* NATO: Czechia is marking the 25th anniversary of the country’s accession to NATO. The milestone event in the country’s history is the main focus of a conference at Prague Castle titled “Our Security is Not a Given”. * WEATHER: Tuesday is expected to be overcast and rainy with some wind. Daytime temperatures should hover around 7 to 9 degrees Celsius. * HEALTH: Some 608 new cases of whooping cough were registered in Czechia in the past week, the State Health Institute said in a press release. There have been 2,273 cases since the start of this year, mostly in the South Bohemian, Central Bohemian, and Vysočina regions. * POLITICS: Former US President Bill Clinton will receive a state award from Czech President Petr Pavel at noon on Tuesday at Prague Castle, the president’s office has announced, without disclosing any further details. Clinton is currently on a visit to Prague to attend a security conference on Tuesday. He already received one Czech state award, the Order of the White Lion, in 1998. * PRAGUE: The final phase of the multi-year reconstruction of the Barrandov Bridge began on Monday. The closure of the access ramp from Strakonická and the repair of...
* POLITICS: Andrej Babiš’s ANO party scored an unprecedented win in the latest election poll conducted by the Kantar agency, with an all-time record of 38.5 percent of the vote. This is an increase of 12 percentage points from their result in the last parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s Civic Democrats finished a long way behind in second place with a 14.5 percent share of the vote. * WEATHER: Monday is expected to be overcast with a chance of rain in the afternoon and evening. Daytime temperatures should range between 8 and 13 degrees Celsius. * NATO: Former US President Bill Clinton arrived in Prague late on Saturday evening. He is due to speak at the conference ‘Our Security Cannot Be Taken For Granted’ on Tuesday at Prague Castle, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Czech Republic joining NATO. He came to Prague at the invitation of Czech President Petr Pavel. * SURVEY: Young people in the Czech Republic are more tolerant of ethnic and national minorities than they were in 2020.The findings came from research by the Czech Council for Children and Youth (CRDM), which surveyed 1,000 respondents aged 15 to 29. According to the...
* TRAVEL: An ongoing strike by German passenger train drivers has disrupted international traffic including connections with neighbouring Czechia. On the line between Prague and Berlin, EuroCity trains are due to terminate in Dresden, from where they will return to the Czech capital. The protest action started at midnight and is expected to last for 35 hours. * WEATHER: Friday should be clear to partly cloudy with day temperatures between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius. * LAWS: The Czech Senate has passed, with the support of 66 of the 75 senators present, a new bill on weapons and ammunition that obliges arms dealers to report suspicious transactions, allows for the confiscation of weapons over security risks, and reduces from ten to five years the interval for medical check-ups of gun owners. * SPORT: Sparta Prague faced a heavy defeat against FC Liverpool in the Europa League round of sixteen, losing 1-5 in Prague Thursday tonight. The Reds scored three goals before half-time to silence the home fans on a chaotic night in the Czech Republic capital. The second leg will take place in Liverpool next week. * UKRAINE: Czech President Petr Pavel announced the collection of funds for 800,000 rounds...
* LAWS: The Czech Parliament’s upper house, the Senate followed the lower house on Wednesday to approve changes in the gun law that tighten requirements for owning a weapon following the worst mass killing in the nation’s history. Under the new law, gun owners would have to undergo a medical check every five years, not every 10 years, as they do now. Businesses would be required to report suspicious purchases of guns and ammunition to the police, while doctors would gain access to databases to find out if their patients are gun owners. * WEATHER: Thursday will be mostly sunny with temperatures ranging between 3 to 7 degrees Celsius. * POLITICS: Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský on Wednesday presented the Medal of Merit for Diplomacy to the outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Czechia, Hideo Suzuki. In his speech, Lipavský praised the ambassador’s active engagement and his role in strengthening Czech-Japanese relations. * PROTEST: Hundreds of Czech farmers are expected to take part in a protest in Prague on Thursday against rising costs, heavy regulation, cheap goods from Ukraine and the EU’s Green Deal. The protest started at 6am when farmers will drive their tractors and other farm machinery around the city’s Letenské...
