Czech news in brief for October 9: Thursday's top afternoon headlines

The Czech Foreign Ministry has welcomed the first phase of the Gaza agreement, with the priorities being the release of all Israeli hostages, a permanent ceasefire, and ensuring humanitarian access and Israel's security, the office said on the X network today. Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala said this first phase of an agreement between the Hamas movement and Israel opens the way to ending the violence and finding a peaceful solution.

Czech President Petr Pavel stressed during a meeting with election-winning ANO chair Andrej Babiš this afternoon that the process of forming a government cannot be rushed, also due to constitutional and legislative procedures, the Presidential Office communication department said on its website today. Babiš is negotiating a possible coalition government with the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the Motorists. It is uncertain when the talks will be complete, and when a coalition may form.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that he had spoken to Andrej Babiš and congratulated him on his victory in the Czech parliamentary elections, while the ANO leader praised the courage of the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russian aggression. Babiš himself expressed his support for him and his wish that the war would end as soon as possible. "We also agreed that if everything works out, I will visit Ukraine next year and we will discuss everything in person," the ANO head said.

The court has approved the payment of another CZK 2.4 billion to creditors of the bankrupt Sberbank CZ, increasing the share of paid claims from 95 percent to 99 percent. This affects thousands of people with shares in Sberbank. Last June, Sberbank's creditors received CZK 54.5 billion through Komerční banka. There is now a 15-day period for any appeals. If none of the creditors oppose the process, the insolvency administrator will begin paying out the money immediately. Sberbank wound up operations in 2022, after the full-scale Russian invasion of its neighbor.

The Supreme Court has suspended the sentence of former Deputy Education minister Simona Kratochvílová, who was sentenced to six years in prison for manipulating sport subsidies, as the decision on a petition for appellate review in the case has not yet been made, the court spokeswoman said today. Kratochvílová has been in prison only since Monday. Kratochvílová was punished together with Czech Football Association former head Miroslav Pelta. Pelta has not started serving his sentence because his arrival in prison was postponed due to health problems.