• Poll gives ANO 34 percent, Civic Democrats 13
    12/13/2023

    The biggest Czech opposition party, ANO, would have won general elections in November with 34 percent of the vote suggests a new poll by the Ipsos agency for Seznam Zprávy published on Wednesday. Government leaders the Civic Democrats would have come second on 13 percent, with the Pirate Party in third on 10.5 percent and Freedom and Direct Democracy fourth on 9 percent, the survey indicates.

    Another poll, by the Kantar CZ agency, published at the weekend gave ANO 34.5 percent.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czechs among 10 states to vote against UN General Assembly Gaza ceasefire resolution
    12/13/2023

    Czechia voted against a United Nations General Assembly resolution on Tuesday calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. It was one of 10 states – including the US – which did not support the resolution, which was passed by 153 votes.

    The Czechs had sought, and failed, to have the text of the resolution include a passage condemning the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in October.

    The Czech ambassador to the UN, Jakub Kulhánek, said the country had voted against with a heavy heart.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Social Democrats chief: Euro elections leader Zaorálek will not be lost at that level
    12/12/2023

    The leader of the Social Democrats’ candidates list for next year’s European Parliament elections, Lubomír Zaorálek, has contacts all over Europe, the party’s leader, Michal Šmarda, said at a news conference in Prague on Tuesday.

    Mr. Zaorálek is a former foreign minister and arts minister and Mr. Šmarda said he would not be lost at European level, unlike the candidates of other parties.

    The party’s chairman said the Euro elections were the start of the Social Democrats’ battle to make a return in Czech politics. The grouping failed to make it back into the lower house in the last general elections.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech spy chief: Russia, China most active in disinformation
    12/12/2023

    Russia and China are the most active states when it comes to spreading disinformation in Czechia, says the head of the country’s counterintelligence service, BIS. Speaking at a conference focused on hybrid threats in Prague on Tuesday, Michal Koudelka said that Czechia had seen less impact of anti-Israel propaganda from Hamas or Iran than some other states.

    The BIS chief said that Czechia had greatly boosted its efforts to combat disinformation in recent times.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • 4,000 apply to army via virtual recruitment centre
    12/12/2023

    Over 4,000 people have applied to join the Czech Army since the launch of a virtual recruitment centre in September, the minister of defence, Jana Černochová, said on Tuesday. The minister said she had been surprised by the number of applications received to date.

    The Ministry of Defence will also seek to recruit soldiers online in 2024.

    In September the army had almost 28,000 professional soldiers and 4,300 members of the Active Reserve. By 2030 it hopes to have 30,000 soldiers and 10,000 reserves.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Šimáčková Laurenčíková presents inaugural human rights commissioner awards

    12/12/2023

    The Czech government’s commissioner for human rights, Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková, presented her own awards in Prague on Monday evening. The official bestowed the newly created prize, for defending and promoting human rights, to 18 individuals and organisations in six categories.

    Among those honoured were Zdeněk Ryšavý of the organisation Romea, Jitka Poláková, director of proFem, evangelical pastor Mikuláš Vymětal, Viktor Heumann of the association Trans*parent, and Bohdan Rajčinec, who represents the Ukrainian minority.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Michael Kocáb to celebrate 70th with Metronome slot
    12/12/2023

    Singer and composer Michael Kocáb will celebrate his 70th birthday with an appearance at Prague’s Metronome music festival next June, the organisers have announced.

    Kocáb became famous as the frontman of the band Pražský výběr. He was also involved in politics and oversaw the departure of Russian troops from Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    12/12/2023

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 7 degrees Celsius. Lower temperatures are expected on the following days.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Over CZK 2 million raised for charities designated in Scharzenberg’s will
    12/12/2023

    Over two million crowns were raised during the three days that the late Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg’s coffin was on display to the public, his family has announced.

    Instead of flowers, the politician wanted his supporters to contribute to the defence of Ukraine or to the Order of Malta, of which he was a member and which is dedicated to charity.

    The family will decide on the exact distribution of the donation in the coming days.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech population grows due to migration
    12/12/2023

    The population of Czechia increased by 54,700 to 10.88 million in the first three quarters of this year, according to data published by the Czech Statistics Office on Tuesday. The increase is due to foreign migration, especially from Ukraine.

    From January to the end of September, 116,700 people immigrated to Czechia, while 48,600 people left the country. The figures include Ukrainians granted temporary protection due to Russian military aggression.

    According to the freshly released data, the first six months of 2022 saw 69,200 births, which is a drop by 11 percent year-on-year. The number of deceased also went down to 82,600.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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