Czech news in brief for May 11: Sunday's top headlines

Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said Sunday he remains skeptical of ceasefire efforts in Ukraine, citing a lack of real steps from Russia. Speaking on CNN Prima News, he warned that past Russian ceasefires were only tactical pauses before renewed attacks. He rejected fears of nuclear escalation as Russian propaganda and emphasized that peace terms must be determined by Ukraine.

Czech experts are helping investigate the April 28 power outage that hit mainland Spain and Portugal, ČEPS head Martin Durčák said Sunday. A special commission will examine the causes and response, with results expected in months. Durčák called the Czech grid robust and emphasized learning from the incident. Renewable sources supplied 70 percent of Spain’s energy at the time of the outage, media reported.

Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil urged people not to be indifferent during Sunday’s memorial at the former WWII-era Romani concentration camp in Lety. Indifference opens the door to violence and genocide, he said. Over 300 people, mostly children, died at the camp. The Romani Holocaust memorial now stands on the site. Advocates called for greater education on Romani history in Czech schools.

A four-car crash closed the D3 highway near Mezno late Sunday morning, halting traffic at the 70th kilometer toward Prague. Several people were injured, though none seriously, police said. The accident blocked a key route to Tábor and České Budějovice, causing long delays. Traffic was diverted through Sudoměřice u Tábora. Road authorities expect the closure to last until around 2 p.m.

The Czech Interior Ministry’s Medevac program has helped 118 Ukrainians through evacuations and medical missions during the war, the ministry said Saturday. Over CZK 90 million also funded medical equipment, while 200 medics were trained. In 2025, the program will focus on in-country missions and mental health. A new return center will open in Prague in July to assist with voluntary repatriation and community support.

Opposition party ANO remains Czechia’s most popular political force with 35 percent support, but its backing slipped by 0.5 points in April, according to a Kantar poll for Czech Television. The Together coalition rose to 19.5 percent, with STAN at 12.5 percent. SPD’s support jumped to 9.5 percent. The poll surveyed 1,000 people from April 14 to May 2. Czech parliamentary elections will take place later this year.

Czechia plays Norway tonight at 8:20 p.m. in their second game at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Herning. After edging Switzerland 5-4 in overtime, the reigning champs will be boosted by forward Martin Nečas, making his tournament debut after travel delays. He’ll join Filip Zadina and Michael Špaček on a new line. Norway opened the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Kazakhstan.

The Czech government's plan to introduce a bottle deposit system for PET bottles and cans by 2029 is facing setbacks. Despite being a key promise from Environment Minister Petr Hladík, the law lacks support among coalition lawmakers and municipal representatives. An EU directive requires member states to collect 90 percent of plastic and metal beverage containers by 2029, with a potential exemption for those sorting 80 percent by 2026. However, Czechia is unlikely to meet this target.

Czechia's Supreme Court has ruled the 2022 wiretap of Ivan Netuka, a top cardiac surgeon and adviser to Prime Minister Petr Fiala, was lawful. Police suspected Netuka of rigging public contracts at IKEM hospital. Though the case was later dropped, the court said investigators had sufficient reason to suspect corruption involving a robotic surgery device and potential kickbacks through a supplier’s training scheme.

Kristýna Dufková’s Living Large won Best Feature Film for Children & Young Audiences at Liberec’s Anifilm festival, organizers announced Friday. The puppet film, voiced in part by the late Jiří Bartoška, has earned acclaim internationally. Other winners included the Quay brothers and Gianluigi Toccafondo. Anifilm featured 400+ films this year, and organizers expect record-high attendance, surpassing last year’s 36,000 visitors.

A new Museum of Survivors opened Friday at Oskar Schindler’s former WWII-era factory in Brněnec, where he saved over 1,200 Jews. The site includes exhibitions on Holocaust survivors and female Bauhaus artists. Though not open daily, the museum will host guided tours throughout the year. Schindler's List author Thomas Keneally was expected to attend the opening of the museum, but cancelled for health reasons; instead, his daughter donated part of his original manuscript to the museum.

Czech police scientists have developed a more accurate method to determine where a person drowned, using an improved analysis of diatoms—microscopic algae found in water. The new technique, based on filtration rather than centrifugation, allows for a cleaner and more abundant sample from lung tissue, helping forensic experts confirm if a body was moved after death. The method was developed by the Criminalistics Institute in Prague with university and hospital researchers.