Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is back in Prague today.

His arrival has led to the closure of Prague Castle and extra police patrols across the area. Czech President Petr Pavel is expected to meet with Zelensky during the visit.

Zelensky last visited Prague in July 2023, during his first trip abroad after the war in Ukraine began. That visit was also kept quiet until the last minute for security reasons — and this one is no different.

Prague Castle is shut to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All ticket offices, gardens, museums, and visitor centers are closed for the entire day.

Zelensky is expected to meet not only with President Pavel but also with Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský. His wife, Olena Zelenska, is also in Prague with her own separate schedule.

According to Czech Radio’s Radiožurnál, all signs point to Zelensky arriving today, though no official confirmation has been given. Police spokesperson Ondřej Moravčík said the visit would not affect weekend traffic but gave no further details.

The Castle will partially reopen after 4:30 p.m., but parts of the first and second courtyards will stay closed, said Castle spokesman Vojtěch Šeliga.

During Zelensky’s last visit, he arrived in Prague on a Czech government plane from Bulgaria, continued on to Slovakia, and then traveled to Turkey.

While in Prague, he met with the President, Prime Minister, and leaders of both houses of Parliament.

Today’s visit comes as Ukraine continues to ask for more support from Europe. The Czech Republic has backed Ukraine strongly since the war began, and Zelensky’s visit shows that the two countries are staying close partners.

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Prague 1 has officially called for a complete ban on shared electric scooters in parts of the city center, citing growing safety concerns and ongoing misuse of public spaces.

The district council made the request this week, urging the capital to issue a decree that would allow individual districts to define no-go zones for both riding and parking of e-scooters.

The proposed ban would be enforced through a combination of physical signage and geofencing technology, and Prague 1 is demanding joint enforcement by municipal and state police.

“We deal with chaotic scooter parking and illegal riding on sidewalks every single day,” said Vojtěch Ryvola, Prague 1’s transport councilor. “This poses a direct threat to pedestrians. The situation has become unbearable. We are ready to defend public space and the safety of our residents.”

Ryvola compared the e-scooter issue to the city’s 2016 Segway ban, which required a national law change and cost around CZK 4 million to implement, including the installation of more than 600 signs. In his view, scooters represent a similarly disruptive force in Prague’s historic core.

Under current Czech legislation, electric scooters are classified as bicycles, meaning they’re prohibited from sidewalks but allowed on roads. However, Ryvola and other Prague 1 representatives argue that this legal classification is inadequate and that the proposed ban should extend to roadways as well.

Not all city leaders are on board. Deputy Mayor for Transport Zdeněk Hřib criticized the Prague 1 plan as a short-sighted and confusing fix. “This does not address the root of the problem,” Hřib said. He pointed to an alternative solution proposed by the city’s Technical Road Administration (TSK), which involves contractual agreements with scooter operators.

TSK’s plan would regulate where and how shared scooters and bikes can be used, introduce penalties for violations, and charge usage fees for public space occupation. But Prague 1 has rejected this model, arguing it does not give districts enough autonomy to impose a full ban.

Public frustration with shared scooters has been mounting, particularly in central neighborhoods. Complaints include reckless riding, obstructive parking, and lack of revenue from the use of municipal space.

Šnejdarová noted that Prague 1 has been demanding action since early 2023. “Despite repeated appeals, the city has yet to offer a concrete solution,” she said.

Should negotiations with the city collapse, Ryvola said the district may consider holding a local referendum to decide whether to ban e-scooters outright across all of Prague 1.

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Drivers working for Bolt and Uber have launched a new strike in the Czech capital, repeating a protest held just a week ago.

On that occasion, hundreds of drivers refused to accept rides, causing longer wait times and leaving many users without available cars.

This Monday, the protest has grown in scale and coordination, with two separate driver groups participating in different ways.

The first group, organized by the Lucky Taxi Association, began their strike at 4:00 a.m., planning to end it at 12:00 noon. Their specific demands have been made available through their official channels.

Meanwhile, a second group of drivers has launched a full 24-hour strike, starting at 6:00 a.m. Monday and running until 6:00 a.m. Tuesday.

This protest includes a public demonstration officially registered with Prague City Hall. Organizers expect between 500 and 1,000 vehicles to gather in the parking lot outside the Tesco hypermarket in Letňany between 10:00 and 11:30 a.m.

