Czech government undergoes a reshuffle after a party leaves but retains a majority in Parliament

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech President Petr Pavel swore in two new ministers on Tuesday as part of a reshuffle of the government following the decision of junior coalition partner , the Pirates, to leave the Cabinet.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government retains a majority in Parliament’s lower house even without the Pirates, with four other parties remaining in the coalition. The president appoints and dismisses the government ministers at the request of the prime minister.

The crisis began on Sept 24 when Fiala announced the dismissal of Regional Development Minister Ivan Bartos, head of the Pirates.

He said he had lost trust in Bartos’s ability to deal with problems linked to a new digital system for issuing building permits.

The Pirates said the move was in breech of their coalition agreement. Two other ministers representing the Pirates offered their resignations.

But Fiala refused to accept the resignation of Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky. The vocal supporter of Ukraine’s efforts to fight Russia’s invasion then opted to leave the Pirates and stay in the government.

Fiala eliminated the post of the minister for legislation which had been occupied by the other member of the Pirates party who resigned.

The changes came after a major opposition party dominated last month's regional elections and also won most the most seats in a separate election for one- third of the seats in Parliament’s upper house, the Senate.

The victories are a boost for the opposition group, ANO (YES), led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis, ahead of next year’s parliamentary election.

The president also sworn in Industry and Trade Minister Lukas Vlcek to replaces Jozef Sikela, who’ is nominated for to be commissioner for international partnerships in the new European Commission, the European Union executive body.

FILE - Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Fiala arrives for the V4 meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

FILE -US Secretary of State Antony Blinken poses with Czech President Peter Pavel, left, before their meeting at Prague Castle, in Prague, Czech Republic, May 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, Pool), File)

BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany (AP) — A German court on Tuesday acquitted a man who is also under investigation in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in a trial on charges of unrelated sexual offenses.

The Braunschweig state court acquitted the 47-year-old German national, who has been identified by local media as Christian Brueckner, of two counts of rape and two of sexual abuse.

However, Brueckner will remain in prison another year because he is still serving a seven-year sentence for rape in a different case, German news agency dpa reported.

Brueckner had been on trial since February over offenses he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. Defense lawyers had pointed to what they labeled a lack of evidence and witnesses who weren’t credible, and suggested he might not have been charged if he hadn’t also been a suspect in the McCann case.

Prosecutors had argued he should be given a 15-year prison sentence and kept in preventive detention once he has served it.

The verdict can be appealed, dpa reported.

Brueckner has not been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder. He spent many years in Portugal, including in the resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance there in 2007. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.

He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2019 by the Braunschweig court for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005.

The Braunschweig state court has jurisdiction because Brueckner had his last German residence in that city in Lower Saxony.

Christian Brueckner, center, stands in the courtroom at Braunschweig District Court before the start of the trial, in Brunswick, Germany, Tuesday Oct. 8, 2024. (Michael Matthey/dpa via AP)