• Top Czech film dramaturge, screenwriter Václav Šašek dies at 89
    09/22/2023

    The leading Czech screenwriter and dramaturge Václav Šašek has died at the age of 89. As a dramaturge he worked on such well-known films as Behold Homolka, My Sweet Little Village and the Oscar-winning Kolya, as well as Loves of a Blonde and The Firemen’s Ball by Miloš Forman.

    Šašek’s movie scripts included Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia and Oil Lamps and he was one of the writers of Ivan Passer’s Czechoslovak New Wave classic Intimate Lighting.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech clubs start European group stages with wins
    09/22/2023

    Czech football teams got off to winning starts in European competitions on Thursday evening. Slavia Prague overcame the Swiss side Servette 2:0 away in the Europa League, while Sparta Prague beat Aris Limassol of Cyprus 3:2 at home in the continent’s second-tier competition.

    In the third-tier Conference League Viktoria Plzeň beat Ballkani of Kosovo 1:0.

    Group games in the two competitions continue in two weeks’ time.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • 20,000 to take part in 17th All-Sokol Slet in Prague next year
    09/21/2023

    Almost 20,000 gymnasts will take place in an All-Sokol Slet at Prague’s Eden Stadium in July next year, representatives of Sokol said on Thursday. The budget for the event – which was last held in 2012 and 2018 – will be over CZK 150 million, with some funding coming from the National Sports Agency.

    The slet, or meeting, will be the 17th since the Sokol gymnastics and sports organisation was established during the 19th century Czech National Revival.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • One death reported after house explodes in Olomouc Region
    09/21/2023

    One person died when a house was destroyed by an explosion in the village of Otinoves in the Olomouc Region, the local police force said. The blast on Thursday also damaged several other houses nearby.

    Police said they were working to establish the cause of the explosion and had sealed off the area.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Novinky: Dispute in coalition over candidate for Euro commissioner
    09/21/2023

    There are differences in the five-party Czech government coalition over who should be Czechia’s next European commissioner, Novinky.cz reported on Thursday. The country’s current member of the Commission, Věra Jourová is due to step down next year after two terms.

    The Mayors say they have the right to choose a successor under the coalition deal. However, the Pirate Party, who ran with them in an electoral alliance, say they should also have a say. However, Tomáš Zdechovský, an MEP for the Christian Democrats, does not recognise any such agreement, Novinky.cz said.

    The Mayors want to put forward one-time presidential candidate Danuše Nerudová for the post, the news site said.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Fiscal Council: Czech economy will need more austerity measures
    09/21/2023

    Czechia’s public finances are markedly imbalanced, the Czech Fiscal Council said on Thursday. In a report on the long-term sustainability of the public finances, the independent expert body said the government’s previously announced austerity measures, including pension reform, could have a positive impact – however, they will need to be followed by increased consolidation in future.

    The council said the imbalance in the public finances was in part due to irresponsible steps taken during the pandemic and measures in response to the rise in fuel and energy prices caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Top Czech MMA fighter Procházka to return in November
    09/21/2023

    The top Czech MMA fighter Jiří Procházka will fight Alex Pereira of Brazil for the UFC world light heavyweight title in New York on November 11, the organisers said on Thursday.

    Procházka, who is 30, earned the same title in his last bout in June 2022. However, he injured his shoulder in training for a rematch and surrendered the title under a deal with the UFC.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    09/21/2023

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Friday, with an average high temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. Clear skies are expected to return early next week.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prague organ festival to end with concert in Saint Jacob’s Basilica
    09/21/2023

    The 28th International Festival of Organ Music comes to a close on Thursday with a concert by the French organist Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard in St. Jacob’s Basilica in Prague.

    Marle-Ouvrard, who serves as the organist at the famous Gothic Church of Saint-Eustache in Paris, will perform pieces by César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor.

    The organ in St. Jacob’s Basilica, with its four manuals, 91 sounding registers and 8,277 pipes, is the largest one in Prague.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • President Pavel again condemns Russia at UN Security Council
    09/21/2023

    In his address to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Czech President Petr Pavel again strongly condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The Czech head of state said the defeat of Ukraine would be a victory for brutality and injustice, and therefore no country should remain neutral in this conflict.

    On the fourth day of his visit to New York, Mr. Pavel is scheduled to visit the Bohemian National Hall in Manhattan and tour the city. Among other things, he will pay tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001.

    The Czech President will also hold bilateral meetings, including with Mongolian President Uchnágin Chürelsüch, the Prime Minister of Andorra, Xavier Espot Zamora, and the President of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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