Online aggression among children in Czechia is increasing, according to research carried out by the Safer Internet Centre in cooperation with Palacký University in Olomouc, which was presented on Thursday.

According to the survey, more than half of children have experienced verbal abuse online, making it the most common form of aggression. A third reported the sharing of humiliating photos, followed by threats, nuisance calls and, in 18 percent of cases, humiliating videos. Experts say these behaviours are now widespread across age groups and often happen repeatedly.

The study also found that most online attacks come from peers in the same  class. For girls, a former friend or partner is often involved, and in many cases the aggressor is someone they only know online.

Plzeň has jumped to 29th place in a global quality-of-life ranking that compares nearly 12,000 cities worldwide. The city moved up from 54th position last year, according to new data from the Numbeo index, which is based on information submitted by residents.

Numbeo was originally created to compare living costs by former Google software engineer Mladen Adamovic. Over time, it has expanded to include data on housing, healthcare, transport, education and crime. Prague placed 112th in the same index, while Brno followed one spot behind.

Germany’s foreign ministry is urging travellers to Czechia to pay close attention to hygiene because of the ongoing hepatitis A outbreak. In updated travel advice, it recommends thorough handwashing and says vaccination against hepatitis A is advisable when visiting Czechia, although it is not mandatory.

Czechia is experiencing what health officials say is likely its largest hepatitis A outbreak in decades. By mid-November, more than 2,500 cases had been reported—four times more than in all of last year and the highest number since 1989. The last major nationwide outbreak was in 1979, when over 32,000 people fell ill.

A 27-year-old Czech man has been killed in the fighting in Ukraine, his former secondary school in Uherské Hradiště announced on Thursday, saying he had died last week on the front near Izium. His family informed his former class teacher of his death.

The foreign ministry has confirmed it is aware of the case and is in contact with the family, but has released no further details. According to available information, he is the fifth Czech citizen known to have been killed in the war in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.

Prague firefighters are responding to a massive gas leak on Jaromírova Street in Nusle. They are evacuating nearby buildings, and road traffic, including tram lines, has been halted. All components of the integrated rescue system are on site. The firefighters reported this on the X network. Jan Srb, spokesperson for Pražská plynárenská Distribuce, told ČTK that an unidentified company damaged the pipeline during construction work. According to the police, the restrictions will likely last several hours.

President Petr Pavel will receive representatives of the Council of the Czech Republic’s Association of Regions at Prague Castle on Thursday afternoon. They will discuss, among other things, transferring the funding of non-teaching school staff from the state to school founders, namely municipalities and regions. Other topics will include road repair funding and the reimbursement decree. Pavel will then meet current and former regional governors and Prague mayors on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the regions.

MPs will meet on Thursday evening to discuss the future conflict of interest of ANO leader Andrej Babiš. The extraordinary session of the lower house was convened by MPs from the minority parties KDU-ČSL, ODS, STAN, TOP 09, and the Pirates. The debate is not expected to result in a resolution.

The Chamber of Deputies returned next year’s draft budget to the government for revision. According to ANO, the proposal lacks roughly 96 billion CZK needed for transport construction, co-financing of agricultural projects, and part of the mandatory expenditures of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

The outgoing government now has 20 days to make adjustments. It is expected to focus on budget revenues in connection with a more favorable economic growth forecast, and, in cooperation with the National Budget Council, to review certain social expenditures.

The Senate has once again proposed a constitutional amendment that would grant the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) the authority to audit the finances of Czech Television (ČT) and Czech Radio (ČRo).

The upper chamber of Parliament agreed on this on Wednesday with 48 of its 54 members present voting in favor. The senators from STAN ultimately did not propose postponing the debate on the amendment. The amendment will now be reviewed by the government and the Chamber of Deputies.

President Petr Pavel today received Yuliya Navalnaya, widow of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, at Prague Castle. Navalnaya has become a symbol of resistance against Vladimir Putin’s regime, and thanks to her, her husband’s legacy lives on despite the risks, the Czech president wrote on X after their meeting. In the evening, Navalnaya will take part in a discussion at the Václav Havel Library, focusing among other things on a biographical book about her husband, which Navalny wrote before his death.