• 06/25/2024

    President Petr Pavel has appointed Veronika Křesťanová vice-chair of the Constitutional Court. She is replacing Vojtěch Šimíček whose ten-year term in office expired earlier this month. The head of state also appointed two new constitutional court judges, Jiří Přibáň and Tomáš Langášek, whose nomination was approved by the Senate last week.

    Křesťanová became a constitutional court judge last August. Přibáň graduated from the Faculty of Law at Charles University and is a professor of law at Cardiff University in Wales. Langášek has been a judge of the Supreme Administrative Court since March 2013.

  • 06/25/2024

    On a working visit to Ankara, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský on Tuesday met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to discuss bilateral ties, Turkish-EU relations and global security issues in the light of Russian imperialism. The Turkish diplomatic chief said that Turkey was grateful to the Czech Republic for supporting its EU accession efforts. He also expressed the hope that the war in Ukraine could be ended through peace talks and noted that war crimes were being committed in the Gaza Strip every day. Lipavský highlighted the fact that the Czech Republic and Turkey have been allies in NATO for 25 years. He thanked Turkey for its support for Ukraine, noting that in helping Ukraine, Turkey is helping the Czech Republic and the whole of Europe, since Russian imperialism is now the biggest threat to the continent.

  • 06/25/2024

    The first shipment of ammunition for Ukraine, organized by Czechia, has arrived in the country, Prime Minister Fiala said on the X network on Tuesday. The Czech head of government said at the end of May that 15 EU and NATO member countries have so far contributed more than 1.6 billion euros (39.5 billion crowns) to the initiative, in which Czechia is acquiring artillery ammunition for Ukraine from countries outside of the European Union. The government will not be disclosing details about the amount of ammunition delivered or its origin.

  • 06/25/2024

    Carmaker Škoda Auto will extend the production of its Fabia, Kamiq and Scala models to the end of this decade, the head of the company, Klaus Zellmer, said in an interview with Seznam Zprávy published on Tuesday. The reasons are a slower than expected transition to electric cars at Czechia’s biggest exporter, as well as high demand for those models internationally.

    Production of the Kodiaq, Superb and Octavia lines will continue even after 2030, Mr. Zellmer said.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 06/25/2024

    Argentinean President Javier Milei met Czech leaders including President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala in Prague on Monday evening, as well as making a speech at a conference on ineffective government at the city’s Žofín Palace.

    After talks with President Pavel at Prague Castle Mr. Milei said that both their countries supported Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, against brutal Russian aggression and also agreed on Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 06/24/2024

    The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský, opened an annual meeting of the country’s economic diplomats and representatives of the CzechTrade and CzechInvest agencies on Monday. The event at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Czernin Palace HQ in Prague brought together 170 economic, agricultural and scientific diplomats from Czech embassies and representatives of CzechTrade and CzechInvest foreign offices.

    Addressing the delegates, Mr. Lipavský said the threat of Russian imperialism and the deterioration of the international milieu in recent years had forced Czechia to rethink its economic interests. He said the country had to eliminate dependence on unreliable suppliers, diversify sources and deepen cooperation with democratic partners.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 06/24/2024

    It should be mainly sunny in Czechia on Tuesday, with an average high temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. The following days are expected to be slightly warmer, but overcast.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 06/24/2024

    Former javelin world champion and two-time Olympic bronze medalist Vítězslav Veselý has ended his career at the age of 41, the Czech Athletics Federation announced on its website on Monday.

    Veselý, who has not competed in two years, is due to make his final bow at the national athletics championships in Zlín next Sunday.

    His Olympic medals came in 2012 and 2021, while he was crowned world champion in 2013 and European champion in 2012.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 06/24/2024

    The well-known Czech film producer Jan Jíra has died at the age of 87. Jíra started out working in cinemas in the 1960s and became a producer in 1990. One of his biggest successes was as co-producer of Kolya, which won an Academy Award in 1997, while he also had a hand in such popular films as Loners in 2000.

    Last year he received a Czech Lion award for his contribution to the country’s cinema.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 06/24/2024

    Dagmar Havlová, who was the sister-in-law of the late Czech politician Václav Havel, has sold a majority stake in the Prague centre Lucerna Palace for almost CZK 1 billion, Forbes reported on Monday, citing both the seller and the buyer, the company BTL.

    Mrs. Havlová is retaining a 25 percent stake in the Lucerna Palace, which was built by the grandfather of Václav Havel and her late husband Ivan Havel.

    She said money raised in the sale would be put into renovating the building. It was declared a national cultural landmark in 2017.

    Author: Ian Willoughby

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