• President Pavel: Time playing in Russia’s favour, continued support for Ukraine crucial
    11/09/2023

    Russia is playing for time to get the upper hand in the war with Ukraine, and continued support from the West is crucial, Czech President Petr Pavel said at Thursday’s conference Diplomacy and Security held at the headquarters of the Czech Foreign Ministry. Russia’s victory would be our defeat, the president said, noting that Russia’s imperialist ambitions reach far beyond Ukraine’s borders.

    The former head of NATO’s Military Committee said that Russia’s strategy was a drawn-out conflict which would give it time to top up both equipment and human resources. We are seeing massive weapons deliveries from North Korea and efforts to violate the sanctions against Russia, Pavel said.

    He said Russia was dragging out the conflict so as to benefit from war fatigue and was waiting for the outcome of the US presidential election in the hope that America might halt military support to Kyiv.

    The president also spoke about the disruption of the world order which he said is now evident almost everywhere. “Frozen conflicts are thawing in the Caucasus, and the wave of military coups in African countries, especially in the Sahel, is causing increasing concern. The explosive potential of the current crisis in the Middle East, sparked by Hamas' barbaric attack on Israel, is evident above all else," the president said.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Weather forecast
    11/09/2023

    Friday should be mostly overcast, with rain showers particularly in the eastern parts of the country and day temperatures between 7 and 11 degrees Celsius.

  • Unemployment in Czechia still lowest in EU
    11/09/2023

    Unemployment in the Czech Republic fell to 3.5 percent in October, with 260, 000 people on the dole, according to data from the Central Labour Office. The figure is still the lowest in the European Union. The highest unemployment was in the Ústí nad Labem region, while the lowest was in the Zlín, South Bohemia, Pilsen and Vysočina regions. According to the Central Labour Office there were  about 280,000 vacancies on the Czech labour market at the end of October.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech hospitals may have to suspend elective surgeries in December
    11/09/2023

    Hospitals around the country may have to suspend non-urgent, elective surgeries in December, doctors unions warned after talks with Health Ministry officials on higher salaries for doctors hit the rocks. The Czech Health Ministry's proposal to guarantee doctors' salaries not dropping below a certain level, instead of pay rises across the board in January 2024, has been rejected by doctors and trade unions. They say the ministry’s proposal would only increase the salaries of the lowest-paid physicians, moreover only those in state institutions. Further negotiations are scheduled for Monday. About 6,000 doctors out of 13,000 are refusing to sign overtime contracts as of December which would be a severe burden to the health system.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech and Slovak interior ministers call for broader European solution to illegal migration
    11/09/2023

    Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan discussed measures aimed at curbing illegal migration along the Balkans route to Western Europe with his newly-appointed Slovak counterpart Šutajem Eštokem in Prague on Thursday. Both countries have introduced random checks on their southern and eastern borders so as to curb the flow of illegal migrants which the Slovak interior minister said had risen from 6,000 in 2022 to 46,000 in his country this year. Minister Rakušan praised cooperation between the Czech and Slovak police forces, but stressed the need for a broader European solution. He said Germany and Austria would be invited to the next Visegrad Group summit in order to hold a debate on a broader platform.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Prague police expect clashes between Slavia and Roma fans before Europa League match
    11/09/2023

    Hundreds of police officers are being deployed to guard the streets of Prague before the upcoming football match between Czech team Slavia and Italian team AS Roma in the 4th round of the Europa League on Thursday. The police expect there to be a high chance of conflict breaking out between the two sets of fans, hence the heavy police presence.

    A spokesman for the Prague police told the Czech News Agency that they expect Roma fans to gather in the afternoon in Old Town Square before heading to the evening match at Eden Arena in Vršovice. Kickoff is at 6:45 p.m.
    Author: Anna Fodor

  • Senate approves government austerity package
    11/09/2023

    The Czech Senate has approved the government's austerity package, which aims to cut the growing deficit in public spending by CZK 150 billion by 2025. After a debate lasting roughly seven hours on Wednesday in which 32 senators spoke, votes were finally cast in the evening, with 53 of the 74 senators present voting to approve the package. The set of reforms now has to be reviewed and signed into law by President Petr Pavel. He has up to 15 days to veto the bill if he decides to do so.
    Author: Anna Fodor

  • Weather forecast
    11/08/2023

    Thursday is expected to be overcast but dry, with daytime temperatures ranging between 6 and 12 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Anna Fodor

  • Greenpeace activists protest against felling of old-growth forests in Czechia
    11/08/2023

    Activists from the environmental organisation Greenpeace protested outside the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday morning against the felling of old-growth forests in Czechia. Some of the roughly two dozen protestors climbed ladders to hang a banner from the ministry building which read "The Ministry of Cutting Down Old Forests", as well as putting paper helmets on the heads and models of chainsaws in the hands of the statues above the entrance to the ministry building.

    According to Greenpeace, old-growth forests are important for maintaining biodiversity and preventing climate change. The head of the campaign said that over 21,000 people had signed a petition in support of saving Czechia's old-growth forests.
    Author: Anna Fodor

  • Schieszl's descendants call for his villa to be declared cultural heritage site as demolition begins
    11/08/2023

    The descendants of the Czechoslovak politician Josef Schieszl, a close associate of T. G. Masaryk, have called on Culture Minister Martin Baxa to declare their ancestor's historic Prague villa a cultural heritage site, Czech news site Deník N reported on Wednesday. The villa on Petřín hill is currently having demolition work carried out on it in order for a new house to be built there instead for a secret investor. Deník N writes that the investor's identity is hidden behind a tangle of sixteen offshore companies based in Cyprus.

    The Czech Building Authority approved the demolition work despite the objections of the Prague 5 local government and the National Heritage Institute. Residents from the local neighbourhood in Smíchov have also started a petition against the demolition of the villa.
    Author: Anna Fodor

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