Canadian producer S!ck!ck is bringing the dance party to Prague on June 30 at Retro Music Hall!
With over 10 million active followers, S!ck!ck has taken over the remix industry. He is both a DJ and a talented recording artist.
His unique take on current music blended with classic hits creates an atmospheric auditory experience like no other.
Collaborating with noteworthy artists such as Madonna, Post Malone, 070 Shake, Fireboy DML and more, S!ck!ck is making a name for himself in music without ever showing his face.
Bringing together elements of trap, bass, reggaeton, electro and R&B, the masked artist has crafted his unique style of electronica by layering seductive lyrics over hard-hitting percussion.
He has parlayed his recent explosion into a global 2022 touring cycle having just performed at Tomorrowland, Rock in Rio, World Club Dome and his own headline tour.
About Sickick
Despite his musical talent, the idea of fame and crowds was once a cause of anxiety for Sickick. The iconic mask, which is now ubiquitous with his image and music, has allowed him to overcome his fears.
Sickick has received acknowledgements from musical heavyweights like Missy Elliott, Jason Derulo, Shaq, Timbaland and Sean Paul for his creative originals and remixes.
With over 200M streams and listeners from 80+ countries, his reach grows each day.
Tickets on Gouout.cz
Tickets on Ticketportal
- Czech government plans to increase tobacco taxation and introduce a new tax on e-cigarettes as part of its consolidation package. This proposal calls for an annual 5% increase in tobacco consumption tax until 2027 and a 15% increase in heated tobacco products. E-cigarettes will be taxed in accordance with the EU Tobacco Directive.
- Czech Post is increasing its prices for the fourth time in a year from November 1, 2023. The cost of sending a regular letter will increase from CZK23 to CZK27, with registered and valuable letters also seeing a price increase. The company cites a decline in demand and rising costs as the reasons behind the move.
.
- The spa season in the town of Mariánské Lázně in West Bohemia got underway with the blessing of the springs by local clergy on Saturday. The opening ceremony, attended by thousands of people, is one of the biggest events in the town, with a tradition of more than 200 years.
- Sparta Prague beat rivals Slavia Prague 3:2 at home on Saturday evening to put them in a good position to win their first Czech soccer league title since 2014. The result leaves them five points ahead of Slavia in what is called the “superstructure”, a system where the league is divided into three mini-leagues for the final part of the season.
- The all-female Czech group Vesna came 10th in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest with My Sister’s Crown in Liverpool on Saturday night. It was Czechia’s second best result in the history of the international competition, after a sixth-place finish for Mikolas Josef with Lie to Me in 2018.
Planning holiday excursions? Enjoy the most beautiful holidays with a Ticket for Summer (Jízdenka na léto), and travel throughout the whole country by train.
The promotion applies to travel between 1 July and 31 August 2023. It is aimed primarily at travellers who plan to actively travel around the Czech Republic during the summer holidays.
The ticket price is 1390 CZK for seven days and 1990 CZK for fourteen days (reduced prices of 695 and 995 CZK for children up to 18 years, students up to 26 years and seniors).
With it, during its term of validity, one can ride on all ČD trains without limitation, travel any number of kilometres, get off anywhere and then board any regular connection. Only on SC Pendolino connections is it necessary to purchase a reservation.
Other special offers have been prepared for the summer as well, for example, discounted tickets for certain music festivals. Admission discounts have also been prepared for ČD customers on other festivals, historic buildings, tourist exhibitions and much more.
Passes can be purchased at railway ticket offices and on the official website of the company from June 15th.
The Ticket for Summer offers:
- travel aboard ČD trains throughout the Czech Republic for a period of 7 or 14 days
- without limitation with respect to the number of kilometers traveled
- an unlimited number of journeys and ČD train categories used
- board and disembark anywhere
- ticket linked to a person (can only be used by the person specified on the ticket)
- can only be used in July and August
- ticket valid for one passenger on all our trains in 2nd class
- special price for the In Karta cardholder with a valid customer application or for the ITIC cardholder
The Prague Transport Company (DPP) has successfully completed a crucial milestone in the preparations for constructing a new tram line in the former Žižkov freight station area.
