With growing international support for a Palestinian state, will Czechia be under pressure to change its pro-Israeli stance? Ahead of his departure for the UN General Assembly, President Petr Pavel said that recognizing a Palestinian state is not possible without the involvement of all parties, including Israel.

At Lány Chateau, Czech archivists opened a long-sealed envelope thought to hold the final words of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Instead, they discovered reflections written in 1934, when the first president was already gravely ill. The notes revealed Masaryk’s candid views on politics, mortality, and human weakness.

Last week’s incursion of Russian drones into Polish territory has put NATO on high alert. Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Friday announced the launch of operation Eastern Sentry to bolster the alliances’ eastern flank and France, Germany and the Czech Republic are sending additional aircraft and troops to help guard Polish airspace.

Czech leaders have strongly condemned Russia’s drone incursion into Polish territory, which they view as clear evidence of Russia’s mounting aggression. At its session on Wednesday, the Czech cabinet expressed solidarity with Poland and readiness to help protect Europe’s borders against further Russian provocations.

The Czech Republic is catching up on its obligations to soldiers, police officers and diplomats who served on dangerous foreign missions. An amendment to the War Veterans Act, which took effect on September 3, will give them more benefits and greater moral recognition.

Campaigning in October’s general elections has reached a hot faze and emotions are running high. Andrej Babiš, leader of the strongest opposition party ANO, was physically attacked during a campaign rally in Moravia-Silesia on Monday, in an incident that made international headlines. Just hours before, a woman tried to spit at Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Spolu) at a rally in western Bohemia. What does that indicate about the character of the campaign and the mood of voters ahead of October’s general elections? These are questions I put to political scientist Jiří Pehe.

How far is too far? The Czech government has historically had close ties with Israel. At different points, both the Foreign Ministry and the prime minister have expressed "unequivocal support" for the country. But is there a red line for the Foreign Ministry in its backing of the country's war aims to eliminate Hamas after the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel? Speaking to the Czech Ambassador to Israel Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová, I asked her these and other pertinent questions.

Led by Denmark, several EU countries have proposed monitoring online communication to combat child abuse. The so-called “Chat Control” would allow surveillance of private emails and social media messages. The proposal lacks majority support in the EU and faces strong criticism from some EU member states, including Czechia.

An illegal menagerie, with many big cats, has been operating for years in Kletečná near Humpolec in the Vysočina Region. The authorities have long lacked an alternative home for the animals, but a breakthrough in the problem came after a meeting of government leaders on Wednesday.

Prague’s historic Nerudova street, the steep cobbled artery leading up to Prague Castle, has become the testing ground for a clampdown on electric scooters. Prague 1 has just introduced the first official ban on e-scooters in the capital, along the entire length of the street, citing repeated accidents and growing frustration among local residents.