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According to a study published by the Czech Republic’s Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) on Monday, more than a third of the trains currently in the service of Czech Railways (ČD) have been in use for over 30 years, making them unsuitable to the needs and expectations of customers. The state’s main public transport provider has defended itself by saying that it has only had a chance to start updating its equipment since 2008. However, the NKÚ believes that modernisation is going at too slow a pace.

A new “employee” of Prague’s Václav Havel Airport called Pepper is now roaming Terminal 2 and offering both directions and entertainment. He is the result of the airport’s ongoing adoption of new technologies through its PRGAirportLab initiative and can be seen as offering a taster of what is yet to come.

The state-owned Czech Railways transported 133.7 million passengers in the first three quarters of 2018, which is 2.8 million more than in the same period last year, the Czech News Agency reported on Thursday. In September, Czech Railways transported over 15.5 million people, a two percent increase on the previous year.

The lower house of Parliament on Wednesday approved the 2019 draft budget in its first reading. The basic parameters of the budget, such as the deficit goal, are thus definitively set with only minor shifts in funds possible. Government spending next year should prioritize the social sphere, investments, an increase in public sector salaries and pensions.

Part of one of Prague’s most important bridges is in a calamitous state and must be knocked down. The overpass by the city’s Vltavská Metro station makes up a section of a key through road.

Portraits of the founding fathers of Czechoslovakia – Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Edvard Beneš and Rastislav Štefánik – will newly appear on the 20 crown coins. The Czech National Bank is releasing the coins to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia.

It’s not just municipalities that will be taking part in events marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia next weekend. The makers of the famous lager Pilsner Urquell have announced they will also be involved through a number of events and special products.

One of the worst droughts in recent Czech history is still tormenting farmers, with rainfalls in October measured at just a fifth of the monthly average. The total cost of damages to Czech agriculture and forestry has been estimated to lie at around CZK 24 billion so far and some farmers say the government is not doing enough about it.

Faced by an acute labour shortage, the Czech Republic is set to take in up to 40,000 workers from Ukraine every year, Hospodářské noviny reported on Thursday. That would represent a doubling of present numbers.

One of the Czech Republic’s biggest publishers, Albatros, has boosted its position on the market, taking over rival Panteon, which has the rights to the international bestseller the 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.