• Unions and employers oppose widening road toll charges to main highways
    07/17/2017

    Unions and employers have opposed government plans to widen road tolls to main highways as well as motorways. The plan was raised at a meeting with the government on Monday. Transport employers have warned that any increase in transport costs will be passed directly onto consumers. The transport ministry is looking to widen tolls to around 900 kilometres of first class highways. One of the reasons for the move is the ministry’s preparation of a new tender for charging lorries for the use of motorways.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Golden jackal confirmed as settled in Czech Republic
    07/17/2017

    Naturalists say the presence of the golden jackal has been confirmed in the Czech Republic. The confirmation follows photographs taken at a photo trap of a pregnant jackal at the Milovice nature reserve, sited between the town and Benátky nad Jizerou in the north of Bohemia. Sightings of jackal in the area were previously made in 2015 and 2016 but the latest proof, backed up by photos from a naturalist working in the area, has been judged to be definitive confirmation that the jackal has settled in the Czech Republic. It is common in other parts of Central Europe and the Balkans but is believed to be extending its territory to include the Czech Republic.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Social Watch gives mixed assessment to Czech progress on sustainable development
    07/17/2017

    The Czech branch of the social watchdog group, Social Watch, has given a mixed appreciation of the Czech Republic’s moves to foster a more equitable and fairer country and world over the last year. The grouping of NGOs praised moves to increase the minimum wage and to take some steps to dealing with those profiting from citizens falling into the debt trap. However, it also highlighted the government’s failure to push through a bill on social housing, the continued wide gender gap on pay, and the high level of Czech arms exports to dubious regimes and low levels of development aid. The assessment was carried around in the context of the United Nations’ 2030 strategy for sustainable development.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Investment incentives totalling 6.3 billion crowns promised by CzechInvest
    07/17/2017

    Investment incentives to the tune of 6.3 billion crowns have been promised in the first half of the year by the government agency aimed at encouraging foreign direct investment, CzechInvest. The promise of help has been made to 42 protects with the total investment coming to 26.6 billion crowns and 4,767 jobs to be created as a result. The agency will release final details of incentives given to companies at a later date.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Weather
    07/17/2017

    Tuesday will be cloudy with sunny intervals and the possibility of rain in the centre of the country. Top temperatures will range between 24 and 29 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Last survivor of Roma Holocaust dies
    07/17/2017

    The last Czech Roma to have survived the Nazi attempts to kill the population during World War II has died at the age of 90, Czech Radio reported on Monday, Emílie Machálková’s death was confirmed by her family, the radio reported. Machálková and her family were rounded up to be taken to a concentration camp but their lives were saved when a local mayor persuaded the Brno Gestapo to let them go. Thirty three relatives and members of Machálková’s wider family did not survive the Nazi attempts to kill the Roma population. Machálková later made a name for herself as a singer of Roma songs she composed herself.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Czech scientist Antonín Holý remembered five years after his death
    07/17/2017

    The workplace of the late Czech scientist Antonín Holý at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague will open to the public on Monday to mark five years since his death. Mr Holý became internationally-renowned for his work as a chemist and for cooperation on the development of important antiretroviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV and Hepatitis B. He received considerable recognition for his work including a nomination for the Nobel Prize for medicine.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Plíšková officially becomes world women’s tennis number one
    07/17/2017

    Karolína Plíšková officially becomes world women’s tennis number one on Monday. The 25-year-old Czech moved to the top of the rankings after Romania’s Simona Halep was defeated in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last week. Plíšková, who comes from Louny in north Bohemia, has moved to the top despite a second-round loss at Wimbledon and despite never having won a grand slam tournament. She is currently leading the rankings by 185 points.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Weather
    07/16/2017

    Monday is expected to be partly cloudy, with occasional rain showers and daytime temperatures ranging between 21 and 25 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Tourist in Prague charged over 6,000 crowns for 14km taxi ride
    07/16/2017

    A taxi driver in Prague charged a foreign tourists in Prague over 6,000 crowns for a 14-kilometre ride, Irena Seifertová, a spokesman for the police, told the Czech News Agency. The woman hailed the taxi at the Old Town Square in the centre of Prague. The driver initially demanded 480 euros (around 12,000 crowns) for the ride. An average fare for 14 kilometres would be up to 500 crowns. The tourist filed a criminal complaint against the driver, who is now being investigated by the police.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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