News: Friday, April 5th, 2024

Czech minister tells Financial Times Russia trying to sabotage critical infrastructure

Russia has made “thousands” of attempts to interfere with European rail networks aiming to destabilize the EU and sabotage critical infrastructure, Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka told the Financial Times. He said Moscow was using various means to weaken European rail networks including attempts to hack signaling and ticket systems.

The EU Agency for Cybersecurity published a warning about Russian threats to transport in March of last year, reporting major cyber attacks by “pro-Russia hacker groups” on railway companies in Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Estonia. The Czech cyber security agency, NUKIB, has also warned of rising cyber attacks in recent years, particularly in the areas of energy and transportation.

Czech foreign minister calls for more countries to support shells-for-Ukraine initiative

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has called on more countries to support the Czech shells-for-Ukraine initiative, so as to enable Prague to acquire as much ammunition for the country as possible. Mr. Lipavsky made the appeal at the NATO summit in Brussels where member states discussed further aid for the country. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba who was present at the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting stressed how badly Ukraine needed more military supplies to defend itself against Russian aggression. The overall cost of the Czech shells-for-Ukraine initiative, is estimated at 1.6 to 2 billion euros for 800,000 shells sourced from outside the EU.

Czechia to release another CZK 10 million in aid to Gaza

Czechia will release an additional CZK 10 million to the World Food Programme for humanitarian aid to Gaza, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said on Friday. In January of this year the government allocated CZK 5 million for Palestinian civilians to the same program.

"We cannot stand idly by and watch the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, where there is a real threat of famine,” Lipavský wrote on the social network X. The allocation of CZK 5 million for Palestinian civilians through the WFP was announced by President Petr Pavel during his visit to Israel in early January.

Czechia offering to train Ukrainian pilots at Pardubice centre

Czechia is offering to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 and other fighter jets, Defence Minister Jana Černochová announced  during a visit to the Centre for Aviation Training of the state enterprise LOM in Pardubice. The centre has nine cockpits with forty computers that can simulate the operation of four types of aircraft, including the American F-16 fighter jets. It has offered to provide training at the centre. Ukraine has been promised a number of F-16 aircraft by Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium to be delivered within the next few months.

Government changing system of state benefits

The government is planning to effect changes to the system of state benefits so as to target state aid better and make it more effective. As of next year people asking for state support will have to reveal the size of their savings, property and other assets, such as the number of cars they own, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Marian Jurečka told reporters. The planned reform will merge the housing allowance and supplementary housing allowance, child benefits and subsistence allowance into a single benefit that could be received by up to 850, 000 people.

Baby third person to die in Czechia from whooping cough in 2024

A several-week-old baby in Hradec Králové died from whooping cough on Wednesday, the third fatality from the disease in Czechia this year. The baby suffered from other infections as well and was transferred to Hradec Králové from another hospital in a critical condition.

Health officials have recorded over 700 new cases of whooping cough this week, which brings the total number of registered cases to more than 6,000.

Since the beginning of this year, doctors have administered more than 81,000 vaccines against the respiratory disease, 39,000 more than last year. According to Health Minister Vlastimil Válek, more than 100,000 vaccines will arrive in the country by the end of April.

More children overdosing on drugs and alcohol

The number of children and adolescents overdosing on over-the-counter drugs and alcohol has increased in the last two years, according to information released by the General University Hospital in Prague. Aside from suicide attempts, the most frequent cause of drug or alcohol overdosing is peer pressure on social media. Girls are more likely to overdose than boys. The most frequently abused drugs in the under-15 age bracket are paracetamol, antidepressants and ibuprofen.

Weather forecast

Saturday should be bright and sunny in the western parts of the country and partly cloudy in the east, with day temperatures between 21 and 25 degrees Celsius.