Czech news in brief for March 25: Wednesday's top afternoon headlines

One of the accused in custody on suspicion of terrorism for last week's fire in Pardubice has filed a complaint against his detention. Two suspects - one foreign man and one Czech woman - were remanded into custody on Tuesday, and neither of them has pleaded guilty. Another woman was arrested in Slovakia, but Czech police said the investigation for other suspects was still ongoing.

The lower house of Parliament approved a bill today to lower the social insurance contributions of self-employed people, bringing them back to last year's level, and arrange for the reimbursement of over-payments since the start of 2026. According to the Labor Ministry, this will mean average monthly savings of over CZK 700, or approximately CZK 8,500 for the whole year.

Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto, part of the Volkswagen Group, will stop selling cars in China by the middle of this year, according to e15.cz. The company's sales in the country reached only 15,000 vehicles last year, compared to 300,000 a decade ago when China was its largest market. The carmaker said it will now shift its focus towards India and South-East Asian countries.

Czech Centers will close its branches in Stockholm, Milan and Tbilisi in the summer, according to a Seznam Zpravy report later confirmed by a spokesman for the centers, due to drastic budget cuts introduced by the Foreign Ministry. A cornerstone of Czech cultural diplomacy and soft power, there are currently 26 Czech Centers around the world.

The Czech football team is preparing for its World Cup semi-final playoffs against Ireland tomorrow at Prague's Fortuna Arena. The winner will face either Denmark or North Macedonia next Tuesday for a shot at the 2026 World Cup taking place in Canada, the US and Mexico this summer. The post-1993 Czech Republic has only qualified once for the football World Cup, exactly 20 years ago.