Morning Briefing │ Thursday, March 21st, 2024

* TRAVEL:

The night train operated by Belgo-Dutch company European Sleeper is extending its service to Prague, the company has announced. An inaugural service departs Brussels Midi station on 25 March at 19.22. The extension to the night train route lands 10 months after its launch from the Belgian capital to Berlin. The service will stop at Dresden and Bad Schandau in Saxony, Germany, as well as Prague.

* WEATHER:

Thursday should be partly cloudy to overcast with some rain and day temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees Celsius.

* ECONOMY:

The Czech Republic’s central bank on Wednesday cut its key interest rate for a third straight time amid falling inflation and an effort to help the economy. The cut by a half-percentage point brought the interest rate down to 5.75%. The move was expected by most analysts.

* UKRAINE:

Finland has joined the Czech initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine, contributing 30 million euros, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen wrote on Twitter (styled ‘X’) after meeting Czech Army Chief of Staff Karel Rehka yesterday. According to Reuters, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair also announced yesterday that Canada’s contribution to the initiative would amount to more than 40 million Canadian dollars.

* SPORT:

West Ham United midfielder Tomáš Souček has been voted best Czech footballer of the year for the third time in his career. The captain of the Czech national team, who is 29, received the award in a ceremony in Prague on Monday night.