• UNESCO calls for rethink of Jiřičná apartments towers plan for Prague
    06/23/2021

    UNESCO says a plan to build towers of up 100 metres in height within a Prague apartment development project must be changed by London-based architect Eva Jiřičná. In an opinion, UNESCO said that the planned Centrum Nový Žižkov may not be higher than nearby buildings, meaning a 54-metre maximum. The objection was revealed by the developer on Wednesday. At present there is a 96-metre telecommunications tower on the site in Prague 3.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czechs lose to England in final Euros group game
    06/23/2021

    The Czech Republic were beaten 1:0 by England in their final group match at the European Football Championship on Tuesday night. The game’s only goal came from England forward Raheem Sterling after less than a quarter of an hour of play.

    The Czechs, who had already qualified for the knockout stage before the game in London, finished third in Group D. They will learn their opponents in the round of 16 after the games in other groups on Wednesday evening.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Havlíčkův Brod named Historic City of the Year for 2020
    06/23/2021

    Havlíčkův Brod, a town in the Vysočina region, has been named Historic City of the Year for 2020, awarded for efforts to maintain the nation’s heritage.

    Deputy mayor Lubomír Honzárek said that over the past decade the city has invested 300 million crowns into repairing the monument protection zone.

    The competition is organized by the Association of Historic Sites of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, and ministries of culture and regional development. The towns of Kutná Hora and Žatec received regional development prizes.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • OECD concerned politics behind resignation of Czech supreme state attorney
    06/23/2021

    The OECD has expressed concern over the resignation of supreme state attorney Pavel Zeman, who resigned after ten years in office, effective on June 30, citing pressure from Minister of Justice Marie Benešová.

    Zeman told reporters that month Benešová had threatened him with a disciplinary charge for having spoken to reporters about the 2014 blast in Vrbětice blamed on Russian agents. She denies having done so.

    The OECD’s working group on combatting corruption said that since the Czech Republic has failed to adopt legislation guaranteeing the independence of prosecutors, political interference is a concern.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Committee recommends lifting immunity of MP Volný
    06/22/2021

    The Czech lower house’s Mandates and Immunity Committee has recommended that MPs vote to lift the immunity of deputy Lubomír Volný so he can be prosecuted by the police. The police suspect the unaffiliated MP, who was previously with Freedom and Direct Democracy, of spreading false alarm with social media posts about the medicine ivermectin; he says the drug can be used against Covid-19 and that there are plans to kill patients using it in order to discredit it.

    The Chamber of Deputies will vote on whether to lift Mr. Volný’s immunity next month.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prague protest planned over controversial Teplice death
    06/22/2021

    A group named Autonomní akce (Autonomous Action) is planning a demonstration in Prague on Wednesday against alleged police brutality in connection with the death of a young man in the North Bohemian town of Teplice on Saturday. The protest follows the publication of a video on the site Romea.cz showing the man, who Romea said was from the Roma community, being kneeled on by police officers for many minutes. The police said the man’s death in an ambulance later that day was due to a drug overdose and said regulations on restraint had been followed.

    However, some have compared the man’s death to that of George Floyd in the United States.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Duka taking further legal action over controversial plays
    06/22/2021

    The head of the Czech Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Dominik Duka, and his lawyer, Ronald Němec, are filing a constitutional complaint against court verdicts finding they had no claim to an apology over alleged infringements on their rights as individuals.

    This matter pertains to the staging of controversial plays at a festival in Brno, the lawyer told Czech Television. The plays depicted Christian symbols in a provocative manner.

    In April the Supreme Court ruled that this was neither discrimination against Christians nor an infringement on freedom of religion.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Other results mean Czechs into knockout stage at Euros
    06/22/2021

    Other results on Monday mean that the Czech Republic will enter the knockout stage of the European Football Championship regardless of the outcome of their game against England in London on Tuesday night.

    The Czechs have four points from their first two games and head Group D, ahead of England, on goal difference. They can at worst finish among the four third-placed teams that also make it into the next stage along with group winners and runners-up.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    06/22/2021

    It should be mainly overcast in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. More cloudy weather is due over the following week.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Babiš: Covid mistakes of summer 2020 must not be repeated

    06/22/2021

    Prime Minister Andrej Babiš says the coronavirus situation in the Czech Republic is on a positive trend but that the mistakes of last summer must not be repeated; this was a reference to the easing of restrictions after the country had handled the first wave of Covid relatively well. He also said Czechs should be particularly vigilant with regard to new variants of the virus.

    Mr. Babiš made the comment at a conference entitled Our Security Is Not a Given at Prague Castle. He also said he was opposed to the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan, echoing a statement by Czech President Miloš Zeman.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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