* ECONOMY:

Czechia’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.4% year on year and by 0.5% quarter on quarter in the first quarter of this year. The estimate released by the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) follows a GDP drop of 0.8% in the third quarter of 2023 and a growth of 0.4% in Q4. Following the revision released by CZSO in late March, the Czech economy declined by 0.2% in 2023 overall.

* POLITICS:

Slovakia has granted temporary asylum to Artem Marchevsky, a pro-Russian propagandist and former Ukrainian TV producer, Czech newspaper Denik N reported on April 30. The decision to grant asylum was made by the Slovak Interior Ministry, according to Marchevsky’s lawyer, Leonid Kushnarenko. Czechia previously denied asylum to the propagandist.

* WEATHER:

Thursday should be partly cloudy to overcast with day temperatures between 19 and 24 degrees Celsius.

* POLITICS:

Dozens of former members of the Czech government and parliament are running in the European Parliament (EP) elections to take place in the Czech Republic on June 7 and 8, as well as eight current MPs. Voting will be open in the Czech Republic on Friday 7 June (2pm-10pm) and Saturday 8 June (8am-2pm). As in the previous elections in 2019, Czech voters will elect 21 MEPs (out of a total of 720).

* PRAGUE:

The Prague City Council will expand parking zones in some city districts. Drivers will now pay for parking in streets such as U Vodárny in Prague 2, Evropská in Prague 6 or Na Palouku in Prague 10.Residents now pay CZK 1,200 per year for parking. The city has not yet decided how much it will cost to park in the new parking zones.