• 07/26/2024

    The Summer Film School at Uherské Hradiště gets underway on Friday for the 50th time. Among the guests at this year’s edition will be French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin, Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi and veteran Czech actor and musician Jiří Suchý.

    The event, which draws thousands of visitors to the Moravian town annually, will open with the world premiere of Hello, Welcome by Czech director Šimon Holý.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 07/26/2024

    The Czech wrestler Artur Omarov has been forced to drop out of the Olympics due to an Achilles injury. The athlete sustained the injury in training and underwent surgery before his planned departure for Paris, the Czech Olympic Committee said in a statement.

    Tennis player Markéta Vondroušová, who took silver at the last Olympics in Tokyo, had earlier been forced to pull out of the Games due to a hand injury.

    The number of Czech athletes competing in Paris now stands at 111.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 07/25/2024

    The Czech Office of the Government says that the country’s cabinet acted wholly in compliance with the relevant treaties when on Wednesday it decided on the nomination of the minister of industry and trade, Jozef Síkela, as Czechia’s next European commissioner.

    It also said the Czech government had informed the office of the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, of this decision at the time it was made on Wednesday.

    The statement was published on Thursday after Ms. von der Leyen sent a letter to all EU governments requesting that each put forward two candidates by the end of August.

  • 07/25/2024

    In the first half of this year Russia conducted a wide range of hybrid operations against Czechia, according to a report on extremism for the six months of 2024 published on Thursday by the Ministry of the Interior.

    The report says the aim of Russia’s propaganda is to undermine confidence in the Czech state and to make people feel that its regime represents a healthy alternative.

    Its authors also say that the Czech extremist and xenophobic populist scene has changed significantly and that Russian security forces in Czechia have gained a solid and easily influenced base that can be used to spread its influence.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 07/25/2024

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Friday, with an average high temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. Similar weather is expected on the following days.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 07/25/2024

    Doctors at the Podolí maternity hospital in Prague have carried out a unique procedure, operating on a seven-month-old foetus with a developmental defect of the diaphragm directly in its mother’s womb, Novinky.cz reported on Thursday.

    The surgeons placed a tiny, teardrop-sized balloon inside the foetus to help define the space for the proper development of the baby’s lungs, the news site said. Such an operation had never previously been carried out in Czechia.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 07/25/2024

    The Czech minister of finance, Zbyněk Stanjura, said on Thursday that the government’s goal in connection with the Liberty Ostrava smelting works was to preserve its secondary output, meaning steel production, and a substantial number of jobs.

    Liberty Ostrava went into bankruptcy in June of this year.

    Mr. Stanjura, along with Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela and Labour and Social Affairs Minister Marian Jurečka, held negotiations on a possible takeover of part of the smelter with representatives of the company Moravia Steel, which is interested in it, on Thursday.

    The finance minister said Liberty must undergo modernisation with regard to the decarbonisation of Czech industry.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 07/25/2024

    President Petr Pavel says he would veto a law on next year’s state budget if the government ignored its own stated priorities. The head of state made the comment in an interview with the Czech News Agency published on Thursday.

    Mr. Pavel said it was key that the budget be transparent and comprehensible. He is due to attend a cabinet session on the matter at the end of August but said he had no wish to interfere.

    This year’s state budget is predicated on a deficit of CZK 252 billion. The Finance Ministry expects to reduce the gap to CZK 235 billion next year.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 07/25/2024

    The Czech president, Petr Pavel, says that no peace talks on Ukraine can take place without Russia and China at the table. In an interview published by the Czech News Agency on Thursday, he said that China ought to take more responsibility for peace in the world on the basis of rules – not on the basis of who has the bigger army or greater economic power.

    Mr. Pavel said he welcomed the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said for the first time this month that Russian officials would attend the next peace summit related to the conflict.

    The Czech head of state said war fatigue was affecting both combatants and that elections in many countries would have an influence, starting with the presidential poll in the US.

    Mr. Pavel also said that the outcome of negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians – from which Hamas must be excluded – should be some form of statehood for the Palestinians.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 07/25/2024

    The Mayors plan to discuss a replacement for the party’s Jozef Síkela as minister for industry and trade with the rest of the government soon, leader Vít Rakušan said on Thursday. The cabinet decided on Wednesday to nominate Mr. Síkela as Czechia’s next member of the European Commission.

    Mr. Rakušan said the party had people in mind for the industry and trade portfolio and would discuss the matter with coalition partners in August.

    There has been speculation that the Mayors’ Lukáš Vlček is in line for the post, if Mr. Síkela does go to Brussels.

    Author: Ian Willoughby

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