• 04/12/2024

    The lower house of the Czech parliament has approved the coalition's proposal to increase care allowances for people with disabilities and to increase support for the provision of social services in their home environment. From July, contributions to care will increase by roughly one-tenth to two-fifths.

    The lower house rejected proposals by the opposition to increase some benefits by even more than was suggested by the government. The proposal will now go to the Senate.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/12/2024

    Czechia has still not caught up with the EU average in terms of health even 20 years after joining the European Union, the National Institute for Research on Socioeconomic Impacts of Diseases and Systemic Risks (SYRI) stated in a press release on Friday. Mortality from preventable causes is 25 percent higher in Czechia than the EU average. Life expectancy in Czechia since the country joined the EU has increased by roughly four years, but the difference between the Czech (79.1) and EU (80.7) average life expectancies is still practically the same as it was two decades ago.

    The SYRI says the typically unhealthy lifestyle of Czechs is mostly to blame, such as excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, poor diet and lack of physical activity.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/12/2024

    Saturday should continue to be warm and sunny with some clouds. Daytime temperatures could reach up to 22 degrees Celsius. No rain is expected.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/12/2024

    More information has been released regarding Prime Minister Petr Fiala's trip to the United States early next week. As well as his much-anticipated visit to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden, the Czech prime minister will also meet with the head of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and other members of Congress. Also on the itinerary are a meeting with Czechs living in the US, a visit to the memorials of the late Czech presidents Václav Havel and Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, and a speech at the Hudson Institute.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/12/2024

    Czechia is negotiating a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel said at a press conference after the Three Seas Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday. He said the document could be signed as early as May or June, but added that it is too early to reveal any concrete details about what exactly it will contain. However, he did mention that it would be largely to do with defence, and may involve supplying material or non-material help such as support with intelligence information or technologies, defence industry cooperation or the transfer of production to Ukrainian territory.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/12/2024

    A baby gorilla was born at Prague Zoo on Thursday night, the head of the zoo, Miroslav Bobek, reported on social media site X in the early hours of Friday morning. This is the second baby gorilla born in Prague Zoo this year - a baby female named Mobi was born in January. The new baby lowland gorilla was born to the 30-year-old female Kijivu.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/11/2024

    Imports of Russian oil from the Druzhba pipeline to Czechia rose slightly last year, Czech Television reports. The Russian share of total oil imports to Czechia was 58 percent, an increase of about two percentage points year-on-year. The rest was oil from the German IKL pipeline, which connects to the Italian TAL pipeline.

    The Czech state oil company Mero is planning to expand the TAL pipeline, which should allow Czechia to become completely independent of Russian oil.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/11/2024

    Czech President Petr Pavel met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, where the two heads of state are attending the Three Seas Summit. The Ukrainian president thanked Mr. Pavel for the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine from outside the EU, which has helped the war-torn country with its shortage of ammunition. The heads of state also discussed Ukraine's other current needs.

    The Three Seas is an initiative bringing together 13 countries in Central and Eastern Europe along a north-south axis from the Baltic to the Adriatic and Black Seas, with a view to creating a regional dialogue on matters affecting member states.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/11/2024

    Friday should continue to be relatively warm and sunny with highs of up to 19 degrees Celsius. No rain is expected.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 04/11/2024

    The Riding School in Světce near Tachov in Western Bohemia and the Chapel of the Sorrowful Mother of God, part of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Jevíčko in the Pardubice Region, were named Monuments of the Year on Thursday by the Association of Historical Settlements of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. The Světce Riding School is the second largest facility of its kind in Central Europe, after the Imperial Riding School in Vienna, while the Chapel of the Sorrowful Mother of God has valuable Baroque interiors.

    The Monument of the Year competition aims to highlight the best design and renovation of a building or set of buildings that have significant architectural or urban value but need not have the status of a cultural monument.

    Author: Anna Fodor

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