Morning Briefing │ Tuesday, March 26th, 2024

* PRAGUE:

The Railway Administration (SŽ) has obtained a final planning permission for the construction of the railway station Prague – Václav Havel Airport. The station is to be part of the planned railway connection between Prague, the airport and Kladno.

* UKRAINE:

Iceland has committed to spend two million euros in ammunition purchases for Ukraine as part of a Czech-led initiative to deliver much-needed artillery shells.In February 2024, Czech President Petr Pavel announced at the Munich Security Conference that Czechia plans to send 800,000 artillery shells to Ukraine. Pavel called on European leaders to also pledge their support and contribute funds to this initiative.

* POLITICS:

Prague could host the Belarusian opposition government led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, which is currently in exile in Vilnius, Czech Senate speaker Miloš Vystrčil said on Monday, recalling that it hosted the Belarusian government in exile about a century ago. As part of her four-day visit to Prague, which ends on Tuesday, Tsikhanouskaya on Monday attended a memorial ceremony at the city’s Olšany cemetery to pay tribute to two Belarusian presidents in exile who served in the first half of the last century after Bolshevik Russia occupied their country.

* HEALTH:

One-fifth of Czech children aged 11 to 15 drink energy drinks at least twice a week, according to the Czech part of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) international study presented this week. On the other hand, teenagers are now less likely to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes or marijuana.

* EDUCATION:

The health state of former Czech president Miloš Zeman remains stablilised and is slowly improving, officials at Prague’s Motol hospital said on Monday. Mr. Zeman recently required surgery to deal with a blood clot on his leg. Doctors say that the former head of state, who is 79, is unlikely to be released in the immediate future.