News

Doctors report a rise in venereal diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV. According to data from the National Institute of Health, the number of syphilis cases has increased almost fivefold since 1990 and the increase in HIV positive cases looks set to be the highest in 30 years. In the first half of this year, doctors registered 149 HIV positive cases, compared to 253 in the whole of last year. According to data from Motol hospital, the largest hospital in Czechia, there is an increase of 20 to 25 percent in the basic STDs in the summer months.

The majority of Czechs support a gradual closure of coal-fired power plants, with almost 60 percent of people considering ten years or more to be a reasonable time horizon for moving away from coal, according to the results of a STEM/MARK survey. On the other hand, 30 percent of people have a negative perception of coal as an energy source. The government envisages a shift away from coal-fired plants after 2030. Over 80 percent of respondents said that the Czech Republic should remain self-sufficient in energy production. Purchasing electricity from abroad is seen as financially demanding by 75 percent of respondents, and about 70 percent fear that it could weaken the competitiveness of the Czech economy.

President Petr Pavel and the First Lady on Tuesday met with close to a hundred representatives of Czech start-ups and innovative companies at Lány Chateau. The president said after the meeting that support for such companies in the Czech Republic is not as well established as in other countries. He said it was important to have greater faith in innovative companies and offer them more support in order for Czechia to “play the first league” as it used to.

Venus of Dolní Věstonice, the world's oldest ceramic figurine, was found to be made from fragments of rocks and tiny fossils, not mammoth bones as previously believed. The discovery was made by researchers at the Moravian Museum using micro-CT scanning. The figurine, dating back 25,000 to 29,000 years, is a crucial piece of evidence about prehistoric life and primitive art in this part of Europe. It contains extensive cracks that increase the risk of it breaking. The Venus was crafted from a single piece of loess, requiring significant skill. The figurine is rarely displayed and is kept in a vault, with a public exhibition planned for next year to mark the 100th anniversary of its discovery.