his right to speak first, using the opportunity to criticize the current government and Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS). He blamed the cabinet for rising inflation and higher electricity and gas prices, and also warned of further price hikes if emission allowances were introduced.
Following Babiš, it is expected that the leaders of the ANO and Pirate parties, Alena Schillerová and Jakub Michálek, as well as SPD leader Tomio Okamura and the head of the SPD faction, Radim Fiala, will speak.
Czech Minister for Science, Research, and Innovation Marek Ženíšek believes there is still enough time for diplomatic negotiations between the European Union and the United States on the US plan to restrict the export of artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
According to Bloomberg, Czechia will be affected by the US restrictions, while the western part of the European Union, for example, will face looser, and less restrictive, conditions.
Countries in the first category, which includes Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Norway, and Finland, will have fewer restrictions. According to a map published by Bloomberg, Czechia will fall into the second category, which will face stricter conditions. Other countries in the second category include Israel, Poland, Switzerland, and Portugal. The most severe restrictions will apply to countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and Venezuela.
According to the BBC, the USA wants to ensure that highly advanced technology stays out of the reach of Russia and China.
The share of electricity exports has been declining for several consecutive years. Last year, net exports amounted to 6.4 terawatt-hours (TWh), a decrease of nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year. The largest export from Czechia was to Austria, where net exports totaled 4.4 TWh, followed by Slovakia with 4.1 TWh. The balance with Poland remained slightly export-oriented, with exports exceeding imports by 0.7 TWh.
According to an analysis by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czechia is expected to become a net importer of electricity by 2027.
ČEZ—the largest electricity producer in Czechia—previously announced plans to phase out coal in production by 2030 at the latest. Current government plans aim for a coal phase-out by 2033. According to an analysis by CEPS presented last year, the Czech power system may face challenges in ten years, despite an increase in electricity imports from abroad.
Government strategies indicate that the future domestic energy mix will rely on a combination of nuclear energy and renewable sources. Until these are fully developed, the state plans to use gas as an interim fuel.
In 2024, there were 13,751 personal bankruptcies declared in Czechia, marking a 7% increase compared to the previous year. This represents a reversal of the trend, as the number of bankruptcies had been declining for the past four years.
Additionally, 14,883 insolvency petitions were submitted in 2024, a 10% rise from the previous year. In December alone, 1,219 personal bankruptcies were declared, and 1,257 personal bankruptcy petitions were filed.
At the end of December, Eva Kubíková-Bullock, who was one of the surviving children of the Lidice massacre, died at the age of eighty-seven. She lived in Canada but visited Lidice repeatedly throughout her life. During the Second World War, the Nazis murdered 88 of the 105 children from Lidice. After 1945, 17 of them returned to Lidice. Six are still alive today.
Lidice is one of the symbols of Nazi terror during the Second World War. This was due to the alleged connection of one of the residents of Lidice to the assassination of the acting Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich. A total of 340 Lidice residents were killed. After the war, 143 women and 17 children from Lidice returned to their homeland.
A devastating fire at a restaurant in the town of Most, north of Prague, has claimed its seventh victim. A woman who sustained severe burns in the incident passed away at Královské Vinohrady hospital in Prague, a hospital representative confirmed. She had suffered burns over 90 percent of her body and succumbed to her injuries despite intensive care.
The fire, which occurred on the night of January 12, caused significant destruction and resulted in the deaths of four men and two women at the scene. Eight others were injured, with some remaining in critical condition. The incident ranks as the third deadliest fire in the country’s modern history.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze, with initial findings pointing to gas heaters as a possible factor. Police are treating the case as general endangerment due to negligence.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Czech TROLL satellite from Brno-based TRL Space, successfully launched on Tuesday from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Equipped with a cutting-edge hyperspectral camera, TROLL will capture high-resolution images of Earth’s surface to aid in environmental mapping, agriculture, and security. TROLL is not only the first Czech satellite but also one of the few globally to feature such advanced imaging technology.
Thursday will be mostly cloudy with some isolated fogs during the day. Temperatures will range between 4 °C and -1 °C.
At the end of December, Eva Kubíková-Bullock, who was one of the surviving children of Lidice, died at the age of eighty-seven. She lived in Canada but visited Lidice repeatedly throughout her life. During the Second World War, the Nazis murdered 88 of the 105 children from Lidice. After 1945, 17 of them returned to Lidice. Six are still alive today.
The West Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen has received a collection of 66 works by the world-renowned Czech writer, poet, and artist Jiří Kolář. The works, acquired directly from Kolář in the late 1990s, have been donated to the gallery by ČEZ. I asked the gallery’s international project coordinator Tomáš Hausner to tell me more about the collection:
The Czech government has moved to liberalize its policy on kratom and other psychoactive drugs. Under a new law that came into force in January, substances considered low-risk will be sold under strict conditions to adults only. However, the premature lifting of the ban on their sale is causing problems.
Visitors to Prague can now experience the fascinating world of space in an impressive light exhibition on the banks of the Vltava River. Space Park Prague in the city’s of Žluté lázně (Yellow Spa) area depicts giant luminous planets, rockets, astronauts and flying saucers.
Danny Bate talks to Vít Pohanka, the host of "Prague off the Beaten Track." The central question: Why did Radio Prague International decide to start this brand new podcast?
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