• 10/06/2024

    The newly-elected leader of the Social Democratic Party Jana Maláčová said in her first statement to the media that her primary goal in the coming months would be to build a broad left-wing coalition ahead of the general elections in October of next year. The new party chair will face the uphill task of putting the Social Democrats back on the political map. In opinion surveys the party has consistently appeared below the 5 percent threshold needed to win seats in the lower house. The former labour and social affairs minister was elected by 66 percent of the votes cast by delegates at Saturday’s party conference  in Hradec Králové.

  • 10/06/2024

    The Czech Actors' Association presented the prestigious annual Thalia awards at Prague’s National Theatre on Saturday night. The awards are given in recognition of exceptional performances in the fields of drama, opera and ballet as well as for lifetime achievement.

    Lifetime achievement awards were  presented to actor Viktor Preiss, singer Helena Vondráčková, soprano Naďa Šormová and dancer and choreographer Josef Kotěšovský. The award also went to actress Štěpánka Ranošová and Jan Číhal, co-founder of Ostrava's White Theatre, in memoriam. A newly established award for a foreign artist went to the Slovak actor Milan Kňažko.

    The Thalia awards for drama went to Kateřina Císařová and Miloslav König from Prague's Divadlo Na zábradlí. In the musicals category the awards went to the musical Chicago, staged by the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre where the jury appreciated the outstanding stage performances of Markéta Schimmerová Procházková and Lukáš Vlček.

    In opera the awards went to soprano Soňa Godarská, who performed the lead role in Manon at the J. K. Tyl Theatre in Plzeň and Peter Berger who excelled in the  role of Dalibor in Bedřich Smetana's opera at the National Theatre in Brno.

  • 10/05/2024

    Another ten Czechs are being evacuated from Lebanon on a Slovak government plane, the Czech Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday. Slovakia sent a military aircraft to fly 46 Slovaks and citizens of other nationalities from Beirut to Cyprus from where they were transferred to a government plane bound for Bratislava. Another plane carrying evacuees is to land in Bratislava at midnight.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that remains in contact with all Czechs registered in Lebanon via the Drozd travel data base, as well as long-term Czech residents in the country. There are currently approximately 200 Czechs in Lebanon. The Ministry has prepared a list of individuals for potential further evacuations and is coordinating with international partners.

  • 10/05/2024

    Sunday should be partly cloudy to overcast and mostly dry with daytime highs between 10 and 14 degrees Celsius.

  • 10/05/2024

    A 127-year-old Czech record for the volume of rainfall in one day in one place was broken during the September floods, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute reported. The new record was set in Loučná nad Desnou in the Šumperk region which had 386 millimetres of rain, or 386 litres of rainwater per square metre on September 14. The previous record, set in 1897, was about 40 millimetres less.

  • 10/05/2024

    Karolína Muchová defeated home favourite Zheng Qinwen 6:3, 6:4 to reach the final of the China Open tournament in Beijing. The 28-year-old Czech has advanced to the final for the second time in the season and the sixth time in her career. She will now face American Coco Gauff, who beat Spain's Paula Badosa 4:6, 6:4, 6:2 on Sunday.

  • 10/05/2024

    Former labour and social affairs minister Jana Maláčová was elected leader of the Social Democratic Party at a part conference in Hradec Králové on Saturday. She will replace Michal Šmarda who is leaving the post after three years at the helm.

    The new party chair will face the uphill task of raising the party’s dwindling popularity ahead of next year’s general elections. In opinion surveys the party has consistently appeared below the 5 percent threshold needed to win seats in the lower house. Her main rival for the top post was former foreign minister Jiří Dienstbier.

  • 10/05/2024

    Czech tennis player Karolína Muchová will try to reach her second final this year at the China Open tournament in Beijing on Saturday. Her opponent will be home player Zheng Qinwen, whom she has faced twice so far. She lost to her in the final in Palermo this year and beat her in Madrid the year before. In the quarter-finals, Muchová defeated the world No. 2 and reigning US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in three sets, the latter’s first defeat in 15 matches. The 28-year-old native of Olomouc could advance to the final for the sixth time in her career. Last year, she made it to the final of the Grand Slam Roland Garros. She has only won the WTA Tour title in 2019 in Seoul.

  • 10/05/2024

    Doctors at Prague’s Motol University Hospital have warned about the dangers of the Piercing Challenge on Tik Tok, which has landed several Czech children in hospital. The hospital said it has already  treated five children who swallowed ball magnets and two of them have had to undergo emergency surgery. Apparently they were inspired by the challenge on Tik Tok and wanted to imitate a tongue piercing with the magnets which they then accidentally swallowed.

  • 10/05/2024

    Prime Minister Petr Fiala has asked President Pavel to appoint Petr Kulhánek to the post of minister for regional development and Lukáš Vlček to the post of industry minister. Petr Kulhánek will replace Ivan Bartoš of the Pirate Party, who was dismissed for failing to secure the digitization of the building permits system, while Lukáš Vlček is set to replace Jozef Síkela, who is moving to the European Commission. The president is expected to meet both nominees on Monday and is likely to appoint them on Tuesday.

    According to the prime minister, Kulhánek faces three key tasks: in addition to guaranteeing a functional building permits system and securing more affordable housing, he must also work in cooperation with the regions and municipalities in repairing the damage wrought by the September floods.

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