• Czech Banking Association downgrades economic growth estimate for 2022
    05/12/2022

    The Czech Banking Association has downgraded its estimate of Czech economic growth for 2022 to 1.8 percent. In its previous forecast in February, the CBA expected gross domestic product to grow by 3.7 percent this year. According to the association, economic growth will be affected by the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, problems in supply chains and inflation. The association expects the economy to grow by 2.8 percent next year, compared with 3.6 percent in the previous forecast. Last year, the economy grew by 3.3 percent.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Plzeň become Czech football league champions
    05/12/2022

    Viktoria Plzeň have become Czech football league winners for the sixth time in the club’s history and the first time in four years. The West Bohemians sealed the title in the second last round of the top flight’s season-ending “superstructure” with a 2:0 away win over Hradec Kralové.

    Plzeň, coached by Michal Bílek, sealed the title when a 1:1 draw with Ostrava meant Slavia Prague could no longer overhaul them on points.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Šimáčková Laurenčíková appointed human rights commissioner
    05/12/2022

    Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková has been named the Czech government’s commissioner for human rights. Ms. Šimáčková Laurenčíková has hitherto chaired the government’s committee for the rights of children and heads a national body promoting inclusion in Czech education.

    She says she aims to advocate for children, seniors and the handicapped and to support equal opportunities and solidarity in Czech society, as well as working to help refugees to integrate.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • 77th edition of Prague Spring gets underway
    05/12/2022

    The 77th edition of the Prague Spring International Music Festival gets underway at the Smetana Hall of the city’s Municipal House on Thursday evening. Traditional curtain-raiser My Country by Smetana will be performed by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, conductor by Thomas Guggeis, who steps in for the indisposed Daniel Barenboim.

    The opening concert will also be screened live to the public at Prague’s Kampa park.

    The Prague Spring will present around 40 concerts between now and June 3.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Zeman gives approval to 103 Czechs planning to fight for Ukraine
    05/11/2022

    President Miloš Zeman has given his official approval to 103 Czech citizens seeking to join Ukraine’s armed forces, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, adding that Prime Minister Petr Fiala had to co-sign on the decision.

    Mr. Fiala said in March that he and the president had agreed to grant impunity to Czechs who apply for permission to fight for Ukraine against Russia.

    Joining the army of another state without such an exemption is a crime under Czech law.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Zeman to miss Terezín ceremony for time reasons
    05/11/2022

    The Czech head of state, Miloš Zeman, will not attend a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Terezín ghetto this coming Sunday, Seznam Zprávy reported. The president’s office told the news site that Mr. Zeman was unable to take part in the traditional event for time reasons.

    However, Seznam Zprávy said that it had been unable to establish whether the president had any other plans for that day.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Minister: Temporary shelter to ease refugee situation at Prague station
    05/11/2022

    The Czech minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, says that a new temporary shelter will be built in response to the situation surrounding Ukrainian refugees at Prague’s Main Railway Station. Mr. Rakušan said on Twitter that the special housing in the city’s Troja district would ensure people no longer slept in corridors at the station. NGOs will also be involved, he said.

    The Prague authorities say they can no longer cope with refugee numbers. Mayor Zdeněk Hřib called on Prime Minister Petr Fiala to ensure refugees were shared more fairly around the country and said the city was considering building a tent city.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Brno’s Tugendhat Villa offers two new tours
    05/11/2022

    The operators of the Tugendhat Villa in Brno have created two new tours for the summer season. One will allow visitors to see the modernist gem on Friday evenings, while the other will focus on its grounds.

    Reservations are now possible for the new tours of the villa, where tickets are typically fully booked for months in advance.

    The house was designed for the wealthy Tugendhat family by the great architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    05/11/2022

    It should be mainly overcast in the Czech Republic on Thursday, with an average high temperature of 24 degrees Celsius. Clear skies are expected at the weekend.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President appoints Aleš Michl central bank chief
    05/11/2022

    President Miloš Zeman has appointed economist Aleš Michl governor of the Czech National Bank. Mr. Michl, who is 44, has been a member of the bank’s board since 2018. He will replace Jiří Rusnok, whose second spell as central bank chief is coming to a close.

    Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he hoped Mr. Michl would not drop the bank’s current target of price stability and that it would take steps to combat inflation.

    Some opposition politicians pointed to ties between the new National Bank chief and opposition leader Andrej Babiš, to whom Mr. Michl was previously an advisor.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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