Czech news in brief for March 20: Friday's top afternoon headlines

Czech authorities are investigating today's fire in an industrial area of Pardubice as a possible terrorist attack, Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar said. While the circumstances of the fire remain uncertain, Aktualne.cz is reporting that a pro-Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for the attack against the LPP company, possibly due to its cooperation with an Israeli company to produce drones.

The Českomoravská metro station on line B reopened to the public this morning after a reconstruction that lasted for 14 months, three months longer than originally planned. The works cost nearly CZK 1 billion. Municipal authorities wanted to make sure the Českomoravská would reopen before the start of the World Figure Skating Champtionships, being held in the nearby O2 Arena from March 24-29.

The three-party ruling coalition is not seeing eye to eye on the state's vaccination policy. While Health Minister Adam Vojtěch sought to increase vaccination rates and also promote optional ones to the public, like for the flu, the far-right SPD party is opposed to this and - according to Seznam Zpravy - received the support of Prime Minister Babiš, who ordered a review of the ministry's vaccination drive.

Yesterday's dismissal of the head of the National Gallery Prague (NGP) Alicja Knast by Culture Minister Oto Klempíř (Motorist) is causing quite the stir in cultural and political circles. While calls for her resignation had become relatively common, the abrupt way her sacking was announced has surprised many. Knast was supposed to end her mandate this year, and the NGP itself is due to kick-off its new season next week.

Czech police recorded at least 17 deaths officially linked to the use of kratom in 2025, a police spokeswoman informed the press. Every year, about 70-80 people overdose on drugs and other illegal substances in the Czech Republic. Although Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has several times considered a kratom ban, the government did not include it on its list of addictive substances earlier this month.