Following a smooth environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, the municipality has confirmed that the project will have a negligible impact on the environment.
The preliminary phase of the tram line has received approval in its provisional form, featuring a single-track section and the termination of the sidings. The EIA documentation outlines the timeline for construction, which is scheduled between 2025 and 2026.
The final form of the tram line will include a double-track section spanning approximately 1,300 meters, from Jana Želivského to the Nad Kapličkou stop. Additionally, a single-track line, spanning 600 meters, is proposed to reach the Sídliště Jarov stop near the Auto Jarov area.
Six new stops will be established along the tram line, namely Nový Žižkov, Nákladová, Malešická, Nad Kapličkou, Habrová, and Sídliště Jarov. Parts of the existing railway track will also be utilized for this project.
Moreover, future plans for the Žižkov district include the construction of Jarovská třída, a new road connection between Malešická and Českobrodská Street, passing through the Žižkov Freight Station.
Once completed, a section of the tram line will be relocated and upgraded to double-track along this road. Instead of forming a loop, the new tram line will conclude with a triangle configuration.
Additionally, the plan includes the construction of a new substation on the slope between K Červenému dvoru and Na Viktorce streets.
It is imperative that the tram line be established prior to the commencement of housing development in the station area. Several developers have proposed housing projects that will accommodate an estimated total of 15,000 residents.
The Prague airport is poised to potentially house a casino catering to the wealthiest individuals worldwide.
Two new gambling projects were introduced at a public hearing between the city of Prague and the Central Bohemian Region, in the town of Tuchoměřice.
The Grand Arena complex, developed by GPC Win a.s., intends to build a hotel and multifunctional hall primarily dedicated to international poker tournaments.
The establishment should boast 140 gaming tables, 25 roulette and blackjack tables, as well as up to 400 slot machines. Additionally, it will house a lavish 72-room hotel, restaurant, and bars.
Another casino, featuring live games and slot machines, will be situated behind the Pop Airport Outlet and entertainment center in Tuchoměřice.
This project is led by Kaprain, owned by billionaire Karel Pražák, who already possesses the largest outlet and entertainment center in Central Europe—POP Airport.
The outlet currently offers renowned international clothing brands and Majaland, an amusement park with several attractions, including the Dinosauria museum showcasing original prehistoric dinosaur bones.
Nevertheless, the ambitious construction plans have stirred concerns among Tuchoměřice residents, who apprehend the potential repercussions of a casino within their community.
During the project presentations, the investors’ representatives stressed that their companies have long-standing histories with transparent Czech ownership and organizational structures. Statistics were presented to demonstrate that the presence of casinos no longer correlates with increased crime rates, in contrast to the past.
However, residents expressed anxieties regarding safety, potential surges in criminal activity, prostitution, social problems, and disturbances during nighttime. They voiced concerns about the impact these establishments might have on the local economy and employment opportunities.
Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive to win back territory occupied by Russia has a good chance of success but may bring high casualties if Russia uses its prepared defences well, Czech President and former NATO general Petr Pavel said on Friday.
Pavel, 61, said in an interview that Ukraine needs support for NATO and European Union entry but joining either will be a lengthy process, though talks on the EU accession could start this year.
Pavel, who was Czech army chief and also the principal military adviser to the NATO secretary-general in 2015-2018, said Ukraine would eventually get Western fighter jets it has been calling for but it was impossible to deliver them in time for the upcoming offensive, and there were higher priorities such as ammunition.
“There is certainly high hope that the Ukrainian counteroffensive will be successful, because Ukraine is motivated, well prepared, its troops are experienced and certainly do not succumb to such deficiencies as the Russian army,” Pavel said at Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency.
The Russian army had severe problems in logistics and morale, but a collapse of defences should not be expected, he said.
