Czech news in brief for January 9: Friday’s top morning headlines

Intense snowfall has moved across western and central regions of Czechia, with up to three centimeters falling per hour in places, meteorologists warned on Friday. The snow belt, advancing from Bavaria, affects the Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, South Bohemian, Ústí nad Labem, and Central Bohemian regions, and is expected to complicate traffic during the morning rush hour. The weather is expected to worsen as Storm Goretti approaches western Europe, already causing flight delays and cancellations abroad, with potential knock-on effects at Czech airports.

Czech President Petr Pavel met new U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Merrick to discuss transatlantic cooperation, NATO security, and efforts to secure the release of Czech citizen Jan Darmovzal, detained in Venezuela since 2024. Both sides reaffirmed strong bilateral ties and defense cooperation. The talks come as Venezuelan authorities announced the release of an unspecified number of prisoners, though Prague has no confirmation Darmovzal is among them.

The European Commission has requested information from Elon Musk’s X Corp over its AI chatbot Grok, after it generated sexualized images of women and children. Brussels ordered X to preserve all documents related to Grok under the EU’s Digital Services Act. Several governments, including France and Sweden, condemned the content as illegal and unacceptable, raising concerns over the platform’s compliance with EU.

Some spirits sold in Czechia now contain slightly less alcohol, as producers respond to higher excise taxes and declining consumption. Alcohol tax rose by five percent in January, following two previous annual increases of ten percent. Producers say the small reduction helps keep prices stable and reflects changing consumer habits. Industry and hospitality representatives note that alcohol consumption, particularly in restaurants, has been gradually declining for about a decade.

The eighth annual Bird Watch event begins today in Czechia, inviting the public to help ornithologists count birds at feeders through Sunday. Organized by the Czech Ornithological Society, the survey monitors species that overwinter near human populations. Last year, more than 36,000 participants recorded nearly 800,000 birds, led by the great tit. Results can be submitted online, with no registration or prior experience required.