• Weather forecast
    01/31/2023

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. Similar weather is expected on the following days.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech economy now in technical recession
    01/31/2023

    The Czech economy is in a technical recession, after two consecutive quarters of declining economic output. According to preliminary data from the Czech Statistics Office, gross domestic product fell by 0.3 percent in the final quarter of 2022.

    By contrast, the economy grew by 0.4 percent year on year in the same period.

    Officials also said that GDP expansion for the entire year was likely to be 2.5 percent. However, that is a comparison with 2021, a year greatly affected by Covid measures.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Justice minister urges Zeman not to appoint Constitutional Court head in advance
    01/31/2023

    Justice Minister Pavel Blažek has urged outgoing President Miloš Zeman not to destabilize the country by appointing a new Constitutional Court head several months in advance. Mr. Zeman, whose term in office ends on March 8, has said he is considering appointing a successor to Pavel Rychetský, head of the Constitutional Court, despite the fact that Rychetsky’s term in office will end in August and his successor should logically be appointed by the new president.

    Minister Blažek said the move would cause confusion and legal uncertainty, adding that there was no point in Zeman entering into a drawn-out  battle with lawyers, politicians and the media at the end of his term. The minister said he would meet with the president to try to dissuade him from this course of action.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech president-elect angers China with call to Taiwan
    01/31/2023

    Czech president-elect Petr Pavel held a telephone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday. The two leaders stressed their countries' shared values of freedom, democracy and human rights and the next Czech head of state said he hoped to meet with President Tsai in the future. He likewise expressed interest in strenghtening the partnership.

    The move is reported to have angered China which is opposed to countries with which it has diplomatic ties engaging in any form of official exchange with the Taiwan authorities. Beijing said it was in touch with the Czech authorities over the matter and reminded the country that it had pledged to respect the "One-China" principle.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • President Zeman opens Czech House in Belgrade
    01/30/2023

    President Miloš Zeman and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić on Monday opened the Czech House in Belgrade. The building, which was built a century ago by the Czech expat community and confiscated by Yugoslavia in the 1960s, has been repaired and will be donated to the Czech Republic. It will house the Czech Centre, Czech organisations and serve for exhibitions and cultural activities.

    On a state visit to Serbia, President Zeman met with the country’s top officials to discuss bilateral ties, security and business interests. He thanked Serbia for condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying its leaders could assist in the process of brokering peace.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Foreign minister meets with newly-elected president
    01/30/2023

    The newly-elected president, Petr Pavel on Monday met with Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky. They discussed the current security situation, foreign policy issues and future cooperation. Foreign Minister Lipavsky told the ctk news agency it had been a pleasant and constructive debate. He said he was looking forward to working with a head of state with whom he saw eye-to-eye on foreign policy issues.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Historian, dissident and writer Jaroslav Šedivý dies at 93
    01/30/2023

    Historian, dissident and writer Jaroslav Šedivý who served as Czechia’s second foreign minister has died at the age of 93. Mr. Šedivý was one of the intellectuals who was relegated to manual labour by the communist regime after signing Charter 77 and was only able to return to his work after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. He served a foreign minister in the government of Vaclav Klaus.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Weather forecast
    01/30/2023

    Tuesday is expected to be partly cloudy to overcast and very windy, with snow showers around the country and day temperatures between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius.

  • Trade unions at Nexen Tire Europe announce strike action
    01/30/2023

    Trade unions  at Nexen Tire Europe near Žatec have announced time-unlimited strike action in support of higher wages. The strike is due to begin on Tuesday and, according to trade unions, it is likely to halt production entirely at the South Korean Company. Other forms of protest are also in the pipeline. The company employs over 1,000 employees. Crisis talks are still underway with the company’s management.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Court opens case of Bečva River poisoning
    01/30/2023

    The District Court in Vsetín on Monday opened the case of the poisoning of the Bečva River in September of 2020 when a cyanide leak killed 32,000 tons of fish and all other living organisms along a 40-km stretch of the river. The company Energoaqua is facing charges in the case. Its director Oldřich Havelka has denied the accusations, saying his company was not responsible for the leak. The investigation of the case was long and complicated since the leak occurred in a heavily industrialized region with a long list of possible suspects.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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