“Russia has had time to prepare a relatively high-quality and in-depth defence in several lines, which, if used effectively, will cost… Ukraine large casualties,” he said.
It was impossible to say what size of territory Ukraine could win back as various scenarios were open, he said.
“Things do not always go according to wishes and plans but I think that the chance for a significant Ukrainian success is really high.”
Pavel, decorated for saving a French unit during a peace-keeping mission in Croatia in 1993, refused to speculate on when the counteroffensive may start, but said recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure and troop concentration spots were marks of preparations.
Ukraine has asked for fast-track membership of NATO, but Pavel said it would take time.
“Supporting Ukraine’s entry into the EU and NATO should be our long-term target,” Pavel said when asked what NATO should tell Ukraine at a July summit in Vilnius.
“I am not saying it has to be in any given time horizon, because preparations for entry into both these institutions is very complicated, requires long preparation and meeting a whole list of criteria, but we should help Ukraine with it.”
Negotiations on EU entry could realistically start at the end this year, he said, which would give Ukraine a springboard to closer cooperation, helping post-war reconstruction, and speed up the alignment with EU standards.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had hoped the EU would put Ukraine on a rapid road to membership, but the EU has not given any rigid time lines.
“When it comes to NATO… the more stable Ukraine is economically, the bigger chance it will be prepared earlier for entry into NATO,” Pavel said.
Around 3.8 million tourists stayed in the Czech Republic in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, a third more than in 2022, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) said on Friday.
Of them, 1.7 million tourists arrived from abroad, an almost 90 percent increase year-on-year, the CSU said, noting that, as in previous years, most of them came from Germany.
The number of tourist overnight stays in collective accommodation establishments in the Czech Republic was 9.9 million in Q1 2023, up 26.4 percent year-on-year.
“After the COVID-19 crisis, the number of guests was gradually increasing. However, it was still not at the same level compared to the year 2019. Operators of accommodation establishments were still missing a fifth of their clientele from abroad, who were coming to the Czech Republic before the crisis,” Pavel Vancura, head of the CSU’s Tourism and Environmental Statistics Unit, said in a statement.
In Q1 2019, four million tourists stayed in the Czech Republic, the majority of whom were foreign visitors.
According to fresh figures published on Tuesday by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), an estimated 235 million tourists traveled internationally in the first three months of this year, more than double the figure registered in same period of 2022.
Compared to 2019, international arrivals reached 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2023.
The UNWTO said that tourism was “on track for full recovery,” but noted some challenges facing the sector, such as the economic situation and geopolitical tensions.
“The economic situation remains the main factor weighing on the effective recovery of international tourism in 2023, with high inflation and rising oil prices translating into higher transport and accommodation costs. As a result, tourists are expected to increasingly seek value for money and travel closer to home,” said the UN agency.
It was a zappy ending. A Czech man has died — and there’s no way to put this delicately — with a pingpong ball up his bum, after electrocuting himself during a self-pleasuring session gone horribly awry.
The shocking incident was detailed in the journal Legal Medicine by doctors from the University Hospital Hradec Králové where the autopsy was performed.
Authors said the 30-year-old man was trying to simultaneously satisfy multiple atypical fetishes — a practice known as autoerotic paraphilia.
His unorthodox self-stimulation methods involved “body wrapping, cross-dressing, anal masochism, self-fetishism, and lower abdomen stimulation with an electric mechanical massage device.”
According to the case report, the singleton’s parents realized something was amiss after their son, who lived in the same apartment, didn’t open his locked door despite them knocking multiple times.
They called the fire department, who pried open the door with a lever, whereupon they saw their son’s lifeless body lying on the floor.
He was wearing a “one-piece women’s swimsuit” while his lower limbs, trunk and neck were tightly bound with plastic and textile straps, per the case study.
Next to his corpse was a one-handed electric massage device with signs of “wear” that he’d purportedly used on his nether regions. A subsequent examination revealed that the automated masturbation aid had malfunctioned when plugged in while burns on the skin above the man’s penis corresponded to the shape of the device.
