• 07/02/2024

    The General Inspectorate of the Security Forces (GIBS) is investigating multiple cases of possible professional misconduct by officers from the protective service unit - an elite police body guarding politicians and strategic government buildings. According to media reports, some of the cases involve, for example, reporting overtime on shifts when the officers in question were actually at home, and security guards who were supposed to be protecting the American ambassador disappearing without permission. There are also witness reports of commanders abusing their position and using official cars for leisure purposes, such as their wives using them to get to the international film festival in Karlovy Vary. Czech news site Seznam Zprávy writes that some of these practices, such as the false reporting of overtime, thanks to which the officers managed to get up to CZK 40,000 extra per month added to their salaries, have been going on for years.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 07/02/2024

    Director Jiří Mádl's new film Vlny (Waves) premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Monday night to a standing ovation that continued long after the credits had rolled.

    The period drama set in Czechoslovakia at the end of the 1960s, the period of the Prague Spring and 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion, tells the story of two brothers who have to make difficult decisions about what is important to them in life. The film is inspired by the true story of a group of journalists from Czechoslovak Radio’s foreign service section, the predecessor of today’s Radio Prague International, and their commitment to independent reporting in the face of mounting Soviet pressure. The main events take place in Czechoslovak Radio and its foreign service newsroom, which strove to bring listeners abroad the truth about what was happening in the country, despite censorship.

    The film will be released in Czech cinemas on 15 August.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 07/01/2024

    Czechia's top constitutional officials met on Monday to coordinate ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Washington. President Petr Pavel, who will be representing Czechia at the summit, said at a press conference after the meeting that the crucial thing would be for all members of the alliance to remain united in their approach to security challenges.

    Important agenda items he mentioned for the summit were strengthening defence and deterrence capabilities, agreeing on a long-term comprehensive support package for Ukraine, and creating a comprehensive strategy and approach towards relations with Russia. He also cited strengthening cooperation with NATO's Indo-Pacific partners, namely Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan, which he said made "absolute sense" given that they shared the same democratic values, global security concerns and economic challenges as NATO and EU countries.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 07/01/2024

    The Czech Olympic Committee presented on Monday the outfits which the national team will wear to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. The garments will be in the Czech national colours, albeit slightly altered to a darker blue, muted red and creamy white, with details such as the Czech flag or inscriptions saying CZE.

    The most striking element of the distinctive and modern collection is a blue and white trench coat, also inspired by the Czech "baloňák" coat, which the head of the Czech Olympic Committee, Jiří Kejval, said in a press release was meant to honour the host country due to the clothing item's popularity in France.

    The new collection was designed by Jan Černý in collaboration with Alpine Pro. Černý said the collection was meant to be representative of modern emerging Czech design and was intended to stand out, as it will only be visible on screen for a few seconds.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 07/01/2024

    Tuesday is expected to be overcast with a chance of some light rain throughout the day. Daytime temperatures should range between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 07/01/2024

    The second Chinese pangolin bred in Europe has been born at Prague Zoo, the zoo announced on Facebook on Monday. The baby pangolin weighs 141 grams (without the umbilical cord) and is trying to suckle its mother's milk, but may need lactation support supplements and replacement feeding as well, according to the zoo.

    The young pangopup has the same parents, the female Run Hou Tang and male Guo Bao, as the first Chinese pangolin to be born in Europe, Šiška, who was born in early 2023, also at Prague Zoo. Šiška's new sibling is more mature and active than Šiška herself was after being born, the zoo wrote.

    The pair of parent pangolins were sent to Prague in 2022 from a zoo in Taiwan.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 07/01/2024

    Some 111 athletes were preliminarily nominated for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris by the Czech Olympic Committee on Monday, although this number is not final. The selection could still change, especially in athletics, which closes its world rankings this week. The final composition of the Czech Olympic team will be announced on Sunday, July 7, a day before the commitee submits its entries to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

    All the Czech Olympic gold medal winners from Tokyo 2020 (which was delayed by a year and ended up taking place in 2021) are in the selection, including doubles tennis stars Kateřina Siniaková and Barbora Krejčíková, water slalom canoeist Jiří Prskavec, and Men's +100 kg judo winner Lukáš Krpálek. No Czech team sport players qualified for the Olympics this year.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 07/01/2024

    The head of the Czech Syndicate of Journalists, Adam Černý, has died at the age of 73. The Syndicate of Journalists, of which he was chairman for 18 years, announced the news on its website. Černý was a long-time contributor to the dailies Lidové noviny and Hospodářské noviny. He also closely cooperated with Czech Radio.

    In 2006 Adam Černý received the prestigious Ferdinand Peroutka Award for outstanding journalism. The Ferdinand Peroutka Prize, launched in 1995, is named after one of the most prominent Czech journalists of the 20th century.

  • 07/01/2024

    In view of the fires that raged in the south-western parts of Turkey over the weekend, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Czech tourists already in the country or heading there to register with the ministry’s travel data base Drozd. In the event of emergencies the ministry uses the data base to provide Czech citizens abroad with relevant information and advice or assists them with their return home. According to the Turkish authorities, the fires that broke out in the Izmir area on Saturday have been brought under control and there is currently no immediate danger to citizens, but short-term complications with services may occur in the affected areas. Thousands of Czech tourists travel to Turkey every year.

  • 06/30/2024

    Monday should be overcast and rainy with day temperatures between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius.

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