• Actor Vladimír Brabec dies at the age of 83
    09/02/2017

    Actor Vladimír Brabec, who played the lead role in the notorious communist era propaganda series called "The 30 cases of Major Zeman", has died at the age of 83. Brabec has played hundreds of other characters but he has always been associated with the role of the detective fighting subversive and criminal elements in communist Czechoslovakia. The series was shot in the 1970s and still shown on Czech tv channels from time to time.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • US Open: Kvitová advances to last 16
    09/01/2017

    Czech tennis player and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová advanced to the last 16 at the US Open on Friday dispatching French opponent Caroline Garcia. Kvitová has advanced in the tournament without losing a set so far; the final score against Garcia was 6:0, 6:4.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Renovation of Czech embassy building in Berlin expected to cost half a billion crowns
    09/01/2017

    The planned renovation of the Czech embassy building at Wilhelmstrasse 44 in Berlin, Germany, is expected to cost around half a billion crowns (the equivalent of around 19 million euros) the Czech News Agency reports. The planned renovation, discussed for several years, would be completed by 2023.

    The government is due to take a decision on the renovation in September. The building, which housed some 500 employees during the Cold War, was built in the 1970s. It was designed by the architects Věra and Vladimír Machonin and is an example of Brutalist architecture. The Machonins also designed the famous Kotva and DBK department stores in Prague.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Weather
    09/01/2017

    Rainy conditions are expected on Saturday; temperatures should reach highs of around 16 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Teachers’ unions threaten strike alert
    09/01/2017

    The teachers’ unions have said they will call a strike alert if the coaltion government council does not agree to meet their demands for higher pay next Monday; the unions are seeking pay rise of 15 percent for educators and 10 percent for non-teaching staff. The unions made the announcement during a demonstration at Prague’s Bethlehem Chapel on Friday, ahead of the new school year.

    The Czech Rectors Conference is considering an extraordinary meeting on September 6, to consider possible steps such as delaying the start of the semester at universities if higher wages are not introduced.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • PM expresses regret that those who agreed OKD privatisation in 1990s not standing trial
    09/01/2017

    Prime Minister Bohsulav Sobotka has told journalists it was regrettable that decision-makers who agreed on the privatisation of Czech mining company OKD in 1996 were not the ones now appearing in a court case over the matter. The prime minister mentioned no individual names but referred to the government in power then, which was led by Václav Klaus.

    Mr Sobotka made the comment after leaving the court on Friday where he had been called as a witness. He added that others who should have been tried were those who gutted “enormous funds” from the firm in 2004. Mr Sobotka, finance minister in 2004, has long come under criticism for the sale of the mining company but he maintains the crux of the problem lay eight years earlier.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Budějovický Budvar to prepare gift brew for Pope Francis
    09/01/2017

    Czech brewery Budějovický Budvar is preparing a special batch of its beer for Pope Francis, which the head of the Roman Catholic Church will receive as a gift during a visit by a Czech delegation during the period of Advent this year. The delegation is scheduled to meet with the Pontiff on December 13. The special brew, which will fill 122 bottles, will be blessed in September and gifted to the Pope by Czech Bishop Vlastimil Krocil during the December audience.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Ambassador to Amman: Czech humanitarian aid has helped Syrian refugees
    09/01/2017

    Czech humanitarian aid has played a key role in helping Syrian refugees in Jordan, lessening the motivation for them to continue on to Europe, the Czech ambassador to Jordan Petr Hladík has said. In an interview for the Czech News Agency, he added that Czech aid had also led to better conditions for Czech firms exporting to Jordan; in 2016, Czech exports to the country rose by 62 percent year-on-year.

    In total, Czech humanitarian aid to Jordan last year amounted to 75 million crowns – 40 million of which of which went to the second-largest refugee camp in Jordan, Azrak. The funds went towards improving living quarters and capacity at the camp.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Number of road deaths over summer lowest since 1990
    09/01/2017

    The number of road fatalities over the course of the summer holidays dropped to its lowest since 1990, according to preliminary statistics released by the police on Thursday. One hundred and two people died in traffic accidents on Czech roads over the course June and July, which is 18 fewer than in the same period last year. The overall number of road fatalities since the beginning of the year is 331, a drop by 12 compared to the same period in 2016.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Plíšková reaches third round of US Open
    09/01/2017

    World number one Karolína Plíšková advanced to the third round of the US Open on Thursday, after defeating local favorite Nicole Gibbs 2-6 6-3 6-4. Another three Czech players, Tomáš Berdych, Barbora Strýcová and Denisa Allertová, were knocked out of the second round.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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