* INTELLIGENCE:
The current security situation is the worst since World War II, the head of the Czech Counter Intelligence Service (BIS) Michal Koudelka said following a meeting with President Pavel on Tuesday. He said Russian expansionism and the possible return of Islamic terrorism to Europe are major threats to European democracies.
* CULTURE:
Bohumil Hrabal’s newly-renovated cottage in Kersko in the Nymburk region will open to the public on May 18, on the occasion of the Hrabal Kersko Festival. The cottage is being restored to its original state when the late Czech author spent his summers there. Hrabal bought the cottage, where he wrote most of his books, in 1965. He died on February 3, 1997.
* TRAVEL:
A new overnight train connection from Prague to Brussels was launched yesterday. The new direct line connects the metropolises of the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium on one route. The journey takes 15 hours. European Sleeper will use its trains to connect the route from Prague via Ústí nad Labem, Děčín, Dresden, Berlin, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp to Brussels and back three times a week.
* UKRAINE:
Slovenia will support the Czech initiative to purchase shells for Ukraine from outside the European Union, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said on Tuesday during a working visit to Ljubljana. According to the Slovenian news agency, the government will allocate one million euros in support of the project.
* EDUCATION:
About 411,000 Czechs have participated in international exchanges as part of the European Erasmus+ scholarship programme in the last 25 years. By 2023, the programme had taken university students on 121,540 study visits and 22,628 practical placements. Staff from Czech universities went on more than 56,800 training and educational trips.
According to the Minister of Health Roman Prymula (ANO), stricter measures against COVID-19 will be announced on Friday.
On Monday, the government will also discuss the possibility of calling medics to help hospitals.
The Czech Republic reported 4,457 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, its highest one-day tally since the pandemic started, Health Ministry data showed on Wednesday.
Read: Czech Republic Reports Record Daily Rise of 4,457 Cases
There are growing concerns about how prepared the healthcare system is as the number of new COVID-19 cases rose by 50% in September, Europe’s second-largest spike in cases.
The government wants to avoid putting too much strain on its hospitals and has said enough beds are still available but further increases in infections could require the reorganization of care and the postponing of non-urgent procedures.
Read: Up to Half of Prague’s Hotels May Close by the End of 2020
Milan Kubek, president of the Czech Medical Chamber, said that as of October 5 around 1,200 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 and 280 of them are in a serious condition, which is now putting pressure on hospitals to reallocate already-sparse intensive care beds for coronavirus patients.
The number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 has climbed to 1,387, of which 326 are in intensive care – more than three times the peak seen when the outbreak first hit.
Education is one of the most important stages for all people. If a person isn’t educated, he/she lacks relevant information that helps to make the right decision.
Non-educated people commonly cannot find a job. Even if they do that, the salary is lower in comparison with educated workers. Smart Czech students clearly realize that. They want to receive the best education and frequently try to study in the United States of America.
Thanks to the process of globalization, the borders are open. Thus, many international students go to the USA to receive a good education. A group of essay writing experts from Advanced Writers know how great the US educational system is. Thus, it’s no wonder so many youngsters from the Czech Republic try to get into one of the US colleges or universities. Is it possible? The answer is positive. You should simply do in-depth research to define appropriate options. Besides, you may subscribe to some informative portals of the Czech Republic. They shed more light on the educational and cultural life in the country. Thus, you may learn a lot of useful tips for your future education.
Useful Websites to Find a Scholarship
It’s not easy to define the best scholarship. Everything depends on the preferences of a student and the program offered by a college or university. Therefore, we recommend finding it using adequate data. There are several great websites, which help Czech students to define a perfect scholarship in the USA.
- The Czech Educational Foundation of Texas
The state of Texas has one of the largest Czech populations in the USA. Accordingly, you should pay attention to CEFT. It was established in 1945 and it promotes learning Czech language and culture. It’s an amazing chance for students to receive a higher education certificate on advantageous terms. Choose arts, language, culture, history, music, or any other specialty.
