News

The Czech economy grew by 4.0 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2015, according to a revised estimate released on Tuesday by the Czech Statistics Office. A previous estimate issued at the end of May put the expansion of gross domestic product in the period at 4.2 percent. The estimate of quarter-on-quarter growth was also revised downwards, from 3.1 percent to 2.5 percent.

A square in Haifa, Israel, was named after former Czech president Václav Havel in a special ceremony on Monday attended by the Mayor of Haifa, Yona Yahav, Czech ambassador to Israel Ivo Schwarz and Czech Culture Minister Daniel Herman. The event was confirmed by ministry spokeswoman Simona Cigánková. Streets and buildings elsewhere around the world have also been named after the former dissident and playwright who became Czechoslovakia’s first post-communist era president and the first president of the Czech Republic after the country separated from Slovakia in 1993. Mr Havel died in December of 2011.

London football club Arsenal confirmed on Monday it has signed a four-year contract for an undisclosed amount with Czech goalkeeper Petr Čech, posting photos of the acclaimed player with an Arsenal jersey. Arsenal are thought to have acquired the player for around £10m. Čech played 11 seasons with Chelsea, making more than 400 appearances. Čech said he was thrilled with the move and couldn't wait for pre-season training. The BBC reported that Čech also wrote in an open letter to Chelsea fans saying that he always expected to retire at Stamford Bridge but that he opted to leave after being replaced by Thibaut Courtois, playing only six matches for the Blues last year. According to sources, the Czech keeper was allowed to go to a Premier League rival in return for his many successful years of service which include a Champions League title and other honours.

A one-year project entitled “Invisible Minorities” being organised by the Czech NGO Proud, is aiming to teach about some of the issues faced by gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals at the elementary and secondary school levels as well as offering seminars for experts, the coordinator of the project Rut Dvořáková revealed to journalists on Monday. The project began in April and will cost less than one million crowns, most of which will come from Norwegian funding. Around 800 students from elementary and high schools are expected to take part in the seminar; a second part will focus on the lives and problems of seniors.