• 08/13/2024

    Czechia has responded to a call for aid from Greece and is sending a team of 75 firefighters and a rescue team to help battle wildfires raging in the country. The team leaves for Greece on Tuesday. Close to 700 firefighters, 17 aircraft, and 16 helicopters are currently fighting a devastating fire that is now just 11 kms from Athens, the closest a wildfire has come to the city in the country’s modern history. The flames are 25 metres high in some places and several villages have had to be evacuated. France, Italy, Romania and Cyprus are also sending fire crews and emergency teams.

  • 08/12/2024

    Police have charged Petr Bursík, Karlovy Vary Transport Councilor for the Civic Democratic Party, in connection with the Chomutov corruption case. He is being prosecuted for manipulating public contracts, for which he faces up to eight years in prison. He has not been taken into custody. Bursík has denied any wrong-doing, but has said that he will suspend his membership in the Civic Democratic Party, so as not to damage the party ahead of the autumn elections. Fourteen other people have been charged in the massive corruption case that stretches across four regions.

  • 08/12/2024

    Tuesday should be hot and mostly dry with day temperatures between 29 and 33 degrees Celsius.

  • 08/12/2024

    Close to 70,000 people visited the Olympic Festival at Lake Most in the course of the past fortnight, trying out over 50 sports and rooting for Czech athletes at the Paris Olympics. The city will keep two sports venues open for the public after the festival closes - a parkour track and a skate park. The organizers now have eleven days to dismantle the other venues. A model of the Eiffel Tower made of recycled plastic will also be taken down.

  • 08/12/2024

    Consumer prices in Czechia rose by 2.2 % year-on-year in July after a 2 % increase in June, the Czech Statistics Office reported. Compared to June, prices increased by 0.7 percent. The year-on-year price growth was driven by price increases in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, as well as package holidays and to a lesser extent, food and non-alcoholic beverages.

  • 08/12/2024

    Czech artists and well-known personalities from other spheres have published an open letter calling for solidarity with their colleagues in Slovakia who are losing their jobs due to a purge implemented by Slovak Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová. The proclamation titled “It's time to lend a hand!” was endorsed by theatre director Jiří Suchý, actor and screenwriter Zdeněk Svěrák and former constitutional judge Eliška Wagnerová, among others. In recent days, Šimkovičová has dismissed the heads of a number of respected cultural institutions, among them the head of the Slovak National Gallery and the director of the Slovak National Theatre.

    The dismissed head of the Slovak National Theatre, Matej Drlička, has described the sackings as “a concerted crackdown on freedom of artistic expression and a systematic assault on state institutions on the part of the Fico government.” The opposition is planning protest actions.

  • 08/12/2024

    Czechia is set to experience its hottest week of the year, with daytime temperatures exceeding 30°C on most days and hitting 35°C in southern Moravia on Wednesday. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute predicts localized thunderstorms, which may bring heavy rainfall and hailstones in places. The heatwave will be particularly intense midweek, with high humidity making conditions especially uncomfortable. While a slight cooldown is expected over the weekend, significant and lasting relief from the heat is unlikely.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 08/12/2024

    The Perseid meteor shower will peak on Monday night into Tuesday, with conditions for observation expected to be nearly ideal, according to experts. The meteors have been visible since July 17th, and their frequency has gradually been increasing. Between midnight and 4 a.m., it will be possible to observe up to 80 meteors per hour in areas away from cities with a moonless sky. Experts recommend traveling far from urban areas to places with minimal light pollution for the best viewing experience.

  • 08/12/2024

    President Petr Pavel congratulated Czech athletes on their performance at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris and thanked them for their exemplary representation of the country. The president wrote on the X network that sport is not just about victories and medals, but it is also about enormous willpower, determination, hard work, pain, time and money, not only on the part of the athletes, but on the part of the entire team and their families. He also praised the organizers of the Olympic Festival in Most for a job well done.

    The Czech Republic won three gold and two bronze medals. The gold medals were won by tennis players Kateřina Siniaková and Tomáš Macháč in mixed doubles, and canoeists Martin Fuksa and Josef Dostál. The épée fencing team and javelin thrower Nikola Ogrodníková secured bronze.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 08/11/2024

    The number of children with eating disorders in Czechia has significantly increased, particularly among girls, with a 200% rise since 2010, now affecting around 3,500 children. This surge, highlighted by data from the Institute of Health Information and analyzed by iROZHLAS, saw a notable spike following the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychologist Tereza Maková advises parents to be vigilant for changes in eating habits, excessive focus on food, overeating, or reluctance to discuss food.

    Author: Vít Pohanka

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