Czech news in brief for May 18: Monday's top afternoon headlines

The current first deputy-chief of the General Staff Miroslav Hlaváč is set to become the new chief of the General Staff - the army's top job - after his name was approved by the government today, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said. His nomination to replace Karel Řehka, whose term ends this summer, still has to be approved by President Petr Pavel, with early reports suggesting his name was not part of the shortlist previously discussed between Pavel and Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna.

Czechs still consider Václav Havel to be the best president the country has had in its modern history, according to a new STEM/MARK agency survey. The former playwright and dissident is followed by Václav Klaus, who takes second place, ahead of the current head of state Petr Pavel and Miloš Zeman in fourth and last place. Although still relatively popular, Pavel's popularity dropped in recent months, mainly among voters of the current government.

Based on a new government proposal, parents of children born after January 1, 2027, will receive a parental allowance of CZK 400,000, up from CZK 350,000 today. Part of the coalition's campaign promises to increase financial support for families and boost falling birth rates, the measure could cost CZK 3.6 billion a year after its full implementation, and still has to be discussed and approved by Parliament.

Over 2,000 guests are expected to attend this year's edition of the GLOBSEC Forum, an annual high-level security conference bringing together politicians, experts, academics, journalists, businessmen and civil society leaders for three days of discussion on May 21-23. Several heads of state and government are due to attend this year's forum, held once again on the premises of the Hilton Hotel in Prague.

A young Czech woman and her boyfriend, award-winning, 20-year-old Irish filmmaker Max Hendrickson, died in a traffic accident in Thailand on Sunday. According to media reports, the couple was travelling on a scooter in the mountainous north of the country when they collided with a van under rainy weather.