Czech news in brief for July 31: Thursday's top headlines

Up to 70,000 people are expected to join Saturday’s Prague Pride parade, which begins at noon in Wenceslas Square and ends at Letná Park. The march will prompt major traffic and public transport disruptions in the city center, including full closures on Čechův most from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and detours on tram routes. Streets along the route will also see temporary car bans. The event concludes at 4 p.m.

Two motor planes collided on the apron of Josefov Airport in Jaroměř, Náchod Region, causing an estimated CZK 800,000 in damage, police said. No injuries were reported. The pilot of one plane failed to notice a stationary aircraft while entering a hangar and struck it at low speed. Alcohol was ruled out. The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating. The airport is operated by the Jaroměř Aeroclub.

Nearly 60 percent of Czechs believe their country has accepted too many Ukrainian refugees and view them as an economic burden, a June survey by the STEM agency found. About 40 percent said the public is tired of the refugees’ presence, though many still tolerate them. Despite this, over half of respondents continue to support their stay. Analysts warn worsening economic conditions could heighten tensions, as public fatigue grows amid ongoing political and financial concerns.

The Czech economy expanded by well more than 2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, matching first-quarter growth, the Czech Statistical Office reported today. Quarter-on-quarter GDP rose 0.2 percent, driven mainly by rising household consumption. Employment and gross value added also increased compared to both the previous year and quarter. While domestic demand boosted growth, the foreign trade balance negatively affected quarterly results.

 A municipal court on Wednesday acquitted four individuals and three entities accused of publishing Holocaust denial books, including Dissecting the Holocaust by Germar Rudolf. The court found no crime was committed, citing expert opinions that the defendants did not author the works but published them with additions. Prosecutors alleged organized crime and genocide denial. The verdict, delivered in the defendants' absence, is not final. A prosecutor has appealed the ruling. The authors of the books were not charged.

Generative AI, particularly deepfakes, poses growing risks to cybersecurity and society, experts told Czech media. Deepfakes use AI to create realistic but fake digital images, voices, or videos. Lecturer Josef Šlerka of Charles University said the primary concern is no longer fake content itself, but its mass accessibility. He warned that AI-generated audiovisual content has become so convincing that viewers often can't distinguish it from reality, raising concerns about misinformation and digital trust.

Czech Speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová walked out of a Geneva conference during a speech by Russian official Valentina Matviyenko, calling her a propagandist for Kremlin lies. Other Western delegates joined the protest. Ukrainian officials also condemned Matviyenko’s presence, calling it an affront to victims of Russian aggression. The Swiss government allowed the sanctioned delegate to attend under an agreement with the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Seismographs across Czechia detected a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula early Wednesday. Ales Spicak of the Geophysical Institute said even Czechia’s most sensitive station in the Šumava mountains was overwhelmed by the quake’s waves. Hundreds of aftershocks followed. The quake was significant enough to be picked up thousands of kilometers away, with data from Czech seismographs updating every 10 minutes online.

Flights across the UK were halted Wednesday due to technical issues with air traffic control near London. Eurocontrol blamed the outage on a radar failure. Airports including Manchester and Edinburgh saw delays. By 6 p.m. CEST, operations resumed. Prague Airport reported no disruptions, with all scheduled flights departing normally. The incident recalls a 2023 failure that stranded 700,000 travelers during peak holiday travel.

Demand for Czech-language education abroad is rising, tied to more Czech families living overseas, said Lucie Slavikova-Boucher of Czech School Without Borders. About 150 schools operate globally, helping expat children stay connected to Czech culture. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky emphasized their educational and cultural roles. The Education Ministry supports 15 schools directly, educating 691 Czech pupils last year in alignment with the national curriculum.

The Czech Film and Television Academy recommended The Choirmaster for Oscar consideration, but producer Radovan Síbrt urged members to reconsider, saying the film echoes real abuse cases tied to the defunct Bambini di Praga choir. His sister, a survivor, inspired a similar character. Director Ondřej Provazník admits real-life parallels but insists the story is fictional. The ČFTA says it won't act as a moral or legal arbiter in the dispute.