• 10/07/2023

    The keynote speakers at the 27th Forum 2000 Conference, to be held in Prague in mid-October, will be President Maia Sanduová of Moldova and Czech President Petr Pavel, the organizers informed the ctk news agency. Other invited speakers include  the head of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová, the head of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil, Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Lipavský, Minister for European Affairs Martin Dvořák and Vice-President of the European Commission Věra Jourová. The motto of the 27th edition of Forum 2000 is “For a Democratic World Order” and the debate will focus on how democracies can work together to face common challenges.

    Forum 2000 was founded in 1997 by then president Václav Havel, writer Elie Wiesel and Japanese philanthropist Jóhei Sasakawa. The aim was to provide a platform for personalities from various fields to name and analyse the challenges of the new millennium.

  • 10/07/2023

    The Academic Staff Union has called a nationwide one-hour warning strike in support of higher wages for academics. The hour-long strike has been scheduled for Tuesday October 17, however, academics from the Faculty of Arts at Palacký University in Olomouc and some faculties of Charles University are planning to strike all day. Academics have been protesting against low salaries and inadequate funding for higher education since the spring. Unions are demanding a 15% increase in salaries to bring them in line with other public sector employees. They argue that low salaries and lack of funding are driving talented academics out of the country and discouraging young people from pursuing careers in the field.

  • 10/07/2023

    The European Union can no longer approach the question of its enlargement in the current hesitant manner and must set out a clearer roadmap for countries aspiring to EU membership, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said at an informal EU summit in Granada, Spain. He stressed however that the Czech Republic is not in favour of linking the issue of enlargement with a change in EU decision-making processes and considers it important to maintain the right of veto. The statement came in response to Czech President Petr Pavel's idea, voiced at the College of Europe in Bruges this week, that a debate should be held on how to improve the effectiveness of the EU, floating the idea of introducing qualified majority voting in some areas of decision-making.

  • 10/07/2023

    The Czech president and the head of government have both strongly condemned Hamas for launching terrorist attacks on Israel.

    “The attack by the Palestinian radical movement Hamas is a reprehensible terrorist act against the State of Israel and the civilian population” President Petr Pavel said in a statement on Saturday. He said the rocket attacks and the infiltration of Hamas commandos into Israeli territory would provoke a harsh and justified Israeli response and will block for a long time any efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

    "I condemn the terrorist attacks on Israel," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "My thoughts are with the innocent victims of the violence and I wish our friends in Israel the swiftest possible handling of the situation and the fulfilment of their ambitions to live in peace and security. The Czech Republic has always stood and will stand fully with Israel," he added.

    The Office of the Government said an intergovernmental meeting in Prague, which was scheduled for Monday, has been cancelled.

    The Czech Interior Ministry has ordered increased security around the Israeli Embassy and other sites as a precautionary measure.

    The Czech Foreign Ministry has no information on Czech nationals missing, injured or killed in the attacks.

  • 10/06/2023

    Saturday is expected to be cloudy to overcast but dry, with daytime temperatures of between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 10/06/2023

    The Asian hornet is now in the Czech Republic, the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency announced in a press release on Friday. The invasive insect species was found on Thursday in Plzěn; the first confirmed sighting in the country. The Nature and Landscape Protection Agency, which monitors invasive species, is now trying to find and destroy the hornets' nest in order to prevent the spread of the invasive species.

    Asian hornets are of particular concern to ecosystems where they are not naturally found because they tend to prey on honeybees.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 10/06/2023

    The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi sends an important signal of encouragement and support, both for Ms. Mohammadi herself and to all Iranian human rights activists, Veronika Mítková, director of the Department of Human Rights and Transformational Cooperation at the Czech Foreign Ministry told the Czech News Agency on Friday.

    Mohammadi, now 51, is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence in Tehran for establishing and running an "illegal" human rights group that campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty. During the awards ceremony, the Nobel Prize Committee called again for her release.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 10/06/2023

    Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský met with French President Emmanuel Macron's advisers on EU and strategic affairs in Paris on Friday, followed by a meeting with the French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. Topics on the agenda included the signing of the new Strategic Partnership Action Plan between the two countries, Ukraine, EU and NATO enlargement, and Czech-French cooperation.

    Later in the afternoon Mr. Lipavský is scheduled to meet with leaders of Czech expatriate organisations in France, such as Ivana Cechlová from the Czech School without Borders, director of the Czech-In film festival Markéta Hodoušková, and deputy mayor of Sokol Paris Petra Trnková.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 10/06/2023

    Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine until 1 October this year, 561,605 Ukrainian refugees have applied for temporary protection visas in Czechia. Around 200,000 of those are believed to have already left the country, according to Interior Minister Vít Rakušan, who was speaking to daily newspaper Právo. These people either moved on to other EU countries or returned to Ukraine, said the minister.

    He also refuted the claims of some opposition politicians that the Czech authorities do not know how many Ukrainian refugees are in the country or have any information about them.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 10/06/2023

    French drinks giant Pernod Ricard is considering selling Jan Becher – Karlovarská Becherovka (JBKB), maker of the Czech liqueur Becherovka, Bloomberg reported. The company is valued at nearly CZK 7 billion, with other international drinks groups seen as the most likely potential buyers.

    Becherovka has been produced in Karlovy Vary, West Bohemia for over two centuries. Its maker was bought by Pernod Ricard in 1997.

    Author: Ian Willoughby

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