-
09/16/2023
Officers from the extremism and terrorism department of the Prague police have arrested a man on suspicion of endorsing genocide, which is a criminal offence in Czechia. The man was arrested during the anti-government demonstration which took place in Wenceslas Square on Saturday afternoon, but the police have not confirmed whether he was participating in the protest.
The police wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the man had a symbol of support for the Russian aggression on his shirt. In the accompanying photo that was posted of the offending T-shirt, a symbol of the Russian mercenary group Wagner is visible.
-
09/16/2023
Thousands of people gathered in Prague's Wenceslas Square for an anti-government protest on Saturday afternoon. As with previous such demonstrations, it was organised by Jindřich Rajchl, head of the PRO (Právo Respekt Odbornost) party, who stated that public dissatisfaction with Petr Fiala's government is enormous. He criticised the government's handling of inflation, tax and pension overhauls, as well as its military spending and aid to Ukraine, saying that the Czech social security and health system was at the point of collapse thanks to "the influx of economic migrants from Ukraine".
The Czech News Agency estimated that there were approximately 10,000 protestors, with about half the square filled. Banners were visible in the crowd with slogans such as "Down with the USA's henchmen" and "No to NATO". Some people were also collecting signatures against the EU ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, which is due to enter into force in 2035.
The demonstration started at 2 p.m. After around two hours of speeches, the protestors left Wenceslas Square to march to the Interior Ministry headquarters in Letná.
-
09/16/2023
Czechia is not a freeloader that only relies on the help of its NATO allies without giving anything back, but on the contrary, it is a responsible state that takes its security seriously and helps where needed, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a speech at the two-day NATO Days event taking place at Ostrava’s Mošnov Airport this weekend. He cited the war in Ukraine, defending the sky over Eastern Europe, peacekeeping missions, and sending rescuers to places affected by disasters, such as after the recent wildfires in Greece, as examples of where the country had pulled its weight and proven itself as a strong NATO ally.
The prime minister underscored the importance of Czechia's NATO membership, which provides it with security guarantees that the country did not have in the past.
-
09/16/2023
Marcel Kolaja has been chosen by fellow members of the Pirate Party to head their candidate list for the European Parliament elections on June 7 and 8 next year. Mr. Kolaja is the current first vice-chairman of the Pirate Party and an MEP. He was also the Pirates' lead candidate in the last Euro elections in 2019 and until the beginning of last year, he was vice-president of the European Parliament.
Mr. Kolaja said after his election that he wants to continue to strive for a modern, united Europe that respects human rights, for every citizen to have more control over their privacy online and offline, and for a responsible climate policy and sustainable economy.
In the last European elections, the Pirates won almost 14 percent of the vote and three mandates.
-
09/16/2023
On the occasion of World Cleanup Day, volunteers from all over the country are participating in the Let's Clean Up Czechia campaign, which invites people to help pick litter in natural areas, cities and villages in order to draw attention to and combat the growing global solid waste problem. Schools, children's homes, youth and sports groups, environmental organisations, volunteer firefighters and some private companies are all getting involved.
The event has been organized by the non-profit Ukliďme Česko (Let's Clean Up Czechia) regularly since 2014. At the beginning of April this year, the campaign attracted a record number of people. According to Miroslav Kubásek from the association, the organisers gave out 130,000 garbage bags and 160,000 pairs of gloves.
-
09/16/2023
Several-kilometre-long queues of cars have formed around Ostrava’s Mošnov Airport, where the two-day NATO Days event is being held this weekend. People trying to get to the event, which is the biggest air, military and security show in Central Europe, are getting stuck in traffic jams for an hour or more, the Czech News Agency reports. The Czech police have urged motorists not to drive through Mošnov if they are just passing through.
-
09/15/2023
Saturday should be bright and sunny with daytime highs between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius.
-
09/15/2023
The opposition ANO party has filed a motion with the Constitutional Court to repeal the so-called Lex Babiš law barring top officials from owning media outlets. The legislation, approved earlier this year, tightened the existing conflict of interest law under which politicians were able to transfer media assets to a close person or a trust fund during their time in office. The law was approved in reaction to former prime minister Andrej Babiš owning a multi-billion crown empire, including media outlets, and placing them in trust funds during his tenure.
All 70 MPs of the ANO party signed the motion, with the exception of Babiš himself. The party has based its complaint on the grounds that the ruling parties circumvented the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies and restricted debate on the bill.
-
09/15/2023
The British Foreign Office claims that dozens of foreign embassies in London, including the Embassy of the Czech Republic, owe the country millions of pounds in unpaid congestion charges. According to a report published by the office the overall size of the debt now totals more than £145 million. Czechia reportedly owes over £480,000.
The countries in question, which include the US, Japan, Poland, France and Germany, argue that the congestion charge, introduced in 2003, is a tax – making them exempt from paying it.
Daniel Drake, spokesman for the Czech Foreign Ministry, said the congestion charge is a local fee that should not apply to diplomats since it violates Article 25 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that the receiving state must facilitate the performance of diplomatic missions in every possible way.
The British Foreign Office claims there are no legal grounds to exempt diplomatic missions and international organizations from the London congestion charge, which is comparable to a parking fee or toll charge.
-
09/15/2023
Former Czech finance minister Miroslav Kalousek has won a libel suit against ANO party leader Andrej Babiš. The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Babiš must apologize to his one-time political rival for a statement made in the Czech lower house five years ago when he accused him of "stealing from the Defence Ministry and having killed people by his purchase of parachutes". Babiš has been ordered to apologise at a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies and also send a letter of apology to Kalousek. The ANO party leader said that he himself has been insulted much worse during heated debates in Parliament and would challenge the verdict in the Constitutional Court.
In his speech Babiš was referring to Kalousek's tenure as deputy minister of defence and to several controversial contracts from that time, including the purchase of VTP-100 parachutes. In 1997, a soldier was fatally injured when his parachute failed to open and the army did not use the equipment afterwards.
Pages
- « první
- ‹ předchozí
- …
- 310
- 311
- 312
- 313
- 314
- 315
- 316
- 317
- 318
- …
- následující ›
- poslední »