* POLITICS: The cabinet has added three more names, two individuals and one legal entity, to the national sanctions list created on the basis of the Czech Magnitsky Act approved by Parliament in 2022, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Wednesday.They are Russian politician and businessman Viktor Medvedchuk, politician, media producer and propagandist Artyom Marchevsky, and the company Voice of Europe. * CULTURE: The tourist season officially kicks off in Czechia. Hundreds of castles, palaces and other national monuments administered by the National Heritage Institute are opening up to the public this Thursday, March 28. Privately owned chateaus that still belong to their original aristocratic owners are also opening. * WEATHER: Twenty out of 167 long-term measuring stations in the Czech Republic rewrote temperature records yesterday, March 27th. The warmest temperatures were in České Budějovice – Rožnov, where they measured 22.1 degrees Celsius, over 21 degrees in Strakonice and more than 20 degrees in Doksany in Litoměřice. This is according to information published on Facebook by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ). * ECONOMY: Apartment prices in the Czech Republic rebounded in Q4 last year, rising 6.9 percent quarter-on-quarter to an average of CZK 95,000 per square meter. Deloitte’s Real Index...
* 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...
* PRAGUE: The Railway Administration (SŽ) has obtained a final planning permission for the construction of the railway station Prague – Václav Havel Airport. The station is to be part of the planned railway connection between Prague, the airport and Kladno. * UKRAINE: Iceland has committed to spend two million euros in ammunition purchases for Ukraine as part of a Czech-led initiative to deliver much-needed artillery shells.In February 2024, Czech President Petr Pavel announced at the Munich Security Conference that Czechia plans to send 800,000 artillery shells to Ukraine. Pavel called on European leaders to also pledge their support and contribute funds to this initiative. * POLITICS: Prague could host the Belarusian opposition government led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, which is currently in exile in Vilnius, Czech Senate speaker Miloš Vystrčil said on Monday, recalling that it hosted the Belarusian government in exile about a century ago. As part of her four-day visit to Prague, which ends on Tuesday, Tsikhanouskaya on Monday attended a memorial ceremony at the city’s Olšany cemetery to pay tribute to two Belarusian presidents in exile who served in the first half of the last century after Bolshevik Russia occupied their country. * HEALTH: One-fifth of Czech...
* POLITICS: Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is on a four-day visit to Prague, is due to unveil a memorial plaque to physician Frantisek Skorina on Old Town Square. Skorina’s translation of the Bible was printed in Prague in 1517 as the first Belarusian book.On Monday, Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya will attend the opening of the Belarusian Democratic Forces office in Prague. * EU: Czechia received CZK 1.2 trillion from the European Union between 2014 and 2023, according to an analysis by CRIF, published by the Czech News Agency on Sunday. In addition to these subsidies, Czechia has also received support from the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, as well as subsidies for agriculture from the Recovery and Resilience Facility. * ECONOMY: The state subsidy for businesses employing staff with disabilities will rise by CZK 1,500 to CZK 15,700 from April. According to the documents accompanying the directive, an additional CZK 1.4 billion will be needed this year alone to fund the subsidy increase. Employers have repeatedly requested the rise, pointing to the rising minimum wage and other costs, and warning of possible lay-offs of workers with disabilities. * SLOVAKIA: Ivan Korčok has emerged victorious in the first round of...
* POLITICS: Czechia, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are calling on the European Commission to impose restrictions on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to the European Union, in a letter signed by the agriculture ministers of all five countries. * WEATHER: Friday will be mostly overcast with occasional rain showers. Day temperatures are expected to range between 12 and 16 degrees Celsius. * TRAVEL: Prague’s Václav Havel Airport will offer direct flights to 167 destinations during the upcoming summer schedule, which comes into effect on March 31. The new destinations include direct flights to Verona and Florence in Italy, Ponta Delgada in Portugal, Tallin, Estonia and the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana. The flights will be operated by 68 carriers. * RANKINGS: According to the annual World Happiness Report – issued every year on 20 March, the International Day of Happiness – the Czech Republic is the 18th happiest country in the world, for the third year in a row.The research takes six variables into consideration to draw up the World Happiness Report and index: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. * UKRAINE: The Czech government has transferred the last two Mi-24 attack helicopters...
* TRAVEL: The night train operated by Belgo-Dutch company European Sleeper is extending its service to Prague, the company has announced. An inaugural service departs Brussels Midi station on 25 March at 19.22. The extension to the night train route lands 10 months after its launch from the Belgian capital to Berlin. The service will stop at Dresden and Bad Schandau in Saxony, Germany, as well as Prague. * WEATHER: Thursday should be partly cloudy to overcast with some rain and day temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees Celsius. * ECONOMY: The Czech Republic’s central bank on Wednesday cut its key interest rate for a third straight time amid falling inflation and an effort to help the economy. The cut by a half-percentage point brought the interest rate down to 5.75%. The move was expected by most analysts. * UKRAINE: Finland has joined the Czech initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine, contributing 30 million euros, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen wrote on Twitter (styled ‘X’) after meeting Czech Army Chief of Staff Karel Rehka yesterday. According to Reuters, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair also announced yesterday that Canada’s contribution to the initiative would amount to more than 40 million Canadian...
