• Krejčíková advances to round of 16 at Paris Olympics
    07/29/2024

    Czech tennis player Barbora Krejčíková has advanced to the round of 16 in the women’s singles at the Olympic Games in Paris. The recent Wimbledon champion, who is 28, overcame Wang Xinyu of China 6-3 6-2 with relative ease in their second round tie at Roland Garros on Monday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    07/29/2024

    It should be mainly sunny in Czechia on Tuesday, with an average high temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. The following days are expected to be overcast.

  • Police detain 139 migrants passing through Czechia in first half of 2024
    07/29/2024

    The Czech police detained 139 migrants using Czechia as a country of transit in the first half of 2024, according to a migration police statement on Monday. This was 660 fewer than in the same period last year.

    The most common countries of origin of those detained were Syria, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Turkey.

    A police spokesperson said the refugees’ most common destination was Germany, followed by other Western European states.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Burčák to go on sale relatively early this year
    07/29/2024

    Burčák, which is partially fermented young wine, should go on sale in Czechia relatively early this year, the Czech News Agency reported on Monday.

    One winemaker, Miloslav Machuča from Úvaly near Valtice in the Břeclav region, said that he had already started harvesting his first grapes and would start selling burčák on August 1, the first day the drink may be sold.

    This year’s growing season has accelerated the ripening process and the 2024 harvest should be better than those seen in recent years, Mr. Machuča said.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Ministry: Ore Mountains to become protected landscape area
    07/29/2024

    The Czech Ministry of the Environment has begun the process of having the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory) in the northwest of the country declared a protected landscape area. With a proposed territory of around 1,200 square kilometres it will be the largest such area in Czechia.

    In a statement issued on Monday, ministry officials said that the Ore Mountains should be declared a protected landscape area in mid-2026.

    There are currently 26 protected landscape areas in Czechia, covering nearly 15 percent of the area of the country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Lipavský: Expo 2025 head failing to secure sufficient private sector funding
    07/29/2024

    The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský, says that the head of the Czech pavilion at Expo 2025, Ondřej Soška, has failed to generate enough money from private firms, Deník N reported on Monday. Mr. Soška won a selection procedure for the commissioner general’s post in 2022 after promising to raise CZK 200 million from the private sector but has not yet obtained half of that amount, the news site said.

    Mr. Lipavský said he had repeatedly warned Mr. Soška that the funds secured above the amount approved by the Czech government were insufficient and that he needed to be more active.

    The 2025 World Expo will be held in the Japanese city of Osaka from April to October next year.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Ed Sheeran concerts attract nearly 100,000 people
    07/29/2024

    Nearly 100,000 people attended two concerts by UK singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran in Hradec Králové on Saturday and Sunday night, the organisers said.

    The concerts were part of Sheeran’s Mathematics World Tour, which was launched in Dublin in April 2022 and will conclude in Dusseldorf in 2025.

    Tickets for the first show sold out within hours so a second one was added for the following evening. The multiple Grammy and Brit Award winner had previously played in Prague in 2019.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Audit: Impact of state and EU subsidies on combined freight transport is minimal
    07/29/2024

    The impact of state and EU subsidies on the development of combined freight transport, which were supposed to strengthen the transport of goods by rail or water and reduce road transport, is minimal, according to a report by the Supreme Audit Office released on Monday. According to the audit, rail freight transport is stagnating and water freight transport is almost non-existent, while road freight transport is growing.

    In reaction to the report, the Transport Ministry told the Czech News Agency that rail transport in the period under review was negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as by a decline in the transport of coal and other commodities. It also said there was a need to invest in increasing the capacity of railway lines.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Weather forecast
    07/28/2024

    Monday will be mostly sunny with day temperatures ranging between 23 and 27 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • BIS head Koudelka: global security situation “extremely serious”
    07/28/2024

    The global security situation is extremely serious and also has impact on Czechia, the head of the Czech Counter Intelligence Service (BIS) Michal Koudelka said on Sunday on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its establishment.

    In an interview for the Czech News Agency, Mr. Koudelka said the world was “on the brink of a global conflict”. Among the current threats, he cited Russian imperialism, as well as sabotage and intelligence operations by Russia, China and Iran.

    He also mentioned hostile propaganda, migration, the threat of Islamic terrorism, the rise of right-wing extremism, the illegal arms trade, cyber attacks and the risk of misuse of artificial intelligence.

    According to Mr. Koudelka, the intelligence service will continue to do its utmost to contribute to the protection of Czechia and its citizens.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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