Czech news in brief for June 1: Monday's top morning headlines

Good morning. Storms swept across Czechia this weekend, knocking out power to thousands and sending firefighters on 200-plus callouts. Meanwhile, Senate Speaker Vystrčil heads to Taiwan, and Beijing is not happy. Plus: Middle East flights from Prague are quietly recovering. It's Monday, let's get into the news.

Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil is in Taiwan despite the Babiš government refusing him a plane. Beijing has formally condemned the visit, accusing him of "seriously interfering in China's internal affairs." He's accompanied by 50 business and university delegates and is meeting Taiwanese leaders and attending a Václav Havel conference.

More to the story: Vystrčil's 2020 Taiwan trip triggered a months-long diplomatic crisis with Beijing. This time, Babiš's refusal of the government plane is his clearest signal yet that Prague's official position has shifted; Vystrčil said the trip is both value-based and pragmatic, and it will bring benefits and authority to the country.

Severe storms swept through South Bohemia on Sunday, felling trees, flooding cellars, and cutting electricity to around 5,000 households. Firefighters logged over 200 callouts, mostly in České Budějovice and Český Krumlov districts, pumping water and clearing debris. Two trees fell on residential buildings; no injuries were reported. Power distributor EG.D says restoration is underway. Sunday's storms sent at least one Prague-bound flight on a detour and grounded two others entirely. 

Useful: The week will bring frequent changes in weather and slight fluctuations in temperatures. Track the latest warnings and rainfall data via these top 5 Czech weather apps.

Social workers and addiction experts are planning a strike Monday over a government restructuring that critics say could fragment coordination on some of the country's most complex policy issues. The dispute centers on a recent cabinet decision to shift human rights and drug policy from the Government Office to four separate ministries. Prime Minister Babiš is reviewing expert objections ahead of a possible cabinet revisit.

Context: The reshuffle moves responsibilities to the justice, labor, health, and culture ministries. Experts warn that issues like addiction and social inclusion are inherently cross-sectoral and that splitting them across four portfolios risks policy falling through the cracks.

Two Traficon kiosks in Řepy are running a pilot system that uses cameras to estimate customers' ages, flagging anyone who looks under 21 (not 18), so staff can ask for ID before selling alcohol or cigarettes. The system also swaps out ads in real time: walk in with a kid and the cigarette promo disappears, replaced by a children's magazine trailer.

Good to know: Data isn't stored, and shoppers are notified on entry. The pilot launched in March; nothing like it is currently operating elsewhere in the Czech Republic, and Europe broadly has been slow to adopt the tech due to GDPR constraints.

Flights from Václav Havel Airport to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Tel Aviv have resumed, with Doha and Sharjah connections returning in June. Passenger numbers on affected routes hit just 20 percent of planned capacity in March and April before recovering to 48 percent in May. Qatar Airways resumes daily Doha flights from June 16; Smartwings is now flying Tel Aviv five times weekly, targeting daily service from mid-June. The airport still handled 1.4 million passengers in April, up 2.6 percent year-on-year, with overall traffic unaffected.

On a related note: Fares are still rising: jet fuel costs roughly twice what they did, and a family flight to Greece, Turkey, or Egypt could run around CZK 4,000 more than last year. Book early.