- Czech government plans to increase tobacco taxation and introduce a new tax on e-cigarettes as part of its consolidation package. This proposal calls for an annual 5% increase in tobacco consumption tax until 2027 and a 15% increase in heated tobacco products. E-cigarettes will be taxed in accordance with the EU Tobacco Directive.
- Czech Post is increasing its prices for the fourth time in a year from November 1, 2023. The cost of sending a regular letter will increase from CZK23 to CZK27, with registered and valuable letters also seeing a price increase. The company cites a decline in demand and rising costs as the reasons behind the move.
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- The spa season in the town of Mariánské Lázně in West Bohemia got underway with the blessing of the springs by local clergy on Saturday. The opening ceremony, attended by thousands of people, is one of the biggest events in the town, with a tradition of more than 200 years.
- Sparta Prague beat rivals Slavia Prague 3:2 at home on Saturday evening to put them in a good position to win their first Czech soccer league title since 2014. The result leaves them five points ahead of Slavia in what is called the “superstructure”, a system where the league is divided into three mini-leagues for the final part of the season.
- The all-female Czech group Vesna came 10th in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest with My Sister’s Crown in Liverpool on Saturday night. It was Czechia’s second best result in the history of the international competition, after a sixth-place finish for Mikolas Josef with Lie to Me in 2018.