* ECONOMY: Poverty and indebtedness are on the rise in the Czech Republic, according to the Caritas Cares 2023 report published today. The most at-risk groups are single mothers, the long-term unemployed, the elderly, and people with mental health problems, and the worsening situation is most evident in housing, according to the report. * WEATHER: Wednesday should be clear to partly cloudy with day temperatures between 11 and 15 degrees Celsius. * SECURITY: The Prague Faculty of Arts of Charles University, which was the target of a deadly attack by a lone shooter last December, has started introducing measures to increase security. Changes are being made in the entrance lobby so that people entering the building will be under bigger scrutiny and there are plans to improve the existing camera system and introduce panic buttons that people can use in an emergency. * POLITICS: Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will arrive in Prague on 23 March to attend a conference of the Belarusian community, the opening of the Belarusian Democratic Forces office, and a documentary screening at the One World human rights film festival, her spokeswoman Anna Krasulinova told CTK. On her four-day visit, Tsikhanouskaya will also meet Czech political...
* HEALTH: The Czech Republic has submitted a proposal to the European Commission (EC) for a Czech penicillin factory, Health Minister Vlastimil Valek (TOP 09) announced in a discussion show on TV Nova yesterday. He said it was premature to talk about the region in which the factory would be built. Last December, Valek said that the construction of the penicillin factory should start by the end of the government’s term, but did not elaborate. * SECURITY: The Faculty of Arts at Charles University is enhancing security measures following the tragic December 21 shooting in which a student shot and killed 14 people in the building and injured 25 others. Plans include modifying the gatehouse for better oversight, crisis training for students and staff, and a detailed security analysis of the main building. Repairs on the damaged fourth floor are progressing as scheduled. * MONEY: KB begins reimbursement of Sberbank clients Komerční banka disbursed CZK 3.114 billion to 582 Sberbank CZ creditors on the first payout day through its branches. The process, running until April 15, ensures cashless transactions to Czech bank accounts. Over 15,000 creditors anticipate a total payout of approximately CZK 57 billion. * UKRAINE: The Czech president,...
* POLITICS: Former Czech President Miloš Zeman, 79, remains in ICU post-surgery for a blood clot in his leg, with stable but serious condition at Motol Hospital. His health will be reassessed Monday. Zeman’s aide Vratislav Mynář abstains from visiting per doctors’ advice. Zeman’s history includes neuropathy and recent wheelchair use. Surgeons performed a common hybrid procedure to restore blood flow. * WEATHER: Monday should be partly cloudy and mostly dry with day temperatures between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius. * PROTESTS: Several dozen Russian nationals took part in a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin on Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Sunday, the final day of the Russian presidential elections. The protest aimed to show the public that Russians in Prague stand against Putin and support Ukraine in its defense against the Russian aggression. * BRNO: The Brno Exhibition Centre is featuring an exhibition on space missions. There are over 200 artefacts on display on a space of over 3,500 square meters. Many of them are originals on loan from NASA that have actually been in space. The Space Mission is a travelling exhibition, which came to Czechia from Barcelona and will next head to Asia. * EASTER: Residents of...
* LATEST NEWS: Former President Miloš Zeman was hospitalised after a medical examination on Thursday due to a blood clot which caused the blood supply to his leg to stop. He then underwent surgery in Prague’s Motol hospital to correct the problem. Mr. Zeman’s spokesperson Jiří Ovčáček said that the health issue was related to his diabetes and that he is expected to remain in hospital for about a week. * POLITICS: Czechia and the Philippines are aligned in their assessments of the international security situation, President Petr Pavel said after meeting with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in Prague on Thursday. Mr. Pavel also noted that Czechia is struggling with a labour shortage and that the Philippines is one of their priority countries for workers to come and fill the gap. * WEATHER: Friday is expected to be overcast with a chance of light showers in the late afternoon and evening. Daytime temperatures should range between 8 and 16 degrees Celsius. * ENVIRONEMENT: The Czech state spent CZK 26.8 billion on anti-drought measures last year. The money was used, among other things, for land adjustments, increasing the proportion of organic matter in the soil, and the...
* POLITICS: The Russian authorities have begun criminal proceedings against 50 politicians and officials in five European states, including two Czech ones, over the demolition of monuments to Red Army soldiers, iDnes.cz reported on Wednesday. Among those on the list are the former and current mayors of Prague 6, Ondřej Kolář and Jakub Stárek. * ECONOMY: The Czech-based carmaker Škoda saw its operating profit increase by 182 percent year-on-year to almost CZK 45 billion last year, while sales rose by 26 percent. The information was published by German car company Volkswagen, which owns Škoda Auto, in an annual report. * ANNIVERSARIES: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will speak at a conference at Prague Castle on April 30 marking the 20th anniversary of Czech accession to the European Union. The information was released by the Czech Office of the President on Wednesday. Czechia became a member of the EU on May 1, 2004. * UKRAINE: Ukraine will soon start receiving munitions purchased under an initiative created by Czechia, the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said on Wednesday, the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported. Last month Czechia announced a plan to secure 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine from states outside the EU and...
* POLITICS: Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) yesterday hailed his upcoming meeting with the U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House as an opportunity to further develop Czech-U.S. relations. He expects that the meeting announced for 15 April will not be formal, but will focus on practical cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic and security fields. * WEATHER: Wednesday should be partly cloudy to overcast with some rain in the south and day temperatures between 9 and 14 degrees Celsius. * SPORT: After two years, the NHL will play its first games in Prague, with the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils entering the season on October 4 and 5 at the O2 Arena. The management of the overseas competition announced the event “2024 NHL Global Series” on its website. * LEGISLATION: A group of Czech parliament members plans to address alcohol regulation following laws on psychomodulating substances. They proposed measures like double age verification for alcohol purchases. A draft amendment targets specialized sales, bans advertising, and restricts sales to minors. Past proposals include advertising restrictions and tax adjustments. * SOCIETY: Last year, 92 percent of Czechs aged 16 to 74 used the Internet, exceeding...
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