• 03/14/2024

    A new opinion poll by the Median agency suggests that ANO would receive 31 percent of the votes in a general election held in February. The Civic Democrats would come second, on 12.5 percent, and the Pirates would be third, on 11 percent, the survey indicates.

    A poll by Kantar published at the weekend suggested opposition leaders ANO enjoyed a record 39 percent support.

    Some 9.5 percent of respondents in the Median poll said they would back the anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy party.

    The Mayors party placed fifth on 9 percent, an increase on recent surveys. Its leader has recently been holding a series of “uncensored” public meetings around the country.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/14/2024

    Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called on Russia to release imprisoned journalist Alsa Kurmasheva during an open debate of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York on Wednesday. Mr. Lipavský, making his third speech at the UNSC in a year and a half, was taking part in a debate on conflict prevention and empowering all actors, including women and youth.

    Ms. Kurmasheva, who is Russian-American, is based in Prague, where she works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She was arrested in Russia in October last year after visiting for family reasons and charged with failure to register as a foreign agent, which can carry a five-year jail term.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/13/2024

    Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski is due to come to Czechia next Wednesday, a day before a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four states. Mr. Sikorski will hold bilateral talks with his counterpart, Jan Lipavský, on March 20.

    There are disagreements between the V4 countries on some foreign policy issues, with Poland and Czechia at present being more clearly pro-Western than Slovakia and Hungary, and a bilateral meeting between the Czech and Polish prime ministers was also held before a summit in February.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/13/2024

    The Russian authorities have begun criminal proceedings against 50 politicians and officials in five European states, including two Czech ones, over the demolition of monuments to Red Army soldiers, iDnes.cz reported on Wednesday.

    Among those on the list are the former and current mayors of Prague 6, Ondřej Kolář and Jakub Stárek.

    Mr. Kolář said he was in good company and that the news had motivated him to continue his work. He headed the district when a monument to Soviet commander Ivan Konev was taken down in 2020.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/13/2024

    A special session of the Chamber of Deputies to discuss statements by ANO leader Andrej Babiš should take place on Tuesday, Prime Minister Petr Fiala, of the Civic Democrats, said on Wednesday. Mr. Fiala said the main focus of the lower house session would be an email written by Mr. Babiš in which he seemed to ask party colleagues for information about the minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský of the Pirates.

    The email, in which he asked about Mr. Lipavský’s family, was evidently sent to the wrong recipient. It came soon after the foreign policy chief said publicly that Mr. Babiš was a security threat because of his “pacifist” stance on Ukraine.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/13/2024

    German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will speak at a conference at Prague Castle on April 30 marking the 20th anniversary of Czech accession to the European Union. The information was released by the Czech Office of the President on Wednesday.

    Mr. Steinmeier and the Czech head of state, Petr Pavel, will deliver the keynote addresses at the event.

    Czechia became a member of the EU on May 1, 2004.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/13/2024

    Ukraine will soon start receiving munitions purchased under an initiative created by Czechia, the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said on Wednesday, the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported.

    Mr. Kuleba said that he would speak with Czech officials later this week, when they should outline a plan for the delivery of the ammunition.

    Last month Czechia announced a plan to secure 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine from states outside the EU and NATO. The funding will come from other countries, with 18 joining the initiative to date.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/13/2024

    The Czech-based carmaker Škoda saw its operating profit increase by 182 percent year-on-year to almost CZK 45 billion last year, while sales rose by 26 percent. The information was published by German car company Volkswagen, which owns Škoda Auto, in an annual report.

    Škoda Auto increased its production by 16 percent in 2023, the report said.

    The company, which sells most of its cars in Europe, registered a rise in sales in Western Europe of 27.4 percent on the previous year.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/13/2024

    Sparta Prague travelled to England on Wednesday for a game against Liverpool in the Europa League, European soccer’s second-tier club competition. However, the Czech title-holders lost the first leg of the round of 16 tie 5:1 in Prague last week, leaving them with an extremely low chance of advancing to the quarter-finals on Thursday night.

    Sparta played at Liverpool’s Anfield Road stadium once before – also in the Europa League – when they lost 1:0, following a 0:0 draw in Prague, in 2011.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/13/2024

    It should be overcast on Thursday, with an average high temperature of 12 degrees Celsius. The following days are expected to see similar weather.

    Author: Ian Willoughby

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