- ScholarshipsAds
It is one of the smartest sites that help to pick a perfect scholarship. You can easily orient there. You should identify only three important features. Using a big menu that appears right above, select your nationality, a country where you want to learn (it’s the USA for our case), and a degree level. Afterward, press “FIND”. The smart AI will offer all the available options according to your settings. You can choose from:
- Medicine;
- Fashion Design;
- Software Engineering;
- Mathematics;
- Nursing;
- Law;
- Chemistry;
- Management;
- Geography;
- Science and others.
The site offers other countries. If the US direction doesn’t have the program you need, consider other countries. You can also find dedicated web pages, which describe programs of the best universities in the USA, as well as the UK, Canada, Australia, and other countries.
- Current School News
Obligatorily consider this informative website. It provides a list of the full international student scholarships in 2020-2021. You’ll find detailed descriptions of every available option. Of course, there will be a direct link that leads to the official website of a college or university. You can quickly reread the options you need and apply. The website also offers a quick search, useful blogs, and materials.
- Uscollegeinternational.com
Another great option is Uscollegeinternational.com. This site provides the best 20 scholarship programs for international students in the USA. You’ll find detailed descriptions and direct links to such famous institutions as Princeton, Yale, Harvard, University of Chicago, and others. Accordingly, you will possess the necessary data to make the right choice.
Besides, the website offers helpful blogs for students. Most of them describe the cheapest colleges in different cities in the USA. However, you can find other interesting blogs. For example, they are related to the typical problems of international students and how to overcome them.
Quick Tips to Adapt in a Foreign Country
Even if you get the desired scholarship in the USA, it’s not enough. You will live in a foreign country with a different mentality and unknown traditions. Many international students cannot cope with culture shock and have to return home. We want to help you and propose a few quick tips to withstand problems with adaptation. Czech students can use the following recommendations:
- Find a few local friends;
- Learn local customs and traditions;
- Find out the vital facts about the city you’ll study in;
- Practice English with native speakers;
- Focus on the positive;
- Give yourself some time to get adjusted;
- Do not compare yourself to others;
- Find some time to relax;
- Be an active student;
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
The registration system will allow owners of pubs and restaurants to keep an electronic record of customers’ contact details.
Czech citizens will have to register themselves when visiting pubs and restaurants, as in Germany or Britain, Minister Prymula plans.
In the UK, venues “should assist this service by keeping a temporary record of your customers and visitors for 21 days, in a way that is manageable for your business”.
GDPR (General Data Protection Register) rules required the customer to be told why and how their data was being collected and what would happen to it.
“When the Ministry of Health will announce, I will release a comment about it,” Interior Minister Jan Hamáček (CSSD) told CNN Prima NEWS.
Prymula added that a more massive campaign is being prepared in favor of expanding the eRouška app, which is currently used by about 560,000 people.
Further updates will follow soon.
“Social gatherings between 10 and 20 people could be banned in the Czech Republic in response to a sharp increase in coronavirus cases”, Minister of Health Roman Prymula (ANO) said on Sunday on Prima television.
The official announcement is expected to be released on Wednesday or Friday.
“We need to act now to stop the virus spreading. So we are simplifying and strengthening the rules on social contact, making them easier to understand and for the police to enforce.”
Read: Prymula: “New Restriction to be Introduced Next Week”
Prymula also mentioned the need to increase testing capacity. “We should reach 30,000 tests a day, now we are around 23,000”, he concludes.
“It is important to understand that the later we introduce the measure, the longer it will last. That is the reason why we have to act quickly,” Prymula said, adding that he would also like to present a plan for a longer period of time, which would show how the situation can develop around Christmas time.
The Czech Republic reported 1,985 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday and nine related deaths.
Read: 400 Czech Teachers Have Caught COVID-19 Since Schools Reopened
The figures brought the total number of cases to 63,294 and deaths to 591 in the country of 10.7 million people. The number of people in hospitals rose to 809 from 740 as of Friday, the latest data available.
Number of people infected divided by region: