News

Having a tattoo is no longer a social stigma or a potential career problem, at least according to a July survey conducted by market researcher Behavio, which gathered 3,500 respondents. More than a half of respondents said they find tattoos appealing, while only one fifth believes that they could cause their owners problems at the workplace.

While tattoos are largely seen as fine, more than a third of people who have one said they regret getting it today. Most usually, these respondents said it was the result of a rash decision during their youth.

Most deputies who are members of the Permanent Commission on Oversight over the Security Information Service (BIS), the country's civilian counterintelligence agency, believe it is doing good work. The information is the result of a Czech News Agency survey conducted on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Intelligence Services Act which defined their tasks and control mechanisms.

The deputy-head of the commission Robert Králíček from the ANO party said that it is also thanks to the good work of BIS that the country is one of the safest in the world. Another committee member, Marek Benda from the Civic Democrats, praised the service's intelligence liaison capabilities, as well as its work on countering terrorist and cyber threats. He did say however, that in the area of economic threats he felt the service relied too much on rumours.

Some opposition members of the committee highlighted their worries over the service in view of pressure from President Miloš Zeman, who expressed himself unfavourably about its work in 2018, while Radek Rozvoral from the Freedom and Direct Democracy party said that Czech intelligence services were doing good work but should be more careful with some of the statements they release publicly.

The Czech Republic's Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Petříček visited Afghanistan this week, two months before the country's presidential elections. The Social Democrat minister highlighted the need for further peace talks in the country after a meeting with the Asian state's government representatives. He also met with the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic Abdullah Abdullah, who is one of the men currently running in the country's presidential elections.

The trip included a visit to Bagram Air Field, where Mr. Petříček met with Czech soldiers and praised their work.

Prague is planning to ban the mooring of boats which do not fulfill the required emissions criteria, Prague City Hall spokesman Vít Hofman told the Czech News Agency on Saturday. Unlike cars, the engines on boats and ships are currently not subject to inspection. This despite the fact that many are powered by old engines which release large amounts of fumes.

According to Mr. Hoffman, it is not within the city's competency to regulate traffic on the Vltava, but it can choose which vessels are allowed to anchor on the river. Those boats and ships which do not fulfill the EU's Euro 5 emission rules, will therefore not be able to anchor on Prague's shores from January 1, 2021.