• Czech TV and Radio license fees to increase after many years
    05/15/2024

    Czech Television and Czech Radio are set to get more funding from next year, under a proposal put forward on Wednesday by the Ministry of Culture. The license fee for both public service broadcasters is set to rise, meaning Czech Television will have CZK 865 million more in its annual budget, while Czech Radio will receive an additional CZK 331 million.

    The last time the license fee for Czech Television increased was in 2008. In the case of Czech Radio there has been no change since 2005.

    Under the new bill all owners of a mobile phone, tablet or computer will now have to pay the fee.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Fiala: Czechia in group of EU states pushing for more action on migration
    05/14/2024

    The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, says the EU’s new migration and asylum pact, which was officially endorsed by member states on Tuesday, is a first step toward tackling illegal migration but does not go far enough. Mr. Fiala said Czechia had thus helped found a group of countries pushing for a more vigorous response to the issue.

    In a statement on Tuesday, he said that the group’s aim was to move the solution to migration beyond the EU’s borders by combating smuggling, creating return centres and entering into strategic partnerships with the countries from which migrants come to Europe. He added that he had discussed this with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Pavel to appoint Ženíšek science minister Thursday
    05/14/2024

    President Petr Pavel is set to appoint TOP 09 MP Marek Ženíšek as minister for science, research and innovation on Thursday. Mr. Pavel’s office made the announcement after a meeting between the head of state and Mr. Ženíšek at Prague Castle on Tuesday.

    The latter is set to replace Helena Langšádlová, who recently said she was standing down from the cabinet post.

    TOP 09 previously put forward another name for the position, Pavel Tujela, but he dropped out following questioning of his academic achievements.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Petr Bartovský to become Czech military intelligence chief
    05/14/2024

    Petr Bartovský is set to become the new director of Czechia’s Military Intelligence Service from July 1. He will replace Jan Beroun, who is set to step down at the end of June.

    The handover will take place on the occasion of Armed Forces Day on June 28, the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.

    The Czech government approved Mr. Bartovský’s appointment in April.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Police report sales of hundreds of fake tickets for ice hockey worlds
    05/14/2024

    Police in Prague and Ostrava say they have recorded around 300 cases of fake or repeatedly sold tickets for games in the World Ice Hockey Championships. Damages resulting from the sale of illegitimate tickets during the first four days of the tournament amount to around CZK 700,000, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

    The great majority of the cases have been reported in Prague, the police said. Most of the victims to date have been Czech hockey fans.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Study: Nearly two-thirds of LGBT+ in Czechia experience harassment
    05/14/2024

    Sixty-three percent of LGBT+ people in Czechia experienced some form of harassment in 2023, according to a survey published on Tuesday by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. This was the highest level of such harassment, including threats of violence or offensive comments, seen in any EU country, the report’s authors said.

    More than 50 percent of LGBT+ people in Czechia said they did not feel a strong need to conceal their sexual orientation or gender identity; however, 45 percent said they had kept it secret at school.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    05/14/2024

    It should be mainly sunny in Czechia on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 22 degrees Celsius. Cloudy skies and lower temperatures are expected on the following days.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Award recognises Pardubice building beside renovated mill
    05/14/2024

    The preservationist group Club for Ancient Prague has presented its annual award for a new building that fits in with older structures to a project by the Šépka architekti studio in Pardubice.

    Its architects Jan Bárta, Marek Fischer and Jan Šépka designed the city’s Central Polytechnical Workshops and Gallery, which is next to the Automatic Mills, an early 20th century building by Josef Gočár that was reopened after major renovations last year.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • April temperature in Czechia exceeds long-term average by 1.5 degrees
    05/14/2024

    The average temperature in Czechia in April was 10 degrees Celsius, 1.5 degrees higher than the long-term average taken from measurements between 1991 and 2020, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said in their monthly assessment of weather patterns in the country. The first half of the month was particularly warm, with the temperature in some parts of the country exceeding 25 degrees Celsius as early as April 1. The first so-called "tropical day", where temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, was April 7, the earliest record of a tropical day in observational history, according to the institute. However, the second half of the month was exceptionally cold, with snow and frost damaging crops across the country.
    Author: Anna Fodor

  • Czech hockey team loses 1-2 to Switzerland in third game of 2024 World Championship
    05/14/2024

    The Czech hockey team lost their match against Switzerland 1-2 after a penalty shootout at the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Prague on Monday evening, the first time the Czechs have lost a game at this year's tournament on home ice. This was their third Group A match, having already beaten Finland 1-0 on Friday and Norway 6-3 on Saturday. Their next game will be on Wednesday against Denmark.
    Author: Anna Fodor

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