• 02/05/2024

    Over 10,000 students used the newly-installed electronic system to file applications to secondary schools over the weekend. After a delay of 24 hours the system was successfully put into operation and has been running without problems,  Miroslav Krejčí head of CERMAT, the agency responsible for the project told the Czech News Agency. He said the system successfully withstood a number of  DDoS attacks at the weekend.

  • 02/05/2024

    The Czech health ministry has announced it is preparing to ban the sale of sweets containing the psychoactive substance HHC which is now freely available in vending machines. There have been close to a dozen cases in the past fortnight of young people being rushed to hospital after overdosing on them. Some of the youngsters ended up in intensive care. The symptoms include vomiting, confusion and partial memory loss that may last for up to 48 hours.

  • 02/05/2024

    The Ministry of Agriculture has agreed to allow the state owned company Lesy ČR  to exchange several thousand hectares of state forest land with that restituted to the Catholic Church. According to the Prague Archbishopric, this will allow the Church to consolidate fragmented parish forests into larger units so as to enable better management. The Prague Archbishopric had been pushing for the agreement for years, but the previous governments of ANO and the Social Democrats opposed the exchange since they were against the restitution of land to the Church as such.

  • 02/05/2024

    The Ministry of Labour has announced plans to introduce a single application form for four social benefits in order to simplify and better target state support. The merger would combine housing allowance with housing supplement, subsistence allowance and child benefits. This would enable the authorities to have stricter control over the claimant's income, their assets, what support they are already receiving and whether or not they are employed. Work or seeking employment would be a condition for receiving support. The changes should come into force next year.

  • 02/05/2024

    David Koller, the drummer and vocalist from popular Czech band Lucie, is leaving the group to focus on his family and other projects, the band announced on their Facebook page on Sunday. Koller wrote that he will still perform in all the concerts that the band has been contracted to play until the end of the summer. The remaining members of the band said that they plan to carry on and are working on a new album.

    Lucie was one of the most successful Czech bands of the 90s, with sell-out shows and chart-topping albums in the years following the Velvet Revolution. Although marked by breakups and comebacks, the band will celebrate 40 years together in 2025.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 02/05/2024

    Water levels in north Bohemian rivers rose overnight, with 11 places in the Karlovy Vary and Liberec regions on flood alert on Monday morning and two places, the Jizera River in Jablonec nad Jizerou and the Elbe in Vestřev, at the highest alert level with a severe risk of flooding. The swollen rivers have, however, not caused any major damage so far.

    The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute's warning for rising river levels, issued on Sunday, will remain in place until Tuesday at 6 am.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 02/04/2024

    The President of the Constitutional Court, Josef Baxa, said he is against allowing constitutional judges to repeat their ten-year mandate. Speaking on Czech Television on Sunday on the political talk show Otázky Václava Moravce, he said that a limited term in office is a better guarantee of impartiality in decision-making.

    The Supreme Court consists of 15 judges appointed by the president for ten years; however, the Constitution does not prohibit this mandate from being repeated. While the first post-Velvet Revolution president, Václav Havel, gave judges the option of a second mandate, the current practice is that the president does not.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 02/04/2024

    Pražská strojírna (Prague Engineering), a subsidiary of the Prague public transport company, has won its first contract in New Zealand. It will deliver two atypical tram switches to the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland, New Zealand this May. The company was recommended to Auckland by the transport authority in the Australian city of Melbourne, which is one of the Czech manufacturer's biggest customers.

  • 02/04/2024

    Monday will continue to see strong winds with a chance of rain. Daytime temperatures should be between 8 and 11 degrees Celsius.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 02/04/2024

    The Czech men's tennis team beat Israel on Sunday at the Davis Cup qualifiers in Vendryně, North Moravia, to advance to the group stage of the annual competition. The decisive third point was won by Tomáš Macháč and Adam Pavlásek in their doubles match against the Israeli pair Edan Leshem and Daniel Cukierman, who withdrew from the match at 4:1 due to Cukierman getting injured.

    On Saturday, Jakub Menšík defeated Yishai Oliel 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), and Jiří Lehečka beat Cukierman 6-1, 7-6 (7-2). Czechia's place in the Davis Cup Finals this autumn is now guaranteed, as it is leading 3-0 in the qualifier.

    Last year, Czechia made it to the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup before being knocked out by Australia.

    Author: Anna Fodor

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