• 09/12/2024

    The ČEZ power company plans to recruit 4,000 highly skilled professionals within the next ten years, in connection with the construction of new units at the Dukovany power plant, the development of small modular reactors and the modernization of existing power plants, the company’s spokesperson told the CTK news agency on Thursday. ČEZ will also be recruiting specialists in distribution, renewables, energy-saving technologies and digitalization of operations. The company currently employs about 25,000 people.

  • 09/12/2024

    The Czech water management authorities have been releasing water from the country's reservoirs so as to increase their capacity for an incoming flow of water. There is now room for an extra 751 million cubic metres of water in the country’s water basins and reservoirs, Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný said on Thursday evening.

    Due to the extreme rainfall forecast, the Czech Republic was not able to comply with Germany’s request to reduce the flow of the Elbe because of the collapsed bridge in Dresden. In fact the authorities have warned that the flow may increase sharply in all the countries’ rivers as the ground becomes saturated. Czechia is in contact with water management authorities in neighbor states regarding the situation.

  • 09/12/2024

    Towns and villages around the country are bracing for floods following a high alert about extreme weather conditions in Central Europe at the weekend. Extreme rainfall is expected to hit about two-thirds of the country in the course of the next three days, with up to 400 mm of rainfall in some areas. Experts say that a  worst-case scenario could be comparable to the devastating floods of 1997 and 2002.

    Prime Minister Petr Fiala has called a meeting of the Central Crisis Staff to  discuss the precautionary measures being taken. The meeting will be attended by Interior Minister Vít Rakušan and Environment Minister Petr Hladik. Crisis committees are also being set up in the regions.

    Municipalities in the central and eastern parts of the country, which are on the highest-level flood alert  have started erecting flood barriers and  people are working to secure their property with sandbags as well as possible. The authorities have also warned people in the affected areas to prepare evacuation luggage, charge their mobile phones and follow the latest information on their municipalities’ website.

    Due to the weather conditions outdoor events around the country are being cancelled or moved indoors. People have been urged to reconsider travel plans in view of both flooding and the danger of falling trees due to the soaked terrain.

  • 09/12/2024

    A new opinion poll by the Median agency suggests that the ANO Party would receive 32.5 percent of the votes in a general election held in August, while the Civic Democrats would come second with 13 percent. The anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy party would be third with 11 percent voter support, an improvement of three percentage points on the previous poll carried out in July.

    Some 9.5 percent of respondents in the Median poll said they would back the Mayors and Independents and the same number would vote for the Pirate Party, the survey indicates. No other party would cross the five-percent threshold needed to win seats in the lower house.

  • 09/12/2024

    Over 2,000 people attended an open-air concert of Gustav Mahler’s Seventh Symphony performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony at the Prague Exhibition Grounds on Wednesday evening.

    The performance, conducted by Jakub Hrůša, commemorated the world premiere of the symphony, which took place at the same venue in 1908 and feature the combined orchestras of the Czech Philharmonic and the New German Theatre Orchestra of Prague.

    Following the post-war expulsion from Czechoslovakia, it was its former members who established the foundations of what is now known as the Bamberger Symphoniker in Bavaria.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 09/11/2024

    The current situation in Czechia is similar to that in 1997 and 2002, when the country was hit by disastrous floods, Environment Minister Petr Hladík said at a press briefing on Wednesday following the meeting of the government.

    According to Mr. Hladík, it is not just the floodplains that are at risk; flash floods could also impact places where they don’t usually occur. In addition to precipitation, he also warned of strong winds that could cause trees to fall.

    The government has called on people to consider not attending cultural and social events, especially between Friday and Sunday. People in the affected areas should prepare evacuation luggage, have a charged mobile phone and follow the latest information on the government’s website.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 09/11/2024

    Towns and villages in the east and north of the country are bracing themselves for potential flooding due to the heavy rains predicted for the next few days.

    Some municipalities, including Velké Meziříčí in the Vysočina Region, started erecting flood barriers. Many events planned for the weekend have been cancelled.

    The Morava and Vltava River authorities said on Wednesday they had started releasing water from selected reservoirs to increase the capacities for the incoming flow of water.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 09/11/2024

    Thursday will be mostly overcast with persistent rain in Moravia and Silesia and occasional rain in western Bohemia. Day temperatures are expected to range between 9 and 14 degrees Celsius.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 09/11/2024

    The Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute issued a severe flood alert for the eastern part of the country, which will come into effect on Friday. Very heavy to extreme rainfall, which is expected to arrive in Czechia on Thursday, could raise rivers to dangerous levels in the coming days.

    The heaviest rain is expected in the Pardubice, Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian Region, where more than 300 litres of water per square metre are expected to fall over the next four days. The most serious flood situation will occur on the rivers that drain the mountain areas in the north-east of the country.

    Extreme precipitation is also expected in the Vysočina, South Bohemia, Hradec Králové and Liberec regions. Lower level flood alerts will be in place for central and Western Bohemia.

    Author: Ruth Fraňková
  • 09/11/2024

    Czechia will mark October 12 as the Day of Samizdat, celebrating the production of illicit printed materials such as books and magazines under the pre-1989 Communist regime, the Lower House of Parliament voted on Wednesday.

    On October 12, 1988 a group of 92 Czech and Slovak samizdat publishers wrote an open letter to the then Communist president Gustáv Husák condemning the jailing of one of them, Christian activist Ivan Polanský.

    The deputies have overruled the proposal of the Senate to celebrate the day on April 27, which marks the anniversary of the founding of the Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted in 1978.

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