• 10/29/2023

    Charita Czech Republic has announced a collection in aid of civilians in the Gaza Strip. The money is being raised for basic humanitarian aid and medical supplies. More than two million Palestinians are trapped in a territory that is being bombed and from which there is nowhere to escape, Charita CR said in a statement. The inhabitants of Gaza, half of whom are children, cannot be provided with even the most basic needs. There is a lack of drinking water, food, medicine, fuel and electricity. The account for the collection in aid of Gaza is 55660022/0800 .

  • 10/29/2023

    Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and other members of the Czech cabinet have rejected the notion that the Czech Republic should leave the UN over Friday’s resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Middle East.

    Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová expressed this view on social networks, saying that, in her opinion, Czechia has no business in an organisation that sides with terrorists and does not respect the basic right to self-defence.

    The Czech prime minister said that while he understands the minister's indignation over the UN’s failure to condemn Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel, there can be no question of Czechia walking out of the organization in protest. He said the Czech Republic would stand by its convictions and try to win over others by the strength of its arguments.

    Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský likewise rejected the idea of Czechia withdrawing from the UN. The principles on which the UN is based create a stable and predictable framework within which we can operate and which are crucial for us in terms of defending our national interests," Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said in a debate on Czech Television.

    Czechia was one of 14 countries who on Friday voted against the UN resolution calling for an immediate "durable and sustained humanitarian truce" in Gaza. Justifying the decision, the Czech ambassador to the UN, Jakub Kulhánek, said the text does not recognise Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens against terrorism, lacks a demand for the release of hostages and does not include a clear condemnation of Hamas' attack against Israel.

  • 10/29/2023

    The Čedok travel agency has safely evacuated around 500 Czech tourists from the Egyptian resort of Taba on the Red Sea, where a medical facility was hit by a missile on Thursday night.  They arrived back on charter flights on Sunday and the agency has promised to refund their holiday trips or find an alternate solution. No other travel agency is reported to have clients in the area.

  • 10/29/2023

    At a ceremony marking Czechoslovak Independence Day on October 28, President Pavel handed out awards and high state distinctions to 62 people for outstanding services to the state. Addressing an audience of 700 guests in the historic Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle, President Pavel said the country had come a long way since the fall of communism in 1989 and was now firmly anchored in NATO and the European Union, which gave it the strongest security guarantees in the county’s history and good conditions for economic growth.

    The head of state praised the fact that there is now consensus among the top constitutional leaders on the direction of the country’s foreign policy, which had long been lacking.

    On a more critical note, President Pavel said that although Czechs have good reason to be self-confident and positive about the future, support for democracy in the country is weaker than in Western Europe, with many people feeling that their expectations of the country’s development post-1989 have not been fulfilled. Moreover, the war in Ukraine and the Middle East increased the feeling of insecurity and fear of the future, the president said, and in this connection warned against the rise of populism which promised simple solutions.

    “The Czech Republic needs a new plan for the future, an educated and skilled society and an economy based on innovation. We must prepare for the challenges that the future will bring, including those linked to artificial intelligence or climate change,” the president said.

    Among the people awarded high state distinctions were the co-founder of Czechoslovakia general Milan Rastislav Štefánik (in memoriam) , former foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg, former prime minister Petr Pithart, former head of the Constitutional Court Pavel Rychetský, priest and theologian Tomáš Halík, singer Marta Kubišová, Zdeňka Mašínová, sister of the Mašín brothers, who was persecuted under the communist regime, soprano Magdalena Kožená, film director Olga Sommerová , president of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Jiří Bartoška, illustrator Petr Sís and singer and choirmaster Ida Kelarová.

  • 10/28/2023

    Sunday, October 29, marks the end of Daylight Saving Time around Europe. At 3am on Sunday clocks will be turned back one hour to local standard time, or winter time. The time shift will affect the schedule of international trains and busses. Express trains passing through the country will take an hour-long break on the border. Winter time will be in force for the next five months, until the last Sunday in March 2024.

  • 10/28/2023

    Sunday should be partly cloudy to overcast with day temperatures between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius.

  • 10/28/2023

    The Czech Republic was one of 14 countries which voted against a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, the ctk news agency reported. In justifying the decision, the Czech ambassador to the UN, Jakub Kulhánek, said the text does not recognise Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens against terrorism, lacks a demand for the release of hostages and does not include a clear condemnation of the Hamas attack against Israel. Other states who also voted against the resolution were Israel, Hungary, Austria and Croatia.

  • 10/28/2023

    The ruling parties of the SPOLU coalition (Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and TOP 09)  which won the last general elections will run together in next year’s European elections as well, the parties’ leaders announced at a press briefing in Prague on Friday. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said MEP Alexandr Vondra would be the coalition’s election leader. The joint candidacy was approved this week by the three parties’ leaderships.

  • 10/28/2023

    Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has welcomed the outcome of the European Council summit in Brussels, saying it had clearly pointed to the aggressor in the Middle East conflict, recognized Israel's right to self-defence and called for the immediate release of all hostages. He also said Czechia’s arguments regarding the need to prevent humanitarian aid being abused by terrorists and counter the spread of disinformation about the Middle East conflict had been heard. The prime minister said that despite differing views on many issues it is in the interest of all the EU member states to prevent a regional escalation of the conflict.

  • 10/28/2023

    President Petr Pavel gave a reception for foreign ambassadors on the eve of Czechoslovak Independence Day. In his address to the gathering, the president focused on the Russian war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, saying there was no justification for Russia’s unprovoked and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine or the terrorist actions of the radical Hamas movement in Israel. He  touched upon the role of social media, which enables the rapid spread of news, but also disinformation and deliberate lies and spoke of the irreplaceable role of diplomacy and open communication as a tool to prevent a further escalation of tension. The meeting was attended by the President's wife Eva and Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský. Russia’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, Alexander Zmeyevsky, was not invited to the event.

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