• Fire officers enforce “witch burning” ban in Prague
    05/01/2018

    The Prague fire service were called out 15 times between Monday evening and Tuesday morning in connection with the Czech tradition of “witch burning” bonfires. They had been banned in the capital this year in view of dry conditions and strong winds and in eight cases the organisers agreed to fire officers’ calls for them to douse the fires. The other seven cases were false alarms, a fire service spokesperson said.

    Fire fighters did not have to deal with any blazes resulting from unauthorised bonfires getting out of control.

    Large public bonfires were called off at a number of places in the capital and people were also told not to light them on their own properties.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Total ban on smoking introduced at Prague airport
    05/01/2018

    A total ban on smoking came into effect at Prague’s Václav Havel Airport on Tuesday. Previous smoking areas in the facility’s transit areas have been done away with and the ban also applies to electronic cigarettes.

    Operators said they expected the number of smoke-free airports to grow and wished to get on board with the healthy trend.

    Fourteen spots near entrances to the airport’s buildings have been reserved for smokers.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    05/01/2018

    Wednesday should be bright with the chance of storms in the Czech Republic. Temperatures of up to 21 degrees Celsius are expected. More rain and similar daytime highs are forecast for the following days.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prague City Hall and Uber sign memorandum on new operating conditions
    04/30/2018

    Prague City Hall and the app-based ride sharing service Uber have signed a memorandum of understanding in which Uber has agreed to meet conditions which would put it on an equal footing with taxi drivers.

    The company has agreed to operate a licensed service, with drivers registering and taxing their earnings in the Czech Republic. Uber has also pledged to join the electronic evidence of sales system introduced last year.

    Prague and Brno taxi drivers who consider Uber unfair competition, have been protesting against the ride sharing service for months.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • BMW to get investment incentives for vehicle testing centre
    04/30/2018

    Car maker BMW is set to get incentives worth 18.7 million euros to build a test centre for self-driving and electric vehicles in the Czech Republic under a memorandum approved by the Czech government on Monday.

    The construction of BMW’s first vehicle testing project in Eastern Europe should create several hundred jobs. The project should include the testing of driver-assistance and braking systems.

    BMW is to receive a building permit in the last quarter of 2019 and the test centre should be operational by 2022.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Weather forecast
    04/30/2018

    Tuesday should be partly cloudy with day temperatures between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius in the western parts of the country and 21 and 25 degrees in Moravia and Silesia.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Doctors register increased incidence of measles
    04/30/2018

    Doctors have registered an increased incidence of measles in the Czech Republic, reporting over 100 cases, mostly in Prague. In previous years there were only isolated cases of the disease.

    A combined vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella was introduced in this country in 1969 which practically eradicated these diseases in the Czech Republic and the increased incidence today is ascribed to a growing fear of vaccinations on the part of some parents who put off getting their children vaccinated for as long as possible.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Plíšková pulls out of Prague WTA tournament
    04/30/2018

    Sixth seed Karolína Plíšková is pulling out of the WTA tournament in Prague. Plíšková, the Czech teams top ranked player ‚ made the announcement on Moday citing health problems. She has reportedly suffered from groin pain since Stuttgart.

    Plíšková, who was slated to play against her sister Kristýna in the Prague tournament said she was very disappointed to have to pull out but would focus on getting in shape for Madrid.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • President Zeman to visit Poland
    04/30/2018

    President Miloš Zeman is due to pay a three day official visit to Poland from May 9th to May 11th, the president’s office announced on Monday. The head of state will be meeting with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda and government officials.The talks are expected to focus on bilateral relations and EU matters.

    It will be President Zeman’s second foreign visit since his reelection for a second term in office. His first foreign trip was to Slovakia.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Head of police oversight agency leaves his post
    04/30/2018

    The head of the General Inspectorate of the Security Forces Michal Murín is leaving his post on April 30.

    Mr. Murín, who has been under pressure from Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to resign, announced his decision earlier this month saying that although he had done nothing illegal or unethical his continued presence at the head of the inspectorate would undoubtedly throw a negative light on its work.

    The outgoing government is due to consider a suitable temporary head on Monday. The next head of the police oversight agency should be chosen in an open competition.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

Pages