• 12/06/2023

    Czechia is on the verge of an epidemic of respiratory illnesses, with Covid-19 currently the most common form of infection, Novinky.cz reported.

    There are currently around 2,000 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country every day. However, unlike in past years the majority of patients do not suffer serious complications and hospitalisation is unusual, the news website said.

    The incidence of acute respiratory infections is 1,457 patients per 100,000 inhabitants; an epidemic occurs when the number of patients exceeds 1,600 to 1,700.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 12/06/2023

    One of the world’s major players in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, the Israeli company Elbit Systems, plans to open a production and development centre in Czechia cooperation with a local firm, LPP, Czech Television reported on Wednesday.

    Elbit Systems wants to manufacture the smallest drones, as well as those weighing several hundred kilos, at the planned Czech facility.

    A spokesperson for the Israeli company said it had been looking for a European partner that would help it reach the EU and NATO markets and had been cooperating successfully with LPP for years.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 12/05/2023

    Autumn this year was the warmest since records began at the weather station at the Clementinum complex in central Prague, according to data released on Tuesday by the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute.

    The average temperature between September and the end of November was 13.6 degrees Celsius. September and October were the warmest seen since records were first made in 1775; November’s temperatures were 1 degree Celsius above the average for the time of year.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 12/05/2023

    Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala will make a holiday season address to the country on December 26, he told the news outlet Blesk.cz on Tuesday. President Petr Pavel will speak to the nation on New Year’s Day, returning to a tradition of presidential speeches on January 1.

    In recent years Miloš Zeman, the previous head of state, made his seasonal address on December 26, with the prime minister speaking on New Year’s Day.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 12/05/2023

    Czechia will never accept compulsory quotas of migrants handed down by the European Union, the country’s minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, said in Brussels on Tuesday. He made the comment at a meeting of EU interior ministers discussing a planned asylum and migration pact.

    Mr. Rakušan said Czechia’s priority was clear and tight border procedures for people entering EU territory.

    At previous gatherings this year, Europe’s interior ministers agreed on a definition of solidarity in the case of migrants. Exemptions from financial contributions to overburdened states in Southeastern Europe were also secured, including for Czechia, which is itself subject to migration from Ukraine.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 12/05/2023

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 2 degrees Celsius. The following days are expected to see similar weather.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 12/05/2023

    Czech Television on Monday evening presented the seven participants in a national competition to choose the country’s entrant for next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The public now have one week to vote for a winner from among Aiko, Elly, Gianna Lei, Lenny, MYDY, Tom Sean and Tomas Robin.

    The final of next year’s Eurovision will be held in Sweden’s Malmo in May, following two semi-finals earlier that week.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 12/05/2023

    The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from ex-MP Lubomír Volný, who was fighting a suspended sentence for spreading false alarm over comments he made on the drug ivermectin, Czech Television reported on Tuesday.

    During the Covid crisis Mr. Volný said on social media that people would die because of a plot to discredit ivermectin. At the time some believed the drug could help combat Covid, despite a lack of scientific evidence.

    Mr. Volný was elected as a member of the anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy before leaving the grouping. He is no longer in high politics.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 12/05/2023

    The black redstart has been named Bird of the Year 2024 by the Czech Ornithological Society, replacing last year's winner, the common pochard. Originally a high-altitude species, the black redstart has gradually migrated to urban environments over the course of several centuries. While the nesting population used to be strictly migratory, in recent years the bird has been spotted in cities even during winter, which the Czech Ornithological Society says is probably related to global warming and climate change.

    The Bird of the Year campaign, which has been taking place in the Czech Republic since 1992, aims to raise awareness of endangered bird species.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 12/05/2023

    The final agreement between the Health Ministry, hospital staff and health insurance companies should be signed on Friday, after which doctors will call off the protest that began on December 1 and begin working overtime again. Due to almost half of doctors refusing to work overtime in December, hospitals have been operating in a limited capacity to varying degrees since the start of the month.

    The Czech Medical Chamber and doctors' unions have agreed to a salary increase of CZK 5,000 to 15,000 per month depending on seniority and an increase of five percent for other hospital employees, including non-medical staff.

    Author: Anna Fodor

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