• 01/16/2024

    Approximately 277,000 entrepreneurs closed their businesses in Czechia in 2023, the highest number since 1993, according to data from Imper, which provides online statistics about Czech companies. The closures are attributed to the uncertain economic situation, rising costs and higher administrative requirements such as mandatory data boxes. Last year, restaurants in particular did not fare well, struggling with higher costs and customers’ unwillingness to spend, Imper reported. Nearly 22,000 people left the restaurant business, compared to 6,209 in the previous year and just 1,526 in 2021. The second most common trade hit by closures was bricklaying.

  • 01/16/2024

    Hamas acts like a terrorist organization and should not be considered the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, Czech President Petr Pavel said on a visit to Israel. During talks with President Isaac Herzog on Monday, Mr. Pavel said Czechia fully respects Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and protect its citizens, stressing that it is important to keep in mind who started the bloodshed and who is the victim.

    At the same time, he expressed concern for the fate of civilians and hostages on both sides of the conflict and announced that Czechia has allocated CZK 5 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians through the World Food Program and CZK 5 million for Israeli health organizations.

    The Czech head of state later met for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with whom he  discussed cooperation in the fields of security, energy, agriculture and innovation. On Tuesday the two sides will sign a memorandum on cooperation in the field of cybersecurity.

  • 01/15/2024

    Czechia fully respects Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and protect its citizens, visiting Czech President Petr Pavel assured his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog during their meeting on Monday. He said Israel was not just a good friend, but a strategic partner of the Czech Republic. At the same time, he expressed concern for the fate of civilians and hostages in this conflict and voiced the view that civilians on both sides should have access to humanitarian aid.

    In the course of the two-day visit, Mr. Pavel will also meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior leaders, as well as with members of the families of people kidnapped by Hamas during an attack in early October. On Wednesday, the Czech head of state is due to visit Qatar, where he will also meet senior leaders.

  • 01/15/2024

    Tuesday should be partly cloudy to overcast with scattered snow showers in the mountain regions and daytime highs between -2 and 2 degrees Celsius.

  • 01/15/2024

    The Czech Film and Television Academy has announced the nominations for the 2023 Czech Lion Awards. The most nominations, 15 in total, went to the film Brothers, directed by Tomáš Mašín. The film tells the story of the Mašín brothers’ armed resistance group and their dramatic escape from communist Czechoslovakia to West Berlin. Second in line, with 12 nominations, is Matěj Chlupáček's film Dawn, a true story of intersex people in the 1930s. The sci-fi film Point of Renewal, by director Robert Hloz and the comedy She Came at Night, jointly directed by Tomáš Pavlíček and Jan Vejnar, received eight nominations each. The awards will be handed out at a gala evening at Prague’s Rudolfinum on March 9.

  • 01/15/2024

    Banks and building societies granted mortgage loans worth CZK 150 billion last year, which is a year-on-year decline of almost a quarter. New loans, excluding refinancing, amounted to CZK 124 billion. Interest rates continued to fall in December, dropping from 5.67 to 5.65 percent in November, the lowest level since mid-2022, according to statistics from the Czech Banking Association Hypomonitor, to which all banks and building societies providing mortgages on the Czech market supply data.

  • 01/15/2024

    Although the state administration spends billions of crowns on housing support, the effect on the housing market is marginal, according to the results of an audit conducted by the Supreme Audit Office. According to the audit, the state has failed in addressing persistent problems in housing policy, especially the availability and quality of housing. The office audited state funds spent by the Ministry of Regional Development and the State Fund for Investment Support between 2016 and 2021. Together the two institutions spent a total of CZK 13.9 billion on more than more than 4,500 projects.

  • 01/15/2024

    Russian intelligence services are still active in Europe and Czechia, spokesman for the Czech counterintelligence service BIS, Ladislav Šticha, told Czech Television. He said the service had registered their continued activities in 2023 despite the fact that Czechia expelled 60 diplomats and staff from the Russian embassy in Prague in 2021. Among other things, the agents are involved in the circumvention of EU sanctions against Russia, Šticha said. In this connection, he warned against the activities of the Russian House in Prague, which is on the EU sanctions list. Although the Russian House is officially closed to the public, it continues to organize isolated events for the public and runs campaigns to attract students to study at Russian universities.

  • 01/15/2024

    The Czech president, Petr Pavel, arrived in Israel by plane on Monday morning, the Czech News Agency reported. During his visit to the country he is set to meet his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior leaders.

    Mr. Pavel will also meet members of the families of people kidnapped by Hamas during an attack in early October.

    The trip had previously been announced but the date had not been revealed for security reasons.

    Mr. Pavel will later visit Qatar, where he will also meet senior leaders.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 01/15/2024

    Czechia lost in the final of the U18 Women's World Ice Hockey Championship in Switzerland on Sunday evening. The Czechs, who had beaten Canada in the semi-finals, lost 5-1 to the favourites the United States at the final hurdle. Captain Adéla Šapovalivová scored the team’s only goal.

    Previously the Czechs’ best results had been two bronze medals in the competition and this was the first they brought home silver.

    Author: Ian Willoughby

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