• Weather forecast
    01/26/2023

    Friday should be overcast with snow showers around the country and day temperatures between 2 and -2 degrees Celsius.

  • Fuel prices going up again
    01/26/2023

    Fuel prices in Czechia are going back up, after a two-week decline. The average price of the best-selling petrol, Natural 95, rose by 77 halers to CZK 36.99 per litre this week. And drivers are now paying an average of CZK 37.41 per litre for diesel, which is 12 halers more than a week ago.

  • Creditas acquires British part of the energy group InterGen
    01/26/2023

    The Creditas investment group of financier Pavel Hubáček has bought a 100% stake in the British part of the energy group InterGen. The group was previously owned by Sev.en Global Investments of billionaire Pavel Tykač together with Chinese partners. Creditas thus acquired four steam power plants in the UK. The parties did not disclose the value of the transaction.

  • UK Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands in Prague for talks
    01/26/2023

    The UK Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands is holding talks in Prague with his Czech counterpart Jozef Sikela on developing bilateral ties post-Brexit. In the course of Thursday he is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Mr. Hands has a special interest in Czechia where he attended a Czech language summer school at Charles University in 1987.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech institutions bracing for cyber-attacks ahead of elections
    01/26/2023

    Czech institutions are bracing for another wave of cyber-attacks ahead of the presidential runoff, the news site Novinky.cz reported. In the first round of elections held a fortnight ago, the pro-Russian hacker group No-name 057 hacked the websites of several ministries as well as those of two presidential candidates. According to the Israeli company Check Point Software Technologies, attacks on Czech targets are to be expected and will escalate in the coming days. The Czech Statistics Office says that hackers cannot disrupt the counting of the election results, as it takes place outside publicly accessible networks.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Defence Ministry seeking to extend lease on Swedish Gripens
    01/26/2023

    The Ministry of Defence which is negotiating with the US government for the purchase of 24 F-35 fighter jets for more than 100 billion crowns has also started negotiations with Sweden on extending the lease of the Gripen fighters until 2035, the news site Novinky reported, citing military sources. The ministry is seeking to extend the loan of the Gripens until at least 2035 so as to give Czech pilots sufficient time to train on the new US fighter jets. It also wants a back-up in case the Locheed Martin company fails to deliver the jets on time.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech Finance Ministry downgrades its growth forecast for 2023
    01/26/2023

    The Ministry of Finance has downgraded its growth forecast for the coming year, predicting that GDP will fall by 0.5 percent in 2023. The average annual inflation is expected to be 10.4 percent, according to the ministry's latest macroeconomic forecast released on Thursday. The outlook in both areas has worsened compared to the November forecast, when the ministry predicted an 0.2 per cent drop in GDP and 9.5 per cent annual inflation. The ministry revised the figures in light of the decline in household consumption in the second half of last year. However, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura said he expects the recession to be short-lived, with the first signs of economic recovery expected in the second quarter of this year.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czechs on continent of America begin voting Thursday
    01/26/2023

    Czechs on the continent of America will begin voting in the second round of elections to choose a new head of state on Thursday. The polls will be open from 2 pm to 9 pm local time at Czech embassies and consulates general in North and South America, with the same hours applying on Friday, the Czech News Agency said.

    The casting of ballots on the continent will begin in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, while Los Angeles will be the last city welcoming voters.

    The reason voting begins before the polls open in Czechia is to allow time for counting prior to the end of the elections in the country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Big rise in voters with Covid compared to presidential vote first round
    01/26/2023

    There was a marked increase in voting among people in isolation with Covid-19 on Wednesday than in the first round of presidential elections a fortnight earlier.

    Some 650 people with the virus out of a registered 1,900 drove to special polling stations to vote in the second round, compared to 354 out of a possible 2,300 previously.

    Regular polls for the runoff vote between first round winner Petr Pavel and Andrej Babiš open at 2 pm on Friday and close at the same time on Saturday. Mr. Pavel is the bookmakers’ favourite to win.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Bohemian crown jewels returned to vault after short exhibition
    01/25/2023

    The Bohemian crown jewels, which were viewed by almost 34,000 people in the past week, have been returned to the royal chamber of Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral. As before the start of the exhibition, seven key-holders had to meet in the cathedral to lock the doors of the vault together.

    The jewels, one of the symbols of Czech statehood, are only taken out on exceptional occasions. This year's eight-day exhibition was held on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of Czechia.

    The key-holders are the president, the prime minister, the archbishop of Prague, the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the speaker of the Senate, the dean of the Metropolitan Chapter of St. Vitus Cathedral and the lord mayor of Prague
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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