• 04/28/2024

    Over 100 veteran car and motorbike owners gathered in the town of Přerov on Sunday for the first veteran ride of the season. The veterans, all produced before 1945, undertook a 70-kilometre ride through the Olomouc and Zlín regions to kick off the season. The oldest participant 87-year-old Libuše Šulcová, owner of a 1928 BSA 770 motorcycle with sidecar. People were also able to admire Tatras, Harley-Davidson motorbikes and other brands. The vintage season continues in May with an international exhibition in Tulln, Austria.

  • 04/28/2024

    Wage differences between Czechia’s 14 regions can be substantial, according to a report published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. In some professions, the difference can be tens of thousands of crowns a month. In Prague, for example, employees can earn twice as much as in the lowest-rated region. According to the data presented, the average monthly gross income in private companies in Prague was CZK 57,817 last year, while in the Karlovy Vary Region it was only CZK 38,350.  Wages in the Prague, Central Bohemia and South Moravia regions are significantly higher than in the rest of the country.

  • 04/28/2024

    The weather in Czechia will once again be affected by Saharan dust on Sunday. This phenomenon, which has been quite frequent in recent weeks, will create clouds that meteorological models did not foresee. It may reduce the expected maximum temperatures, which were forecast at around 25 degrees.

    The phenomenon is caused by storms over the Sahara that lift large quantities of sand into the air. Due to strong winds the sand dust can then reach Europe, which has already happened several times this year. At the beginning of April the concentration of sand dust particles was so high that a smog situation was declared. The dust also affected the performance of solar power plants.

  • 04/28/2024

    Five Czech high school students have won the prestigious international competition Conrad Challenge at the headquarters of the US space agency NASA in Houston. The Czech team, named Lasar, presented the most successful plan how to remotely repair malfunctioning satellites. The success has earned the students scholarships to universities in the US.

    The solution the Czechs came up with was how to trigger a reboot on a non-communicating satellite orbiting the Earth. They suggested hitting the solar cells of the satellite with a laser beam. These would  be disconnected from the battery, which would then start to discharge. This would be evaluated by the satellite's systems as a need for a reboot, thanks to which the error would be resolved.

    Conrad Challenge was initiated 18 years ago by Nancy Conrad in memory of her husband, Pete Conrad, an Apollo 12 astronaut and the third man to walk on the moon.

  • 04/28/2024

    The night frosts that hit the country in the wake of a heatwave have damaged forests in addition to fruit trees and vines. Newly budding young beeches, oaks and firs have been burnt in many places. The frosts will also result in a poor seed year, which will hamper natural regeneration. Foresters say that exceptionally good seed years for oaks and beeches may not come for another seven years. Conifers have barely been touched by the frost, except for fir trees, which are sensitive to it.

  • 04/28/2024

    The state will compensate farmers for the huge losses caused by last week’s severe frosts, Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný said in an interview for Czech Radio. He said he is counting on an allocation of at least CZK 70 to 100 million, for fruit growers and vineyard owners, many of whom are now at risk of going out of business. In Bohemia, the frosts damaged almost the entire fruit harvest and vineyards, in Moravia it was over 50 percent. The losses, which are unprecedented in the last 100 years, are expected to exceed CZK 2 billion. The minister said that while the state cannot afford to compensate farmers fully, it wants to help them survive.

  • 04/27/2024

    The government is set to discuss proposed changes to the pension system on Tuesday. The proposal envisages a gradual increase in the retirement age linked to a higher life expectancy, a different basis for calculating old-age pensions, a lower indexation of pensions and a minimum pension amounting to 20 percent of the average wage. Most of the changes would affect people born after 1966. The present retirement age is 65 for both men and women.

    According to Labour Minister Marian Jurečka the reform is necessary for the sustainability of the pension system. However the opposition ANO party is critical of the planned changes and has said that if it wins the 2025 general elections and gets to form a government it will abolish them. Trade unions and associations of disabled and senior citizens are also opposed to the reform.

  • 04/27/2024

    Sunday should be clear to partly cloudy with day temperatures between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius.

  • 04/27/2024

    An area of Cistercian landscapes connecting Europe (Austria, Czechia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia) has been awarded the prestigious European Heritage Label for playing a significant role in Europe's history, culture, and the development of the Union. The European Commission, which awards the status, considers applications every two years. In Czechia this pertains to the northern Plzen region around the Plasy Monastery. According to the local authorities the title will help Plasy gain prestige and increase its chances of acquiring EU subsidies and grants for special projects.

  • 04/27/2024

    Cyber security experts warn that the Cerberus malware, which attacks Android smartphones and tablets, has seen a dramatic rise in recent weeks. It has risen from virtually zero to the third most widespread threat in Czechia in just two months. The Cerberus virus, which is available on the black market, is most commonly spread through fake applications. In recent weeks, it has most often spread as pirated copies of MX Player and Ultimate USB.

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