• Thursday 55th anniversary of first Večerníček
    01/02/2020

    Thursday is the 55th anniversary of the launch of Večerníček, a very popular Czech children’s TV programme that goes out in the early evening. Czechoslovak Television broadcast the first episode of the show on January 2, 1965 and it has been running ever since.

    Many of the characters in the mainly animated Večerníček have become household names, such as Bob and Bobek, Little Mole and Rumcajs.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • New electronic sick note system working well, says labour minister
    01/02/2020

    A new system of electronic sick notes that went into effect in the New Year is working well, says the minister of labour and social affairs, Jana Maláčová. She told reporters that the social administration had received over 3,000 e-sick notes by 10 am on Thursday. Minister Maláčová said that patients would no longer have to deliver documents anywhere in person.

    The system had been due to come into effect a year previously. PM Andrej Babiš’s first government wanted to abandon it and create a new version, but Minister Maláčová revived the project when her party the Social Democrats entered a coalition with Mr. Babiš’s ANO.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    01/02/2020

    It should be overcast in the Czech Republic on Friday, with temperatures of up to 6 degrees Celsius. Daytime highs are expected to hover around 2 or 3 degrees Celsius at the weekend, when it will be also mainly cloudy.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Road deaths in 2019 down on previous year
    01/02/2020

    There was a decline in road deaths in the Czech Republic in 2019, according to preliminary police figures cited by the Czech News Agency. Some 550 people died in traffic accidents last year, 15 fewer than in 2018. However, the figure for last year was still higher than in 2016 or 2017.

    The worst month for road deaths in this country in 2019 was August, with 62. January saw the fewest, with 25.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Video mapping show ushers in New Year in Prague
    01/02/2020

    The authorities in Prague ushered in the New Year with a video mapping show at the city centre National Museum on Wednesday evening. The projection, entitled We, Prague, took place a number of times in the course of the evening. It replaced a previous municipal fireworks display, which the current City Hall leadership said was harmful to the environment and caused stress to animals and some residents.

    However, a fireworks display financed from private donations did take place under the auspices of Prague 2. The city’s Congress Centre was the best spot to watch the show but there were such crushes at the Vyšehrad Metro stop that it was closed for some time.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czechs enjoying must successful period in modern history, says PM in New Year’s address
    01/02/2020

    In a New Year’s address, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said that the Czech Republic was currently going through one of the most successful and happy periods in its modern history and was performing confidently in international relations. Mr. Babiš told TV viewers on Wednesday evening that his government would continue its policy of mainly investing in people, adding that it would raise both pensions and salaries in 2020.

    The PM said a new construction bill would likely be the most important piece of legislation in the lower house this year, while digitialisation and cybersecurity would also be major issues for his cabinet.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    12/31/2019

    Wednesday should be clear to partly cloudy with day temperatures between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • US beats Czech team 3:4 in World Junior Hockey Championship
    12/31/2019

    The US beat the Czech Republic 3:4 in overtime in the World Junior Hockey Championship in Ostrava on Monday. The Czechs got one point for the overtime loss, setting up a huge Russia-Germany game on Tuesday. The team is now 3rd in Group B with four points and its place in the quarterfinals remains uncertain.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Three Kings Collection to start on January 1st
    12/31/2019

    January 1st will see the start of the Three Kings Collection, the largest and most successful fund-raiser in the country.

    Organized by the Catholic charity Caritas the Three Kings Collection, involves thousands of volunteers, most of them children, taking to the streets dressed as the Three Wise Men, singing carols and asking people to donate money to charity.

    24,000 carollers are expected to take part in the charity event this year.

    Since the year 2,000 the collection has raised more than 1.1 billion crowns in aid of the needy. It lasts for a fortnight.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Hundred guests evacuated, no one hurt in hotel fire
    12/31/2019

    More than a hundred people had to be evacuated from Occidental Hotel in Prague 5 on Monday night after a fire broke out in the hotel sauna in the basement.

    No one was hurt in the fire, which broke out shortly after 7pm, but smoke filled the garage space and interior of the hotel, necessitating an emergency evacuation.

    The cause of the fire is being investigated.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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