• Authority confirms sale of Mafra from Babiš trust funds can go ahead
    01/30/2024

    Czechia’s Office for  the Protection of Competition has confirmed that the takeover of the media group Mafra, radio stations operator Londa and a chemicals company by the Kaprain group from trust funds set up by former prime minister Andrej Babiš can go ahead.

    The anti-trust authority said on social media that a decision to allow the change of hands had come into effect on Monday.

    Mafra includes the newspapers Mladá fronta Dnes and Lidové noviny. It was bought by Mr. Babiš's Agrofert in 2013.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Brno police escort man with gun from university premises
    01/30/2024

    Police officers escorted a young man carrying a legally held gun away from a university building in Brno on Saturday, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday. The man was acting distracted and agitated in an auditorium holding 200 people during an open day event at the city’s Faculty of Education.

    Doctors must now decide whether he will be allowed to retain his gun license.

    Universities in Czechia have been on greater alert since 14 people died in a shooting incident at Prague’s Charles University in December.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Statistics Office: Czech economy contracted 0.4 percent in 2023
    01/30/2024

    The Czech economy contracted last year by 0.4 percent, according to a preliminary estimate issued by the Czech Statistics Office on Tuesday. That followed growth in gross domestic product of 2.4 percent in 2022.

    Analysts said last year’s contraction was caused by high inflation. However, data from the fourth quarter of 2023, when there was marginal growth, give hope for a turnaround, they said.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Fiala welcomes Rakušan explanation of ČEZ statements
    01/30/2024

    Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Civic Democrats says he is glad deputy PM Vít Rakušan of the Mayors has cleared up incorrect statements he made regarding semi-state power company ČEZ.

    At a public meeting in West Bohemia on Monday evening Mr. Rakušan said the government was discussing the buyout of minority shareholders in ČEZ and that he hoped the state would buy back the company. He later said no such steps were taking place.

    Mr. Fiala said on Tuesday that it would be good if the cabinet did not come out with any surprises and that its members should focus on consensus.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    01/30/2024

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 5 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Month-long event for faculty stricken by mass shooting ends
    01/30/2024

    An event intended to help the Faculty of Arts at Prague’s Charles University recover from a mass shooting on December 21 comes to an end on Tuesday.

    The Month for the Faculty is set to conclude with a concert by the Czech Philharmonic at Prague’s Rudolfinum, which is opposite the Faculty of Arts, and the extinguishing of a fire of commemoration in front of the building.

    The Faculty of Arts has given tickets for the concert to those have provided assistance in the wake of the shooting and helped restore normal life there.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Five children hospitalized after consuming jelly sweets with HHC
    01/30/2024

    Five schoolchildren from different schools in the Karlovy Vary region ended up in hospital in January after consuming jelly sweets containing HHC, which are legally available on the internet and in vending machines. According to Novinky.cz a number of them ended up in intensive care. It is not clear how much of the sweets they consumed since the symptoms included confusion and partial loss of memory. Products with HHC are sold in various vending machines, for example in hypermarkets, in the form of gelatin cubes, balls or teddy bears of various colors and flavors. They contain the psychoactive compound HHC as a food supplement.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czechia scores 57 points in 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index
    01/30/2024

    Czechia has slightly improved its standing in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index compiled by Transparency International. The country scored 57 out of a possible 100 points, compared to 56 in 2022. According to Transparency Czech Republic, the lack in significant progress in addressing corruption in this country is “a long-term absence of an effective strategy on the part of this and past governments”. Denmark leads the index with a 90 percent score for the sixth consecutive year, while Somalia is bottom of the list with a score of 11.

    The organization measures the perception of public sector corruption according to 13 data sources including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and private risk and consulting companies. It ranks 180 countries and territories on a scale from a “highly corrupt” to “very clean”.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Weather forecast
    01/29/2024

    Tuesday should be partly cloudy to overcast with day temperatures between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius.

  • Respiratory infections in Czechia reach epidemic levels
    01/29/2024

    The number of acute respiratory infections in Czechia  have reached epidemic levels, according to Health Ministry Data. Doctors have reported a 23 percent increase in patients in a week-on-week comparison with 1,748 patients per 100 000 inhabitants. The epidemic threshold is considered to be between 1,600 and 1,800 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the data released, the most affected group are preschool children. On the other hand, according to available statistics, the number of Covid-19 cases appears to be decreasing.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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