Czech news in brief for June 8: Monday's top afternoon headlines

Good afternoon, US actress-director Maggie Gyllenhaal and actor Jesse Eisenberg were announced today as the recipients of the President's Award of this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, taking place on July 3-11.

Also a quick thought for Czech tennis players: 20-year-old Jakub Menšík moved up to the 17th place in the ATP singles rankings after reaching the semi-finals of the French Open, and Kateřina Siniaková strengthened her position as world number one in doubles after her 11th Grand Slam victory over the weekend. Now, to the main news.

As expected, no decision has been made yet about who will represent the Czech Republic at the upcoming NATO summit in Turkey in July. The contentious issue has put President Petr Pavel at odds with the government for months now, but Prime Minister Andrej Babiš again said today that a final decision will be made on June 22.

UN settled. Pavel, who joined the government meeting for about 20 minutes this morning in the hope of finding a solution to a crisis widely seen as damaging Czechia's reputation and credibility abroad, was however approved to lead the Czech delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.

Behind the scenes. According to media reports, the idea of Pavel leading the UN delegation was put forward by Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, the head of the Motorist Party who has publicly clashed with Pavel for months and who, in April, described the president as "the leader of the opposition" who "won't be speaking there [in New York] either."

The Czech unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent last month, according to data from the Labour Office, down from 4.9 percent the previous month. There are now about 358,000 people without work in the Czech Republic, compared to less than 100,000 job vacancies, with seasonal work largely contributing to the slight drop in unemployment last month.

More context. But looking at the bigger picture, this year's May unemployment rate is the highest for this month in ten years, and 0.6 percentage points higher than in 2025. Analysts have warned of several factors pushing unemployment up, including the weak performance of the Czech industry and AI-fueled job cuts across many sectors. Close to half of former job seekers who recently started working again are self-employed.

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, Prague residents will be able to virtually fly into space at the SpaceBuzz mobile rocket, a VR-powered, 18-meter-long rocket offering a simulated journey into orbit. Located on Mariánské náměstí in Prague 1, the six-minute simulated flight installation will give visitors the unique chance to view Earth from the same viewpoint as astronauts of the International Space Station.

Good to know. Mornings will be reserved for elementary schools, so the experience will be available to the wider public during the afternoons of June 9 and 10, between 3 pm and 6 pm. Admission is free, and works on a first-come, first-served basis.

Hopefully you were able to make the most out of today's warm and sunny weather, with temperatures reaching up to 28 degrees on Monday afternoon. The rest of the week will be less forgiving, with daytime temperatures significantly cooling down and rainfall expected from tomorrow, according to the latest forecast by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. Thunderstorms are also expected in parts of Czechia on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Prague's Vaclav Havel has been named as the third most family-friendly airport in Europe, according to a new index launched by Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) analyzing 50 of the busiest European hubs. But it's Spain that tops the ranking, with airports in Malaga, Madrid and Alicante all making the top 5 alongside Budapest's Ferenc Liszt.

More specifically. With an overall score of 6.8/10, Prague's Vaclav Havel airport "stands out for family-friendly visits," according to the authors of the ranking, including thanks to 10 play areas for children, quiet rooms in both terminals and a strong network of nearby hotels for convenient overnight stays.