• 11/10/2025

    The 27th annual Poetry Day festival gets underway on Monday and will run until November 23 in dozens of Czech cities. The event offers public readings by Czech and international poets, theatre and music performances, exhibitions, creative workshops, and activities for children.

    As in previous years, the festival pays tribute to poet Karel Hynek Mácha, born 215 years ago this month. To mark his birthday on November 16, San Francisco poet Lyn Davidson will lead a morning walk through Prague tracing places linked to famous poets.

    The opening event at Prague’s Týnská Literary Café will feature architect and poet Anna Beata Háblová, the city’s current poet laureate.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/10/2025

    A cubist oil painting Still Life with Painter’s Tools by Czech artist Bohumil Kubišta, created in 1913, sold at auction in Prague on Sunday for  CZK 44.2 million including fees. The starting price was 29 million.

    The auction house Adolf Loos Apartment & Gallery said the work had been in a private collection for more than a century. It is the most expensive artwork sold at a Czech auction this year, and the priciest still life ever auctioned since 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/09/2025

    Monday will be mostly cloudy to overcast, with daytime highs between 7 and 11°C and around 4°C at 1,000 meters in the mountains.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/09/2025

    The national food drive held this Saturday collected a record 719 tons of goods, the most in its 12-year history and 15% more than last year. Shoppers donated 645 tons of food and 74 tons of hygiene items across 2,800 stores, supported by over 6,000 volunteers. Donations can still be made online until November 18.

    The collection provides about a tenth of all long-lasting food for people in need, including single parents, seniors, families in crisis, and the homeless. Last year, over 430,000 people received help from food banks, whose state funding has risen to more than CZK 100 million.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/09/2025

    The Czech hockey team earned their first win of the season, beating Switzerland 4–0 in their final game at the Finnish Games in Finland’s Tampere on Sunday.

    Filip Chlapík scored twice and added an assist, while Matěj Stránský and Marian Adámek also found the net. Goalie Josef Kořenář secured his third shutout for the national team.

    If Finland fail to earn points against unbeaten Sweden, coach Radim Rulík’s squad will finish second in the opening event of the Euro Hockey Tour.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/09/2025

    ANO party deputy chairman Karel Havlíček has not ruled out ending the Czech ammunition initiative that supplies artillery shells to Ukraine. Speaking on CNN Prima News, he said findings from the incoming government reveal bigger problems with the project than ANO had expected before the elections.

    The initiative secures ammunition for Ukraine from both EU and non-EU countries, mainly with the Netherlands and Denmark, and could deliver up to 1.8 million shells this year.

    Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala has described it as a highly successful project that helps Ukraine counter Russia’s military advantage. He said support is already lined up for next year and warned it would be a serious mistake for the next government to abandon it.

    ANO leader and likely next prime minister Andrej Babiš has previously said his government would not use state funds to buy weapons for Ukraine and has suggested the initiative could be scrapped or moved under NATO.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/09/2025

    For the first time this season, snow has fallen beyond mountain areas in Czechia, reaching elevations of around 500 metres above sea level.

    In the Brdy hills, spanning the Plzeň and Central Bohemian regions, up to five centimetres fell overnight, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute reported on X. Road maintenance crews were dispatched to spread salt on the roads, and drivers are urged to take extra care.

    The snow is heavy and wet, and with temperatures around freezing, it’s expected to melt quickly.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/09/2025

    Czech fencer Alexander Choupenitch has claimed victory at the Fencing World Cup in Palma de Mallorca — the biggest success of his career so far. In the final bout, he defeated Hungary’s Gergő Szemes, the bronze medallist from this year’s World Championships, by a score of 15–10.

    It is Choupenitch’s first World Cup title. Until now, his best results were two second places and two third-place finishes in the series. The 31-year-old Czech representative also earned a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/09/2025

    Jan Štefela has made history as the first ever high jumper to be named Czech Athlete of the Year. The 24-year-old earned the honour after an outstanding season crowned by a bronze medal at the World Championships in Tokyo — the only medal for the Czech team.

    He also took silver at the European Indoor Championships, set a personal best of 2.33 meters at the European Team Championships in Madrid, and finished second at the Monaco Diamond League meet.

    In the Czech Athletics Federation poll, Štefela collected 1,733 points, finishing ahead of pole vaulter Amálie Švábíková and shot-putter Tomáš Staněk.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 11/09/2025

    Ukrainian refugees living in Czechia paid CZK 8.2 billion in taxes and social contributions in the third quarter of this year — more than double the amount the state spent on supporting them, according to newly released data from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

    Spending related to people with temporary protection reached CZK 3.9 billion, leaving the budget with a surplus of CZK 4.3 billion. The ministry said the trend of rising revenues from refugees and falling welfare costs continues. Refugees who fled Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February 2022 have contributed more to the Czech budget than they received in support since the third quarter of 2023, and the gap has been widening ever since.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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