This led authors to deduce that the man had died due to “accidental fatal electrocution” related to “autoerotic manipulation.”
Meanwhile, a subsequent autopsy revealed a “strange foreign body” in his intestine, which doctors later identified as a “fancy condom in a plastic translucent box.” Affixed to it was a label inscribed with the victim’s first name.
And that was just the tip of the autoerotic iceberg. The post-mortem probe also uncovered a “ping pong ball attached to a plastic cylinder” that the man had lodged in his rectum.
As a result of his dangerous carnal decathlon, the man had suffered internal organ congestion as well as swelling in the lungs and brain due to trapped fluid. Meanwhile, he also had blood trapped in his heart chamber.
Unfortunately, this is far from the only example of paraphilia, defined by the study authors as “sexual behavior patterns involving unusual and socially unacceptable sexual practices.”
“In professional literature, there are at least 500 types or variants of paraphilia, many of which may result, either in an autoerotic or assisted scenario, in a fatal outcome,” the researchers wrote in the case report.
One notable paraphiliac practice is “urethral sounding,” in which kinksters attempt to stimulate themselves by sticking foreign objects — from double AA batteries to Christmas ornaments to six-feet of string — in their urethra.
Mineral water, cola, juices and energy drinks. The tax surprise caught beverage producers by surprise.
One significant ambiguity has loomed since the remarkable unveiling of the consolidation package yesterday (May 11).
Based on the government’s report and Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura’s (ODS) statement, looks like that beverages would be subject to the higher VAT rate.
Regarding VAT rates, there will be a separation between food and soft drinks. With the exception of tap water (which falls under the 12 percent rate due to water and sewerage charges), soft drinks’ prices will increase by up to seven percentage points.
Štefan Fous from the Ministry of Finance confirmed that the reasons for this adjustment include the growing consumption of energy and sweetened beverages, as well as the frequent sale and distribution of such products in disposable packaging, often made of plastic.
Veronika Jakubcová, executive director of the Association of Soft Drink Producers, expressed her dismay, stating, “The beverage industry views this development very unfavorably. It is a significant disappointment for us, as it will inevitably lead to higher prices for the end consumer.”
Jakubcová believes that the higher tax should also be applied to coffee. Conversely, milk and dairy products such as Actimel and kefir are classified as food items and will therefore remain subject to the lower tax rate.
“We strongly disagree with this decision. Natural mineral waters should remain affordable and accessible to the general public due to their health benefits; they should not be transformed into luxury goods,” said Lutfia Volfová, spokesperson for Mattoni 1873, the beverage group responsible for bottling renowned brands such as Mattoni, Aquila, Magnesia, Poděbradka, Dobrá voda, and Hanácká kyselka.
International Museum Day is held every year around May 18 and is a project of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The theme changes every year; for 2023 it’s “Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing.”
The day was established in 1977 to increase public awareness of the role of museums in the development of society.
The objective of International Museum Day is to raise awareness about the fact that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among people.
You can visit some Prague museums for FREE:
- National Gallery Prague 10:00 – 20:00 free admission to the following permanent exhibitions: Old Masters I., Old Masters II, Medieval Art in Bohemia and Central Europe 1200–1550, 1796–1918: Art of the Long Century, 1918–1938: First Czechoslovak Republic
- National Museum of Agriculture
- National Museum
- The Prague City Museum
- National Technical Museum will offer a reduced admission fee. The discount on the entrance fee does not apply to the mine exhibition tour.
History
The first International Museum Day took place in 1977, coordinated by ICOM.
IMD was established following the adoption of a resolution by ICOM to create an annual event “with the aim of further unifying the creative aspirations and efforts of museums and drawing the attention of the world public to their activity.”
Each year, museums internationally are invited to participate in IMD to promote the role of museums around in the world. They do so through events and activities related to the annual theme. An annual theme for the event was first adopted in 1992.
