Czech news in brief for October 10: Friday’s top afternoon headlines

The Czech military is currently recording drones flying over Czech infrastructure, Czech Army spokeswoman Magdalena Dvořáková says. Many recent European incidents were caused by amateur pilots unaware of the law, but some countries fear Russian involvement. Several European states, including Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium, have reported unidentified drones over critical infrastructure. The Czech army is prepared to detect, identify, and disable drones, Dvořáková said.

Repeated reports of bears in several places in the Czech Republic are disinformation, unnecessary panic, and alarmist news, experts told Czech media today, responding to a statement by the Bohemian-Moravian Hunting Union. Police in the Vysočina region said Wednesday that they were investigating a report of a possible bear seen near the village of Senožaty, South Bohemia. The Czech Environmental Inspectorate said it is investigating, and any confirmed bears would be captured and quarantined by experts. There are significantly more bears in neighboring Slovakia than in Czechia.

Czech inflation slowed to 2.3 percent year-on-year in Sept., down from 2.5 percent in Aug., the Czech Statistical Office reported today, putting the country 10th-lowest among 41 European nations, confirmed by investment platform Portu. Ukraine had Europe’s highest inflation at 11.9 percent, followed by Russia at 9.9, Moldova (7.3), and Belarus (7.2). Cyprus reported -0.7. Neighboring rates were higher: Poland at 2.9 percent, Slovakia (4.2), Austria (4,) Germany (2.4). Eurozone inflation rose to 2.2 percent, while U.S. annual inflation accelerated to 2.9 percent.

Prague police have closed their investigation into fraudulent posts on Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s X account, spokesman Jan Daněk has said, after failing to identify the perpetrator. The posts, which appeared on Fiala’s and the Spolu coalition accounts, claimed a Russian attack on Czech troops near Kaliningrad and planned U.S. sanctions. Unlike typical posts, these broadcasts contained only still images with no sound. Authorities investigated under suspicion of “unauthorized access to a computer system and unauthorized interference,” which warrants up to three years in jail.

Former Czech Football Association (CFA) head Miroslav Pelta entered Liberec prison today to serve 5.5 years for manipulating sports subsidies, Czech Television reported. He received funds improperly while heading the CFA, and spent them on himself. He used his position and personal connections, notably with former Deputy Education Minister Simona Kratochvílová, to influence the allocation of development funds. This abuse of power led to a significant financial impact, with prosecutors estimating potential damages of nearly CZK 176 million.