Prague

On the first day of its presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Czech Republic announced that it was reducing the staff of the Russian embassy in Prague to the number of Czech officials in Moscow.

The news was announced by the country's foreign minister Jakub Kulhanek at a press conference after a government meeting, quoted by Bulgarian media "SEGA".

Under the motto of former President Vaclav Havel "Europe as a task", from July 1, 2022 the Czech Republic takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union.

In other Czech news, Prague is set to take over the rotating six-month presidency of the EU from France on Friday. This would be the second time Czechia has served as the president of the EU Council since it joined the bloc in 2004. It had been hoping for a smoother ride this time, unlike in 2009 when the government collapsed during its stint, causing its presidency to be judged a disaster.

Hrastnik – Hrastnik, a working-class town in central Slovenia, is hosting what is the only Slovenian labour film festival later this week with 16 screenings and a diverse accompanying programme featuring local and foreign filmmakers and advocates for worker rights.

"Orban is intoxicated by his own success," sighs Istvan Szent-Ivanyi, a former Hungarian state secretary and ambassador, referring to the governing party's landslide election victory. "Frankly, given the current situation, I expect his rhetoric to get even sharper, with no signs of changing his pro-Russian and anti-EU line."

Krakow – Slovenia’s Olympic champion Benjamin Savšek placed second in Sunday’s World Cup canoe slalom race in Poland, finishing only behind French Nicolas Gestin. He failed to win because he touched one of the gates, which earned him a two-second penalty.

It is the first case in which the court has addressed the issue of the penalization of a judge for criticizing PiS reforms. Zurek is one of the best-known Polish judges to be critical of the ruling party's politicization of the judiciary.

It's a chance, they argue, for Czechia to distinguish itself from the populist-conservative values that the likes of Vladimir Putin have weaponised and for the five-party centre-right governing coalition that took power in December to match its declared goal of reasserting Prague's commitment to liberal democracy with action.

Prague – Luka Božič won Sunday’s ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup race in Prague only a day after his Slovenia teammate Peter Kauzer accomplished the same feat at the venue on the Vltava River.

Božič finished 7th in the semi-final but then went on to sweep the field. France’s Nicolas Gestin came in second and Czech Lukas Rohan finished third.

Prague – Slovenian slalom canoeist Peter Kauzer won the first World Cup race this season in whitewater slalom in Prague on Saturday. After barely qualifying for the final, he then rode the rapids with flying colours to win by almost a second over his rivals.