Czech news in brief for October 16: Wednesday's top headlines

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala highlighted the importance of the EU's negotiations with Gulf states ahead of the EU-GCC summit in Brussels, stressing economic, security, and geopolitical benefits. Fiala also emphasized the need for faster, more decisive action on migration, urging improved return policies and cooperation with third countries. Several EU nations, including Czechia, plan separate migration talks beforehand.

Spokeswoman for the State Health Institute Štěpánka Čechová reports that tick-borne encephalitis cases in the Czech Republic have increased by 25 percent this year, with 540 infections recorded in the first nine months of 2024. Favorable conditions – more rain – for ticks and people spending more time outside this year are to blame. Encephalitis can cause serious health problems and even death, but vaccination is available, although coverage remains low.

Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka announced that salaries for top politicians, judges, and prosecutors will rise by 6.9 percent, aligning with overall wage growth. The government will use the additional budget for a previously higher pay proposal to raise salaries for judicial administrative staff. The government says it has ensured equal increases across all groups. The original proposal envisaged a 13.7 percent pay increase and was criticized by both the opposition and some government politicians.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský announced that the government approved a draft treaty with the Vatican, which reaffirms bilateral relations. The treaty does not address property issues with the Catholic Church but ensures religious freedom and formalizes the provision of clerical services in healthcare facilities, prisons, and the military. The agreement aligns with the government’s policy agenda. The Czech Republic is one of the last European countries not to have relations with the Vatican regulated by a treaty. 

A 20-year-old secondary school student confessed to fatally stabbing a 32-year-old man about 60 times in Brno last weekend, police said. Authorities arrested the suspect in Velké Meziříčí on Monday. He faces up to 20 years in prison or an exceptional sentence. The attack occurred early Saturday in the victim's flat. A court will decide on the suspect’s custody, according to police spokesperson Luděk Blahák.

Czech outpatient specialists will join general practitioners in a two-day protest from October 29-30, closing their surgeries in opposition to next year's healthcare funding decree, the Czech Association of Outpatient Specialists announced. The specialists, like GPs, say the decree fails to account for inflation and rising costs. They are still open to negotiations but warn the system needs urgent financial adjustments to avoid higher hospitalizations and costs.

Rents in Czechia increased by 4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2024, averaging CZK 15,791 per month, according to real estate portal UlovDomov.cz. Prague saw rent hikes from 6 percent to 14 percent across various apartment layouts. Brno rents grew by 3 percent to 13 percent. Rental costs remain almost half of mortgage payments, with high interest rates discouraging home ownership, according to Sreality.cz’s analysis.

Ten years ago, on Oct. 16, 2014, a massive explosion occurred in Vrbětice, destroying an ammunition warehouse and sparking 355 smaller blasts. A second explosion on Dec. 3 worsened the damage. Police attributed the incident to Russian GRU agents aiming to block weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Cleanup costs soared into billions of crowns, and legal cases followed. In 2021, Czech-Russian relations suffered over the incident.

The clock tower structure has returned to Prague's Industrial Palace roof as part of ongoing repairs after a 2008 fire. Workers will soon install decorative elements, including the clock. Originally expected to take a few months, the tower’s restoration took over two years due to worse-than-expected damage. The tower’s repair is part of a larger project to restore the historic palace, partially destroyed by the fire.