Thursday news summary

Numbers of new cases have been decreasing

On Wednesday, testing revealed 3,697 new cases of Covid-19 in the Czech Republic. It's the smallest number on a working day since the end of last November. This follows from current data on the website of the Ministry of Health. On Wednesday, 60,430 people received the vaccine. This is the third highest number in one day since the start of vaccination. The current maximum is 67,508 doses from last Thursday.

Trip to Moscow to discuss the Sputnik vaccine

Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček (ČSSD) will fly to Moscow on Monday, where he will discuss possible deliveries of Sputnik V vaccine after its approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). He will meet with Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. What will he discuss? Read HERE.

New Foreign Minister to visit Zeman

President Miloš Zeman will meet a candidate for Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek (ČSSD) at the castle in Lány this afternoon.

Kulhánek is to replace Tomáš Petříček (ČSSD), whom Hamáček decided to dismiss after winning the election of the party chairman last week. Zeman dismissed Petříček on Monday, since then Hamáček has been temporarily leading the ministry.

Kulhánek is one of the long-term collaborators of the leaders of the Social Democracy, since mid-July 2018, he has been working as Hamáček's deputy at the Ministry of the Interior, having previously been his parliamentary adviser when Hamáček chaired the Chamber of Deputies.

He also worked as a deputy at the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs. He also worked for the Chinese company CEFC Europe. Because of this and due to inexperience, his nomination is criticized by the opposition.

Festival One World will go online with this year's topic "Lost Connection"

The One World human rights film festival will take place virtually this year, which also reflects the theme of "Lost Connection." Dozens of films will explore the pitfalls of today's society moving into virtual space and its dependence on it. The show will take place from May 10 to June 6. More about the festival can be found on their website in English.