• UK claims Czech Embassy in London owes thousands of pounds in unpaid congestion fees
    09/15/2023

    The British Foreign Office claims that dozens of foreign embassies in London, including the Embassy of the Czech Republic, owe the country millions of pounds in unpaid congestion charges. According to a report published by the office the overall size of the debt now totals more than £145 million. Czechia reportedly owes over £480,000.

    The countries in question, which include the US, Japan, Poland, France and Germany, argue that the congestion charge, introduced in 2003, is a tax – making them exempt from paying it.

    Daniel Drake, spokesman for the Czech Foreign Ministry, said the congestion charge is a local fee that should not apply to diplomats since it violates Article 25 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that the receiving state must facilitate the performance of diplomatic missions in every possible way.

    The British Foreign Office claims there are no legal grounds to exempt diplomatic missions and international organizations from the London congestion charge, which is comparable to a parking fee or toll charge.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Kalousek wins libel suit against ANO leader Babiš
    09/15/2023

    Former Czech finance minister Miroslav Kalousek has won a libel suit against ANO party leader Andrej Babiš. The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Babiš must apologize to his one-time political rival for a statement made in the Czech lower house five years ago when he accused him of "stealing from the Defence Ministry and having killed people by his purchase of parachutes".  Babiš has been ordered to apologise at a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies and also send a letter of apology to Kalousek. The ANO party leader said that he himself has been insulted much worse during heated debates in Parliament and would challenge the verdict in the Constitutional Court.

    In his speech Babiš was referring to Kalousek's tenure as deputy minister of defence and to several controversial contracts from that time, including the purchase of VTP-100 parachutes. In 1997, a soldier was fatally injured when his parachute failed to open and the army did not use the equipment afterwards.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • A third of Czechs suffering symptoms of depression
    09/15/2023

    A third of Czech adults are suffering from depression of varying intensity, according to a survey conducted by psychiatrists at the General University Hospital in Prague. According to psychiatrists, depression symptoms are even more frequent now than they were during the Covid pandemic, which they attribute to the economic situation and people’s financial difficulties. The number of children and adolescents suffering from depression and those self-harming has also increased steeply in the last few years, which many experts ascribe to the period of social isolation during the Covid pandemic.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • US F-35 jets to be highlight of NATO Days near Ostrava
    09/15/2023

    Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the annual NATO Days at Ostrava’s Mošnov Airport at the weekend. The two-day event is the biggest air, military and security show in Central Europe with military hardware exhibitions, police and rescue technology and dynamic shows of special units. Among the big attractions this year are three US F-35 Lightning II aircraft which arrived in Czechia for the event. The government is purchasing two dozen of these fighter jets for its armed forces. The NATO Days in Ostrava have been taking place since 2001.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • International arrest warrant issued for Tomáš Cermák
    09/15/2023

    The Regional Court in Pilsen has issued an international arrest warrant for Tomáš Cermák, who was sentenced to 5.5 years in jail earlier this year for inciting a terrorist crime. The 36-year-old is in hiding and the police believe that he may have gone abroad to avoid serving his sentence. Čermak was the first person in Czechia to be convicted of inciting violence against politicians during the pandemic and hate speech against Ukrainians on social networks.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Three injured in train collision on Mladá Boleslav-Nymburk line
    09/15/2023

    Police are investigating a collision between a passenger train and a freight train on the line between Mladá Boleslav and Nymburk on Thursday evening. According to preliminary findings the passenger train crossed the path of the freight train, after passing through a red light signal. Several cars derailed and three people suffered light injuries. Firefighters evacuated 37 people from the train.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Healthcare unions to file complaint against more overtime hours
    09/15/2023

    Healthcare unions say they will file a complaint to the European Commission over a controversial amendment to the Labour Code concerning overtime work for doctors and paramedics. Martin Engel, chairman of the Association of Czech Doctors, says the amendment which allows doctors to serve up to double the amount of overtime against the current legislation, will put patients at risk. Thousands of doctors have protested against the amendment on the grounds that they are already heavily overworked and have threatened to refuse to serve any overtime hours if it is enforced.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Weather forecast
    09/14/2023

    Friday should be bright and sunny with daytime highs between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius.

  • Prague High Court rules on Stork’s Nest case
    09/14/2023

    The Prague High Court on Thursday ruled on an appeal in the Stork’s Nest case in which the former prime minister and ANO party leader Andrej Babiš and his former adviser Jana Nagyová were acquitted of EU fraud by the Prague Municipal Court in January. The court ruled in a closed hearing. The outcome of Thursday’s appeal ruling will not be disclosed until it has been delivered to the prosecutor and defence lawyers. However, according to legal experts contacted by the ctk news agency, the procedure indicates that the Prague High Court decided to return the case to the Prague Municipal Court for a new hearing.

    Mr. Babiš and his former adviser stood trial for manipulating ownership rights to the Stork’s Nest company, which was part of his multi-billion crown empire, so that it could meet EU grant conditions for a small and medium-sized business.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Refugees from Ukraine should be able to extend their stay in Czechia
    09/14/2023

    Refugees from Ukraine will likely be able to extend their temporary protection in Czechia for another year, until the end of March 2025. The respective amendment to the law, known as Lex Ukraine, was approved by the government on Wednesday and will now be put to a vote in Parliament. According to the Interior Ministry, which submitted the bill, the course of the war in Ukraine does not indicate that Ukrainian refugees will be able to return home in the near future. There are currently over 365, 800 Ukrainians with temporary protection in Czechia, the majority of them are women and children.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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