Czech news in brief for October 31: Thursday's top headlines

According to Prime Minister Petr Fiala, his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico's appearance on Russian television Russia-1 was a mistake. Fiala strongly disagrees with Fico's statements, including the opinion that EU support for Ukraine prolongs the war. Fico, speaking in Slovak, said he was ready to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin and would consider it an "honor" to attend Moscow's World War II celebrations next year.

Telecomms company has O2 announced that it has completed the main phase of its Czech Republic 5G network upgrade, now reaching 96 percent of the population via 5,300 base stations, with a goal of 99 percent coverage by year-end. According to technology director Jan Hruška, O2, CETIN, and Ericsson modernized thousands of transmitters over four years. The 900-megahertz band will be repurposed for LTE and 5G by late 2024, expanding high-speed data capacity. Currently, only 30 percent of customers have 5G-capable devices.

President Petr Pavel advocates for a ban on silencers and stricter regulations on assault-rifle-based long guns, calling for mandatory psychological evaluations for owners. This proposed reform, shared with a legislative expert group including both government and opposition MPs, follows a tragic shooting in Prague that claimed 14 lives. Pavel’s spokesman Filip Platoš explained that these weapons are often linked to mass shootings and that the President seeks to influence forthcoming gun legislation.

Two Czech tourists are missing in Taiwan as Typhoon Kong-rey approaches. Authorities are searching for them in Taroko National Park, but their phones are unavailable. The Czech Foreign Ministry and Czech diplomats are in contact with local authorities and their families. The typhoon has caused injuries, accidents, and damage, with canceled flights, closed schools, and evacuations across the island.

Slovak PM Robert Fico expressed his readiness to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with Russian TV Russia-1, and stated that he would consider it an honor to attend the celebrations of the end of World War II in Moscow next year. Slovak opposition politician Michal Simecka criticized Fico's appearance on the Russian propaganda television as a disgrace.

The Czech Republic will send two satellites into space to help reduce space debris. The satellites will be controlled by the Aviation Research and Test Institute from their newly opened Space Operations Center. They will be able to bring the satellites closer to each other and use developed technologies to protect or clean up space debris. The satellites will be controlled from the new center at VZLÚ in Prague, with plans to add more satellites in the future.

An additional CZK 560 million from European funds will support the development of psychiatry in Czechia by 2027. The Integrated Regional Operational Fund will allocate almost CZK 1.5 billion to healthcare projects between 2021 and 2027. The money will be used to create 75 new beds in hospitals and improve community care. The current capacity of psychiatric care, especially for children, is insufficient due to a lack of psychiatrists.

Assets related to criminal activity may be siphoned off from spouses' common property, according to a proposed amendment to the Criminal Code approved by the Czech government. The current regulations allow offenders with property in the spouses' common property (SJM) to avoid penalties. The amendment aims to ensure that the confiscation of property can be applied to the SJM. The proposed change will not affect legal property not related to criminal activity.

Czechs will pay up to a tenth more for cemetery candles on All Souls' Day this year, while the price of artificial and live flowers has decreased by one percent. Retail chains are offering 15 percent discounts on items related to Dušičky customs, a five percentage point increase from last year. The commemoration of the deceased falls on Saturday.

The Unbroken and Sacrificed documentary film festival in Prague will focus on the fall of communist regimes in Czechoslovakia and other Soviet bloc countries in 1989. The festival, organized by the Museum of 20th Century Memory, runs from Nov. 5-8. It will feature mostly documentary films, as well as discussions, seminars, and the premiere of the Czechoslovak film Sergej Vojcechovsky.