• Soldier injured in July munitions explosion dies of injuries
    08/03/2021

    A Czech soldier, who sustained serious injuries in an accidental explosion that took place while conducting a pyrotechnical survey in the Czech Army’s Brdy Military Training Zone in July, died on Tuesday, Czech Television reports.

    Two soldiers were injured in the explosion, which is currently being investigated by the country’s Military Police. The other injured service member has since been released from hospital.
    Author: Thomas McEnchroe

  • Czechia to receive second largest monthly vaccine delivery yet in August
    08/03/2021

    The Czech Republic is set to receive 2.3 million COVID-19 vaccines in August, the second largest number yet received in a month by the country since the outbreak of the pandemic, Czech Radio reported on Tuesday.

    Pfizer BioNTech will deliver the majority of the vaccines (1.567 million), followed by Moderna (632,000) and Johnson & Johnson (90,700).

    The state also currently has around 80,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses according to the Institute for Health Information and Statistics. Tens of thousands of people are still waiting for their second AstraZeneca vaccine dose, but otherwise there is little interest among Czechs for getting inoculated with AstraZeneca, Czech Radio reports. However, according to medicine distributor Alliance Healthcare the number of AstraZeneca vaccines held in Czech warehouses could be as high as 300,000 doses.

    Last week, the Czech government decided to gift 280,000 AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines from its reserves to Taiwan and Vietnam.

    The Czech state has ordered a total of 23.9 million vaccine doses since the beginning of the pandemic for a cost of CZK 8.5 billion, Czech Radio reports.
    Author: Thomas McEnchroe

  • Security Committee to discuss reappointing BIS chief on Friday
    08/03/2021

    The Security Committee of the Chamber of Deputies will meet on Friday to discuss the appointment of the next director of the Czech BIS civillian counter-intelligence service, Chairman of the Committee Radek Koten said on Tuesday.

    The Committee will discuss whether current the director, Michal Koudelka, should continue to lead the counter-intelligence service.

    Prime Minister Andrej Babiš met with President Miloš Zeman – an outspoken critic of the BIS under the leadership of Koudelka – on Monday to disucss the issue. He subsequently asked the Security Committee to meet.

    Koudelka has led the BIS since 2015. His mandate is set to end in mid-August, but the majority of parties in the Security Committee are in favour of him remaining in the post.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Romani victims of Holocaust remembered in Prague
    08/03/2021

    People gathered in Prague on Monday to commemorate the Romani victims of the Holocaust. On the night of August 2-3, 1944, almost 3,000 prisoners of Romani origin were murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, mainly the elderly, infirmed and children.

    Among those attending the memorial event on Náměstí Míru square was Holocaust survivor Dezider Daduč, the Prague 2 district mayor and MP Jana Černochová (ODS), actress Anna Polívková and artist and Jindřich Chalupecký Award laureate Robert Gabriš, who read out the names of victims.

    Organisers of the event then called on the public to reject expressions of hatred towards people of other races, ethnicities, religions and people of minority sexual orientation and gender identity.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Housing loan volume reaches record CZK 39.5 billion in June
    08/02/2021

    The volume of new mortgage loans for housing from banks and building societies reached CZK 39.5 billion crowns in June, up CZK 8.6 billion from May and up CZK 20 billion crowns in annual terms. It is a record high since statistics began being systematically monitored in 2014.

    The refinancing of mortgage loans from banks and building societies fell by about CZK 250 million to CZK 9.8 billion in June. It was the third strongest month since January 2014, after March and May of this year.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Weather
    08/02/2021

    Tuesday should grow cloudier in the course of the day, with occasional rainfall and isolated storms expected. Maximum temperatures should range from 20 to 24 degrees Celsius.

  • Belarusian Olympian offered asylum by Czechia reportedly opts for Poland
    08/02/2021

    Belarusian runner Krystina Tsymanouskaya, who was offered asylum by both the Czech Republic and Poland after her expulsion from her country’s Olympic Team, has been spotted entering the Polish embassy in Tokyo.

    Tsymanouskaya received protection from Tokyo police on Sunday after having been ordered by the Belarus team’s head coach to board a plane. Earlier, she had complained in a video on social media about being entered into the 4x400m relay race at short notice.

    Her video was then criticized in Belarus state media, but country officials said Tsymanouskaya was removed from the team because of her emotional state.

    Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek had announced on Sunday that the Czech Republic was ready to grant Tsymanouskaya a visa and asylum. The sprinter was in contact with the Czech ambassador to Japan, but Reuters and the BBC have since reported that she has opted for asylum in Poland.
    Author: Thomas McEnchroe

  • Prague Pride festival launches under ‘coming out’ theme
    08/02/2021

    The 11th annual Prague Pride festival got underway on Monday with the hoisting of a rainbow flag over the city’s Town Hall. It will include some 135 events under the “coming out” theme, but the traditional parade will not taking place due to Covid-19 restrictions.

    “Coming out”, i.e. revealing one’s minority sexual orientation and gender identity to other people, is, according to the festival organiser, a “topic constantly present” for LGBT+ people.

    Scheduled events under the theme include concerts, performances, exhibitions, queer art openings, cinema screening, picnics and debates in the Střelecký Island festival village, the Karlín Barracks and at the Život 90 organisation.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Hockey: NHL Boston Bruins veteran David Krejčí to play for Olomouc
    08/02/2021

    Czech ice hockey centre David Krejčí, who played with in the NHL for 15 seasons with the Boston Bruins, will join the Olomouc club where he played as a teenager.

    David Krejčí was part of the Bruins’ Stanley Cup win in 2011 and led the NHL in points during the 2011 and 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was on the Czech national team for the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Prague public transport company raises ticket prices
    08/02/2021

    New prices for single tickets for public transport took effect in Prague since Sunday. For a 30-minute ticket, the tariff rose from 24 to 30 crowns; for a 90-minute ticket, from 32 to 40 crowns. SMS tickets now cost 31 crowns for 30 minutes and 42 crowns for 90 minutes.

    A discounted monthly ticket for socially disadvantaged people is also being introduced (165 crowns). All other monthly, quarterly and annual tariffs remain unchanged.
    Author: Brian Kenety

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