• Babiš says he will be ANO’s leader and candidate for PM in 2025 elections
    02/11/2024

    Former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš says he will be ANO’s electoral leader and candidate for PM in next year’s general elections. However, he told CNN Prima News on Sunday that if his presence in those positions was a problem for the party he would stand aside.

    At the same time the billionaire businessman said ANO had three potential candidates to lead a government: himself and prominent party figures Karel Havlíček and Alena Schillerová.

    He did rule out a post-election coalition with the anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Lipavský responds to Trump: NATO never stronger, Czechia increasing defence spending
    02/11/2024

    The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, has responded to a comment by US presidential candidate Donald Trump, who said he would “encourage” Russia to attack any NATO member that fails to make a sufficient financial contribution to the alliance. Mr. Lipavský said on Sunday that NATO was currently at its strongest ever, “both because of the strong transatlantic link and because of the domestic deterrence and defence tasks that European allies are performing.”

    The Czech foreign policy chief said that, in the face of the biggest threat since WWII, Czechia was increasing defence spending and acquiring “new capabilities, many of which originate in the US.”

    Mr. Lipavský also said he hoped Mr. Trump did not hear what the leaders of Czechia’s ANO party had to say on spending on F-35s. The grouping’s leader Andrej Babiš says the country does not need the US-made planes.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Most Czech weather stations see record warm night
    02/11/2024

    The great majority of weather stations in Czechia registered record high temperatures for the night of February 10 to 11, the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute said. Some places saw the highest temperatures for a night in February since record began.

    It did not freeze anywhere in the country, even in places where below zero temperatures are regularly seen.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • More young Czechs on disability pensions for mental health reasons
    02/11/2024

    The number of young people in Czechia on disability pensions for mental health reasons has grown, Czech Television reported. Last year there was an increase of 1,300 in the number of patients aged 19 or under receiving such monies.

    Anxiety and depression are increasingly the reasons young people are unable to work, Czech TV said. Experts told the station that one reason may be poor access to timely care.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • 2023 records lowest apartment, house sales in Czechia in six years
    02/11/2024

    The number of apartments and houses sold in Czechia last year was the lowest since 2015, according to data from Valuo, a website that processes data from land registry offices and advertisements. The number of flats sold was down 9 percent year-on-year in 2023, while house sales were 17 percent lower, it said.

    Some 73,605 apartments changed hands last year, while 34,769 houses were sold. The average size of a property sold in 2023 was 66 metres.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    02/11/2024

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Monday, with an average high temperature of 9 degrees Celsius. The following days are expected to see more grey skies and temperatures of around 7 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Europe minister wants talks with EC on euro adoption, decision for next govt.
    02/11/2024

    The minister for European affairs, Martin Dvořák, says he would like to see negotiations with the European Commission on conditions for Czechia joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) before the next general elections, scheduled for late 2025.

    Mr. Dvořák told Czech Television that this could be done without risk or consequence, leaving a decision on adopting the single European currency for the next government. He said it was a six-year process that could not be achieved in one government term.

    The Mayors party minister recently announced he was appointing a commissioner for euro adoption, only for Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Civic Democrats to rule out the idea.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech soccer league resumes after winter break
    02/10/2024

    The top division in the Czech soccer league resumed on Saturday afternoon after a winter break. Among the highlights of the first games of the spring part of the season saw reigning champions Sparta Prague beat top flight novices Karviná 3:0 away.

    The last round before the seasonal pause was played in early December.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech Railways pays out almost one-third more in delays compensation
    02/10/2024

    Czech Railways paid out almost CZK 7.6 million to passengers due to delays in 2023, which was roughly 31 percent more the previous year, the Czech News Agency said on Saturday. A spokesperson for the company said the increase was driven by a higher number of passengers and was also influenced by the introduction of automatic compensation payments without the need for a request.

    Almost CZK 2.8 million was paid by the national carrier for delays in domestic transport, while approximately CZK 4.8 million went to passengers on international routes.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • New releases planned for Jiří Šlitr birth centenary next week
    02/10/2024

    The centenary of the birth of the great Czech musician and actor Jiří Šlitr next Thursday will see fresh releases of his recordings and the publication of his first biography, Doktor Klavír (Doctor Piano), the book’s author, Lukáš Berný, told the Czech News Agency.

    Šlitr and his collaborator Jiří Suchý were closely associated with Prague’s ground-breaking Semafor theatre, with the pair making a major mark on Czech pop music and theatre in the 1960s. However, Šlitr died in 1969, aged only 45.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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