• Football agent says a number of top clubs interested in Schick
    07/21/2017

    Footballer Patrik Schick’s agent Pavel Paska has revealed that all cards are on the table concerning the player’s possible transfer from Sampdoria, suggesting the Czech forward could still sign with any of several clubs, including Juventus, Liverpool, Rome or Inter Milan. According to the Italian media, Inter has expressed significant interest in the 21-year-old forward. It was widely expected that Schick would sign with Juventus until a medical this week revealed a potential cardiac issue. Paska denied it was a heart condition as had been reported by some media. The player was taking a five-week rest holiday ordered by the doctor following what his agent described as a “gruelling season”. Italian football website Calciomercato.com reported that Schick could reach a deal worth 30 million euros (paid over two years) with Inter provided he passed a medical with the club.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Senate approves ban on fur farms
    07/21/2017

    The Senate approved a ban on fur farms after a two-hour debate on Thursday. The ban, which still has to be signed by the president, should take effect from the end of January 2019. At the moment, around nine such farms, mostly raising mink and foxes, are present in the Czech Republic. The owners can claim compensation from the state. Opponents of the ban warn that illegal farms could be created where the state has no oversight over the animals’ welfare. Some 46,000 people signed a petition against fur farms in the Czech Republic.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Mladá Boleslav defeat Shamrock Rovers in Europa League pre-qualifier
    07/21/2017

    In football, Czech club Mladá Boleslav has advanced to the third prequalifying round of the Europa League after a 2-0 second-leg win against Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night. The Czech team is set to face Albania’s Skënderbeu Korcë next week.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Senator Kubera collects enough signatures to run for president
    07/20/2017

    Senator Jaroslav Kubera of the Civic Democratic Party has collected enough signatures among his colleagues from the upper chamber of parliament to be able to run for president, the news site idnes.cz reported on Thursday. Ten signatures were needed to support his candidacy, while he collected fifteen. Kubera, who has been a mayor of Teplice since 1994 and a senator since 2000, said he would leave his decision to run for the post until the very last moment.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech arms export reached record levels in 2016
    07/20/2017

    Exports of arms and military material from the Czech Republic reached a record 18.2 billion crowns (around 690 million euros) last year, according to a report that will be debated by the government on Monday. In 2015 that figure stood at 15 billion crowns. Most of the military material, amounting to 1.66 billion crowns, went to Iraq, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Slovakia and Egypt. Last year, some 1,180 licenses were issued for the export of military material.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • 500 people in Prague die prematurely due to air pollution
    07/20/2017

    Some 500 people in Prague die prematurely every year due to air pollution, according to a new analysis released by the National Health Institute on Thursday. Dust particles, which are mostly produced by cars, lead to an increased occurrence of heart and respiratory diseases. According to Miroslav Šuta of the National Health Institute, the city’s limits for concentration of airborne dust particles are not as strict as those set by the World Health Organisation.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Former banker in frame for massive sale of forged painting
    07/20/2017

    Czech police are hunting for a former top banker who is suspected of selling forged painting to a series of VIP clients. Police believe the former banker, who used to deal with VIP clients at Komerční Banka, has probably fled abroad. He is believed by police to have successfully sold modern paintings valued at at least 30 million crowns and was in the process of selling more, with a value of around 53 million, with another 40 million crowns of paintings in stock for later deals. Among those duped by the banker is the Czech actress Jiřina Bohdalová. Police say the suspected con man was last spotted in Istanbul with latest reports suggesting he might be in Fiji.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czechs spent nearly one billion crowns in cinemas in first half of 2017
    07/20/2017

    Czech cinemas attracted 7.5 million viewers in the first half of 2017, which is a seven percent increase compared to the same period last year. According to figures released by the Union of Film Distributors on Thursday, Czech cinema operators sold tickets worth 993 million crowns, nine percent more than the box office takings in the previous year. The film ‘Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ attracted the most visitors.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Children’s book illustrator Karel Franta dies at the age of 89
    07/20/2017

    Czech painter and illustrator Karel Franta has died in Prague at the age of 89. Franta was known mainly for his illustrations of children’s books. He won many prizes for them, including the Grand Prix of UNICEF in Frankfurt am Main for the best illustration of 1986. In 1994, he was recognised internationally by being listed on the International Board of Books for Young People. An exhibition of paintings and drawings by Karel Franta is opening this weekend in the north Bohemian town of Lomnice nad Popelkou.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Weather
    07/20/2017

    Friday is expected to be mostly cloudy with rain showers and storms. Daytime temperatures should range between 25 and 29 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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