At 12:00 p.m., the group plans to drive in a slow-moving convoy through the city center, ending in Čestlice, a suburb southeast of Prague.

Drivers Demand Fairer Conditions

“We, taxi drivers in Prague, are dissatisfied with the current working conditions and demand immediate changes,” the group wrote in a statement distributed to media outlets.

They cite a drop in fares by 25–30% over the past three years, even as the cost of fuel, insurance, car maintenance, and housing continues to rise.

Meanwhile, Uber and Bolt continue to charge drivers commissions of up to 35%, the group claims, without paying taxes in the Czech Republic. Drivers are forced to operate as independent contractors under IČO licenses, making them responsible for 21% VAT payments on top of operating expenses.

The drivers’ key demands include:

• Setting the official fare levels established by Prague City Hall:

  • Base fare: 60 CZK

  • Per kilometer: 36 CZK

  • Per minute of waiting: 7 CZK

• Reducing commissions from 25–35% down to 15–20%.

• Introducing a flexible commission system where fees decrease based on the number of completed trips.

• Mandatory registration of Uber and Bolt with Czech trade licenses and VAT obligations.

• Removing Bolt’s “Economy” tier, which drivers argue makes their work financially unsustainable.

“If our demands are not heard, we will escalate our protest with a two-day strike on April 20–21,” the organizers warned. “We remain open to dialogue and await an official response.”

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Police in Prague arrested a man who allegedly threatened to carry out a shooting at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University on Friday afternoon.

The incident sparked a major police operation in the city center, with officers securing the area and launching an urgent search for the suspect, who initially fled the scene.

According to Jan Daněk, a police spokesperson, the man entered the Faculty of Arts building on Jan Palach Square and displayed alarming behavior, making threats about shooting in the premises.

“We are actively searching for a man who exhibited abnormal behavior and spoke of shooting,” Daněk informed Novinky shortly after 3:00 p.m.

Following the threat, the suspect left the area, prompting an intensive search operation involving dozens of officers in Prague’s historic center.

Police efforts led to the suspect being detained within half an hour of the initial report. The individual was reportedly apprehended shortly before 3:30 p.m.

Further details about the man, including his identity or potential motives, have not yet been disclosed.

 

V centru Prahy aktuálně pátráme po muži, který přišel do budovy Filosofické fakulty UK na náměstí Jana Palacha, choval se nestandardně a mluvil o střelbě. Na místě jsou desítky policistů a hledají ho. #policiepha

— Policie ČR (@PolicieCZ) November 29, 2024

Last year, fourteen people were killed and 25 injured, in a shooting at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts in Prague. The gunman, who began shooting on the fourth floor of the building, later committed suicide.

 

 

 

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The Czech Athletics Federation announced that it will be ‘back on the track’ with a six-meeting series to launch in June.

The Czech government’s plan to ease restrictions imposed to control the new coronavirus pandemic will open 100 stadiums across the country to athletes from 1 June.That, coupled with the decision to allow public gatherings of up to 50 people from 25 May, has allowed the national governing body to organize a series of six “micro-meetings”.

The first, set for Sletiste stadium in Kladno on 1 June, will officially kick off the season and will be broadcast live by the Czech national broadcaster CT.

Programs and details are still being confirmed, but the Kladno meeting’s timetable will include a women’s javelin, men’s shot put and men’s 300m. Czech stars Barbora Spotakova, Tomas Stanek and Pavel Maslak have already confirmed their participation – and they can’t wait.

“Athletes want to compete as soon as possible and our federation has found a way to arrange events with a limited number of fifty people,” said Libor Varhanik, Czech Athletic Federation president. “We want to engage athletes of all age categories and performance levels.”

To that end, more than 100 additional competitions will be organized for children and youth athletes across the country on 1 June. The aim of the initiative, Varhanik said, is for all athletes to be together, at least symbolically, at the start of this year’s competitive season.

“That’s why we jumped in together on the first of June at 100 and more athletic stadiums under the slogan, ‘Back on the Track’.” Varhanik said the federation put out the call to its regional and club organizations over the weekend to gauge interest for the first meeting. “According to the responses, it will be enormous,” he said.

The “Back on the Track” project will be connected across the country via social networks, providing video and photo coverage with the hashtag #BackOnTheTrack.

Federation officials stress that all competitions are being organized to align firmly with government rules expected to be in force on 1 June.