• 09/10/2024

    The Ministry of Justice is preparing a new law to help in the fight against money laundering in the Czech Republic. The proposed legislation should make it easier for courts to freeze and confiscate suspicious bank accounts. Their owners would then have to prove that the money was legally acquired. The Justice Ministry wants to have a draft of the new law ready by the end of the year. Tens of billions of crowns are laundered in this country every year, according to the National Centre against Organised Crime. Detectives have calculated that in 2020 and 2021 money was laundered to the tune of 100 billion crowns.

  • 09/10/2024

    Labour market conditions in the Czech Republic have worsened for the third year in a row and are the tenth worst in the EU, mainly due to low flexibility and large gender inequalities in pay, according to an analysis by European Union Open Data Portal. The report says that the Czech Republic is failing to create favourable conditions for employees on the labour market despite having the lowest unemployment rate in the EU. For instance, Czech employees often do not have the option of part-time work, which makes it difficult for parents looking after young children to  be at least partly economically active. According to the analysis the best work conditions for employees are in the Netherlands, Austria and the Scandinavian countries.

  • 09/09/2024

    Tuesday should be partly cloudy to overcast with rain around the country and day temperatures between 17 and 21 degrees Celsius.

  • 09/09/2024

    Detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 19-year-old youth who jumped from a glider in Kladno on Sunday during a training flight. Contrary to initial reports, which spoke of a panic attack, the police have opened criminal proceedings on suspicion of involvement in suicide. The young man jumped out of the glider shortly after the tow plane had disconnected at an altitude of about three hundred metres. His parachute reportedly failed to open. His body was recovered by an emergency crew an hour later. An investigation revealed that he had flown on numerous occasions before the incident and never showed any sign of fear. A post-mortem has been ordered to ascertain whether he had been drinking alcohol or using drugs ahead of the flight.

  • 09/09/2024

    The government is planning on collecting almost 70 billion in windfall tax this year and next, Czech Television reported citing government sources. The national broadcaster said that according to its findings, some companies subject to windfall tax did not expect to be burdened with the tax this year. As the biggest electricity producer in the country, the semi state-owned power utility CEZ pays by far the most in windfall profits tax. Last year it accounted for thirty out of forty billion crowns collected.

  • 09/09/2024

    Visitors to a stamp exhibition in Prague at the weekend could admire a rare artifact from the Titanic, an address label from the ship's mail. The so-called “facing slip” from the Titanic is the only one of its kind in Europe and belongs to Czech collector David Kopřiva. The slip was in the possession of postmaster Oscar Scott Woody, an elite postal clerk from New York who died in the tragedy on his 41st birthday. The artifact belonged to an American collector for over 50 years. David Kopřiva bought it in an auction in Maryland earlier this year. The stamp exhibition in Prague attracted more than 230 collectors and auction house representatives from around the world.

  • 09/09/2024

    Unemployment in the Czech Republic held steady at 3.8% in August, with about 280,000 people out of work. Employers offered over 260,000 vacancies, marking the ninth consecutive month where job seekers outnumbered available positions. However, the number of job openings saw a slight increase compared to July, the first rise since March. The highest unemployment rate was in the Ústí nad Labem region (6%), while Prague had the lowest (2.9%). On average, there were 1.1 job seekers per vacancy, with the most competitive market in Karviná, where 10.5 people competed for each job.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 09/09/2024

    The Czech Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has not completed key IT projects even after ten years, resulting in manual data entry by officials, according to the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ). Despite some digital processes being available for citizens, ministry staff still manually input, copy, and print data due to unconnected information systems. The Ministry disputes the NKÚ’s findings, stating that significant progress has been made since the audit period. The NKÚ also highlighted inefficiencies in pension processing and cited a violation of public procurement laws regarding the development of the Jenda web application.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 09/09/2024

    The XVII Paralympic Games in Paris concluded on Sunday with a closing ceremony at Stade de France, where the French organizers handed over the Paralympic flag to their American counterparts from Los Angeles. Czech swimmer David Kratochvíl, a triple medalist, had the honor of carrying the Czech flag during the ceremony. The 16-year-old, who won gold, silver, and bronze, was the most successful athlete of the Czech delegation. Czechs won eight medals in total, placing the country 53rd overall, while China topped the medal table with 220 medals.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 09/09/2024

    The recent heatwave in the Czech Republic is expected to end abruptly, with temperatures dropping by 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. Sunday saw record highs across most meteorological stations, with a peak of 32.9°C in Tuhan, but a cold front will bring cooler weather starting Monday. More rain is expected throughout the country, and another cold front mid-week may even bring snow to the peak of Sněžka. Meteorologists warn of significant temperature changes and anticipate further updates on snowfall by next week.

    Author: Vít Pohanka

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