An international poster from ICOM was first developed in 1997, and in that year was adapted by 28 countries. In 2009, IMD attracted the participation of 20,000 museums hosting events in more than 90 countries.
In 2010, 98 countries participated in the celebration, with 100 countries in 2011, and 30,000 museums in 129 countries in 2012. In 2011, the official IMD poster was translated into 37 languages. By 2014, 35,000 museums from 140 countries were taking part in IMD.
A legal definition of domestic violence, missing in the national legislation so far, was introduced into law in the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
Despite alarming numbers, Czech legislation had no domestic violence definition, which brought significant uncertainty into police conduct or judicial decision-making.
Therefore, the Czech government office created an overarching definition of domestic violence in the Civil Code, which should be in force by the middle of next year. The proposal was presented by the Czech Government Commissioner for Human Rights Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková on Tuesday.
Almost 30% of women and 12% of men in the Czech Republic have experienced domestic violence, according to data from 2022. In the majority of cases, the perpetrator is an intimate partner, while less than one-fifth of the victims report abuse by other family members.
“The experience of organisations helping victims has long shown that our system of protection against domestic violence is not perfect,” she said to Czech journalists, adding that the problem could be even more than presented statistics say.
“The published figures are just the tip of an imaginary iceberg. Only one in five cases of serious domestic violence is reported,” she said.
According to Branislava Marvánová Vargová of the ROSA Women’s Centre, the ambiguous definition of domestic violence is one of the problems complicating care for victims.
Marvánová Vargová explained that in practice there is uncertainty in some authorities as to what is and what is not domestic violence. Therefore, she said, the number of cases could not be judged, for example, by the number of aggressors evicted from a common household.
“The number of those reported is not the number of cases, there are many more. In the Czech Republic, there are roughly 1 000 reported cases per year, but in Austria, which we are inspired by, there are roughly 5 000 cases per year in Vienna alone. In practice, there is a certain uncertainty as to when I can label a case as domestic violence,” she described.
The new proposal defines domestic violence as behaviour towards the victim “by which his or her mental or physical integrity, freedom, dignity, especially in the sexual sphere, respectability, honour or privacy has been or may be unjustifiably interfered with”.
Domestic violence is also considered an act “seriously endangering or impairing” victims’ ability to meet “his or her own needs or those of members of the common household”.
German low-cost carrier Eurowings will launch a direct flight between Prague and Tbilisi.
The carrier will start flying between the two capitals from 30 October 2023.
The flight will be operated twice a week – on Mondays and Fridays. The journey time will be 3 hours and 40 minutes.
Tickets are already on sale. The cost of one-way flight at basic fare (with hand luggage only) starts from 3500 CZK.
It will be the second direct flight between the Czech Republic and Georgia. At the moment, the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air flies from Prague to Kutaisi (Georgia’s second largest city).
The Georgian destination is becoming increasingly popular among Czech tourists. The visa-free regime between the countries, which has been in place since 2005, also contributes to the popularity.
What to visit
Tbilisi offers a charming mix of both cultures, and plenty to do. Cobblestone streets wind through Old Town, a sprawling maze of historic buildings like the Anchiskhati Basilica, which dates back to the sixth century.
On Rustaveli Avenue, you’ll find a string of art museums and so many world-class cafes you’ll feel “like you could be in Paris,” according to a Money reader. Pop into one of the local vintner shops to sample fine Georgian wine.
Getting around Tbilisi is fairly easy — you can walk to many of the city’s attractions or use the subway (be prepared to go deep underground, the tunnels once doubled as bomb shelters). And since many Georgians are multilingual, asking locals for directions is usually a breeze.
Tbilisi’s nightlife is another major draw. Fabrika, a converted button factory that’s been converted into a 400-room hostel, is one of the busiest hot spots, where locals and travelers alike mingle in the array of cafes and bars in the hostel’s courtyard. The sulfur baths of Tbilisi’s Abanotubani district are another must-do.