• Tatra Trucks sends support team to fire-ravaged Greece
    08/12/2021

    Czech vehicle manufacturer Tatra Trucks has sent a support maintenance team to Greece, which is has been battling major wildfires.

    The team set out for Greece in their own vehicle on Tuesday, company General Manager Pavel Lazar said in a press release. Its main duties will be to support the Czech firefighter convoy now helping extinguish the fires, which is predominantly comprised of Tatra vehicles.

    Thus far, 22 countries have sent firefighter teams to help in Greece. Half of them are EU member states. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis thanked all of the firefighters employed in the mission on Sunday.
    Author: Thomas McEnchroe

  • Czech Republic may appeal EC’s refusal to pay out subsidies to Agrofert group founded by PM Babiš
    08/12/2021

    The Czech Republic may to go to court over the European Commission procedure regarding subsidies for companies in the Agrofert conglomerate founded by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the Czech News Agency reported on Thursday.

    In a press release, Ministry of Finance spokesman Michal Žurovec said that a letter through which the European Commission declined to pay out a subsidy for Agrofert subsidiary Fatra, a plastic producer, provides sufficient reason to seek a verdict from the Court of Justice of the European Union.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will represent the country. The next steps in the procedure will be coordinated together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mr Žurovec said is the press release.

    Opposition party TOP 09 chairperson Markéta Pekarová Adamová said taking the issue to court is the wrong approach for the Czech Republic. Instead, she believes Mr Babiš should take personal responsibility for the subsidy affair.
    Author: Thomas McEnchroe

  • Covid-19: rise in new infections continues
    08/12/2021

    Some 223 fresh cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, which is nearly ten percent more than on the same day the previous week, according to Health Ministry data. The reproduction number – the average number of people infected by one person with the virus – stands at 1.13, indicating an accelerated spread of the virus.

    The seven-day incidence ratio is 12 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants. Some 53 people are currently hospitalised with the coronavirus, with 15 in critical condition. Seven people died with Covid-related complications over the past week.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Letní Letná new circus festival gets underway in Prague
    08/12/2021

    The Letní Letná international festival of new circus and theatre gets underway at Prague’s Letná Plain on Thursday evening. This year’s edition kicks off with a tightrope walker from the French troupe Les Filles Du Renard Pâle performing Résiste, an outdoorshow with acrobatics above the audience’s heads.

    Among the other highlights of the 18th edition of Letní Letná, which runs until August 31, will be the French-Swiss ensemble Cirque La Compagnie as well as the local ensembles Cirk La Putyka and Losers Cirque Company.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Aktualne: PM Babiš files request to halt his criminal prosecution
    08/11/2021

    Prime Minister Babiš (ANO) has filed a request to suspend his criminal prosecution in relation to the case publicly known as the Stork’s Nest affair, the website Aktualne.cz reported on Wednesday.

    Mr Babiš is alleged to have illegally acquired two million euros worth of EU subsidies meant for small companies by temporarily changing the status of the Stork’s Nest resort over a decade ago.At the end of May, investigators recommend pressing criminal charges against both Mr Babiš and an ex-manager from company Agrofert, Jana Mayerová.

    Public Prosecutor Jaroslav Šaroch, who already dismissed the case two years ago, is due to decide whether to press charges against the PM by the end of August.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Weather
    08/11/2021

    Thursday is expected to be mostly sunny with occasional clouds and day temperatures ranging between 25 and 29 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech companies continue to face skilled labour shortage
    08/11/2021

    Czech companies continue to face severe shortage of skilled workers, the Czech News Agency reported on Wednesday.

    Manufacturing and IT are among the hardest hit by the lack of employees. At the moment, there are some 50,000 vacancies for IT experts in the country.

    Catering, accommodation and personal services are also struggling to find workers as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, which forced people in these sectors to find jobs elsewhere.

    At the moment, employers are offering over 358,000 vacancies through labour offices across the Czech Republic.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Covid-19: situation in Czech hospitals remains favourable
    08/11/2021

    The Delta variant of Covid-19 is now predominant in the Czech Republic, according to the National Institute of Public Health. Based on last week's results, 97 percent of the positive tests are likely to be the Delta variant.

    Despite the recent increase in new cases, the situation in Czech hospitals remains good. According to Ladislav Dušek, head of the National Institute of Public Health, there were 515 patients hospitalised in the period between June and July, with 120 of them in intensive care units.

    According to Mr Dušek, some 6,000 Covid cases were detected in July, with an overwhelming majority of those infected not being vaccinated. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) has pushed for Czech authorities to decide by the end of August whether to introduce a third dose of the vaccine.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Average grain harvest expected this year
    08/11/2021

    This year’s grain harvest will be around four percent lower than that of the previous year, suggests the Czech Statistical Office’s estimate. Czech farmers are expected to harvest nearly seven million tonnes of basic cereals.

    The yield of rapeseed is expected to drop by over 13 percent year-on-year to a little over one million tonnes. Meanwhile, the harvest of poppy seeds is likely to reach a ten-year record, increasing by over 40 percent to around 31,000 tonnes.

    According to Czech Agrarian Chamber head Jan Doležal, this year’s harvest has been delayed by several weeks by the rainy weather.

  • Number of new Covid-19 cases continues to grow
    08/11/2021

    Some 263 fresh cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Czech Republic on Tuesday, ten percent more than on the same day the previous week, according to Health Ministry data.The reproduction number remains above 1.0 for the fourth day in a row, indicating an accelerated spread of the virus.

    The seven-day incidence ratio increased to 12 infected people per 100,000 inhabitants.Around 50 people are currently hospitalised with the coronavirus, with 13 in critical condition.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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