• Czechs marking Statehood Day, honoring nation’s patron saint
    09/28/2022

    Czechs are marking Statehood Day, which falls on the Day of St. Wenceslas, the nation’s patron saint. Several hundred people undertook the traditional pilgrimage to the town of Stará Boleslav for an open air mass celebrated outside the church where the prince was murdered by dissenters. On the day, St Wenceslas's skull is on display in the crypt of the local basilica. Many of the accompanying events, such as outdoor theatre performances and the St. Wenceslas fair have had to be curtailed because of the rain.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Lipavský: EU should look at visa liberalisation for Kosovo
    09/27/2022

    The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský, says that EU member states should discuss steps to liberalise visas for citizens of Kosovo this autumn. Mr. Lipavský is due to visit Kosovo this week.

    Radio Free Europe reported on Monday that the Czech presidency of the EU was going to convene a summit to discuss Kosovo and visas in October.

    The Czech foreign minister said on Tuesday that Kosovo was the only Western Balkans state that still needed visas to travel to the EU. At the same time, he said, it is the aim of Czechia and the EU that Western Balkan states be integrated into the bloc.

    Mr. Lipavský said the Czech EU presidency was an opportunity to move the process forvard.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Křetinský’s EPH becomes sole owner of Dutch power plant
    09/27/2022

    The Czech power and infrastructure company Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) has become the sole owner of the Sloe power plant in the Netherlands. EPH bought a 50 percent share in the plant from France’s EDF, a power company that is being fully nationalised.

    EPH is owed by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetinský, who has also made a number of other significant investments around Europe.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • UK stamp features photo of Queen from Prague Castle
    09/27/2022

    A new UK postage stamp will feature a picture of the late Queen Elizabeth II taken at a banquet at Prague Castle in 1996. The stamp is one of four special commemorative stamps issued by Britain’s Royal Mail. It features a photograph taken by Tim Graham.

    The Queen, who was invited by then Czech president Václav Havel, was the first British monarch to visit Czechia.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Senator Hraba quits Mayors and Independents
    09/27/2022

    Senator Zdeněk Hraba has quit the Mayors and Independents. Mr. Hraba said on Tuesday that the party had become engaged in activist politics similar to those of the Pirate Party.

    The chairman of the Mayors and Independents, Vít Rakušan, said that Senator Hraba and the party had diverged in political terms and that his departure was the best solution for all concerned.

    Mr. Hraba, who was elected to the upper house in 2018, does not plan to relinquish his seat.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    09/27/2022

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 12 degrees Celsius. More cloudy skies are expected on the following days.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Pavel collects more than required 50,000 candidates to stand for president
    09/27/2022

    One of the favourites to become the next Czech president, Petr Pavel, says he has collected more than the 50,000 citizens’ signatures required to run. At a news conference on Tuesday the former Czech Army general and senior NATO official said his team was aiming to gather 70,000 signatures, just in case some were challenged by the Ministry of the Interior.

    Mr. Pavel officially launched his campaign three weeks ago.

    The election to succeed Miloš Zeman as head of state will take place in January.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czechia brings back checks at Slovak border over high illegal migration
    09/27/2022

    Czechia is temporarily reinstating controls on the country’s border with Slovakia in response to an increase in illegal migration. The checks will start at 27 former border crossings on Thursday.

    The Czech minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, said that illegal migration, mainly from Syria, had risen by 1,200 percent this year, adding that the situation was unprecedented.

    Mr. Rakušan said the controls would initially be in place for 10 days.

    Slovakia said it respected Czechia’s decision but would seek discussions at EU level.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Covid daily new cases highest since early April
    09/27/2022

    On Monday there were 4,735 new confirmed cases of covid-19 registered in Czechia, which is the highest number of new cases recorded in a single day since early April and an increase of almost 1000 from the same day last week.

    The number of people in hospital with the virus also increased to 1135, up from 984 on the same day a week ago. 38 of these patients are in a critical condition.
    Author: Anna Fodor

  • V4 defence ministers meet in Slovakia
    09/27/2022

    The defence ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary met in the Slovak city of Banská Štiavnica on Tuesday. Aid to Ukraine, the security situation with regard to the Russian invasion, and increased cooperation on NATO's eastern flank were among the topics on the agenda.

    The last V4 defence ministers' meeting, scheduled to take place in March, was cancelled by Hungary, the presiding country at the time, after the Czech and Polish defence ministers withdrew from the meeting due to Hungary's stance towards the Russian invasion. Hungary has refused to allow arms supplies from the West to flow through Hungarian territory to Ukraine.
    Author: Anna Fodor

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