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09/01/2023
The Agrofert conglomerate, belonging to the former prime minister Andrej Babiš, is reported to have sold the Mafra group, one of the largest media houses in the country, and other assets, to the Kaprain Group owned by billionaire entrepreneur Karel Pražák.
The value of the Mafra media group is estimated at around 150 million euros (CZK 3.56 billion).
The company's publications reach 3.24 million readers and 7.4 million internet visitors. They include Mladá fronta DNES, Hospodářské noviny in Slovakia and many other titles, including Lidové noviny, the oldest Czech daily. Mafra has also incorporated Bauer Media's magazine portfolio under its brand and operates the Óčko television station and Radio Impuls.
Babiš was repeatedly criticized for ownership of Mafra while he was prime minister. A new law approved by Parliament bans politicians in high posts from owning media outlets.
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09/01/2023
Saturday should be partly cloudy to overcast with day temperatures between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius.
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09/01/2023
Two-thirds of Czechs are in favour of maintaining the current scope of the president's powers, according to a survey conducted by the CVVM agency. Compared to the previous survey from January 2020, the number of people who would limit the powers of the head of state has fallen to 8 percent. On the other hand, support for strengthening the president's powers has increased, with more than a fifth of respondents in the current survey in favour of this option. The change in public opinion is linked to the change-of-guard at Prague Castle. According to an August poll, President Pavel is trusted by 58 percent of Czechs.
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09/01/2023
The police report a growing interest in acquiring firearms licenses and weapons over the past year, with a growing number of women applying for a license. While in 2022 the authorities granted gun licenses to 300 women, in the first six months of this year alone 400 women obtained a gun license.
Police say interest in getting a gun license increased in Czechia after the war in Ukraine started, but not everyone can meet the strict criteria. In 2021, Czechia had over 930,000 registered holders of firearms, and their number rose by 46,000 last year and over 18,000 more by mid-2023.
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09/01/2023
The Czech National Bank was the target of a DDoS attack on Friday, in the latest of a spate of attacks on banking institutions and the Prague Stock Exchange. The central bank said the attack may result in a slowdown or unavailability of its online services, but assured clients that no data was leaked.
The bank said that it is in contact with the National Cyber and Information Security Bureau, which is helping it to deal with the problem.
On Wednesday, five domestic banks, Česká spořitelna, Komerční banka, ČSOB, Air Bank and Fio Banka, were similarly targeted resulting in disruptions of their websites and online banking services. It later emerged that the banks were the target of a DDoS attack carried out by the pro-Russian hacktivist group NoName057.
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09/01/2023
Addressing a business conference in Prague, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Czechia is at a crossroads and needs to make up for lost time. He blamed the former government of Andrej Babiš for lost opportunities, the country’s dependence on Russian energy supplies, little progress in extending the country’s highway network, and train services hitting a limit, among others. He said the country was unprepared for the risks posed by current developments in the world.
The prime minister said transport, energy infrastructure, nuclear power, lithium, and IT are areas that afford huge potential to change the country and must be harnessed.
The business conference Czechia at a Crossroads is organized by the Czech Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Confederation of Industry and Transport, the Confederation of Commerce and Tourism and the Food Chamber.
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09/01/2023
President Petr Pavel has signed a proposed amendment to the pensions law despite having reservations about it. The amendment is expected to tighten the rules on early pensions and slow down the regular January pension indexation.According to the proposal, the current pension hikes stemming from inflation would be replaced by a temporary increase.
The president is critical of the newly-proposed indexation of pensions, arguing that in times of high inflation it could be more costly than the present arrangement and also sees as problematic the decision to cut the possibility of early retirement from five to three years ahead of the projected date. Nevertheless, he said he signed the changes since they were a step in the right direction.
The Senate approved the bill on August 23 and the government had planned for it to come into force on September 1, which is no longer possible.
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09/01/2023
The Finance Ministry has submitted to the government a state budget proposal for 2024 with a deficit of CZK 252 billion. According to the draft, revenues should be CZK 1.921 trillion, down 0.3 percent year-on-year. Expenditure should fall by 2.2 percent to CZK 2.173 trillion. This year the projected deficit is CZK 295 billion, down from CZK 360.4 billion the previous year. The cabinet will now discuss the draft and should present it to Parliament by the end of September.
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08/31/2023
Fuel prices in Czechia have gone up since last week, with a litre of Natural 95 petrol increasing to an average of CZK 39.75 per litre. The price of diesel rose above CZK 38 per litre for the first time since mid-December last year.
Fuel prices have been gradually increasing since the end of May, and according to analysts, this trend is likely to continue over the next week. However, in the long term prices are expected to fall.
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08/31/2023
The new director of the General Inspectorate of the Security Forces (GIBS) will likely be Vít Hendrych, the current deputy head of the organisation. The parliamentary security committee discussed his proposed appointment to the post on Thursday and it should be confirmed by the government on Wednesday. Prime Minister Petr Fiala plans to appoint him on the same day.
Mr Hendrych is to replace Radim Dragoun, whose five-year term in office ended on Thursday, as the head of GIBS.
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