* POLITICS: The Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the French President Emmanuel Macron signed a strategic partnership action plan during a visit by the latter to Prague on Tuesday. The document is focused on European and foreign policy, security and defence, migration, trade, social affairs, science and culture and is valid until 2028. The action plan refers to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as illegal and unprovoked armed aggression. * WEATHER: It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 9 degrees Celsius. The following days are expected to see clear skies. * RIP: Pavel Zajíček, a pivotal figure in Czechoslovak independent culture during the 1970s, died today at 72. Zajíček, known for his role in founding the iconic music group DG 307, authored numerous poetry collections and lyrics. He endured arrest under the communist regime, later signing the Charter 77 manifesto. Zajíček’s contributions were honored with honorary citizenship of Prague in October 2023. * PROTEST: Protests by farmers will take place in Prague on Thursday, when tractors will drive through the city and a demonstration will be held. The protest was announced by Jan Dolezal and Martin Pycha, heads of the Czech Agrarian...
* POLITICS: EU member states should avoid unilateral measures that could increase gas prices for consumers, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela said at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. He wants to discuss abolishing the fee that Germany charges other EU countries for gas transit through its territory. * HEALTH: Whooping cough is on the rise in Czechia, with 449 new cases in the last week. There have been 1,666 confirmed cases in the country since the start of this year, more than in the last four years combined. Around a third of those affected are children and adolescents. * ENTERTAINMENT: The Czech Republic will have a brand new free-to-air TV channel next month as Warner TV launches on 2 April.It will be managed as part of the local Czech linear Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio. Czech viewers will be able to enjoy the wide range of content, including movies and series, from classical films to popular series. * TRAVEL: Deutsche Bahn (DB) train drivers will stage a 35-hour strike starting Wednesday, disrupting German railways and impacting connections with the Czech Republic. The strike, driven by a demand for a 35-hour workweek, halts freight services on Wednesday evening and...
* CLIMATE: About a fifth of the weather stations that have been in operation for at least 30 years set temperature records on Sunday. Most of them were in Moravia and Silesia. The warmest registered temperature was 17.8 degrees in Dyjakovice in the Znojmo region. * HEALTH: Hundreds of people die each year in the Czech Republic of alcohol intoxication. In 2022, the figure was 504, national drug coordinator Jindrich Voboril told reporters after a meeting of the Government Council for Addiction Policy Coordination this week. The Czech Republic is still among the highest countries in the world in terms of alcohol consumption. * SURVEYS: Some 47 percent of Czechs are satisfied with their country’s membership of the European Union, suggests a poll conducted by the Ipsos agency for the Czech News Agency. The survey indicates that for Czechs, the most common reasons for dissatisfaction with the functioning of the EU are restrictions on the sovereignty of member states, EU migration policy and excessive regulation. * ECONOMY: Average wages in Czechia grew more slowly than consumer prices in the fourth quarter of last year, meaning that in real terms wages declined for the ninth consecutive quarter, according to economic analysts...
* RUSSIA: Czech embassy head in Moscow, Jiří Čistecký, will attend the funeral of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny on Friday. Navalny died in prison two weeks ago, and the funeral is scheduled in Moscow, followed by burial at Borisov Cemetery. * EDUCATION: In June, the State Institute of Health plans to conclude a proposal for school menu changes, emphasizing the reduction of processed foods and increased inclusion of whole grains. * CZECHIA: In 2022, the European Union witnessed a severe material and social deprivation rate of 6.1% among young individuals aged 15 to 29 years, according to the latest data published by the European Statistical Office (EUROSTAT). The equivalent figure in the Czech Republic was 1.8%, one of the lowest among EU states. The highest proportions of young people encountering severe material and social deprivation in 2022 were found in Romania (25%), Bulgaria (19%), and Greece (15%). * ECONOMY: The Czech state collected CZK 6.49 billion from motorway vignettes last year, up by nearly 11 percent year-on-year. The total number of vignettes sold in 2023 rose by almost 13 percent to 8,331,877, the state-owned enterprise Cendis, which manages the sale of electronic vignettes, said on Thursday. * ZOO: The...
* LAWS: The Czech lower house on Wednesday approved a bill on same-sex unions. The law should give same-sex couples the same rights as those of heterosexual married couples with the exception of adopting children. The only case in which homosexuals will be able to adopt a child is if one of them is the child’s biological parent. * BUSINESS: The Czech Anti-Trust Office has approved the sale of the Czech liquor company Jan Becher – Karlovarská Becherovka to the Polish group Maspex. The famous brand is being sold by Pernod Ricard, a French company that has owned it since 2001. * POLITICS: An informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries will take place in Prague on May 30-31, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday. The meeting will mark this year’s 25th anniversary of Czechia’s membership in NATO and the 75th anniversary of the alliance’s founding. * CULTURE: The Czech National Bank (CNB) unveiled a commemorative silver coin worth CZK 200 crowns in Litomyšl Wednesday to honor composer Bedřich Smetana’s 200th birth anniversary on March 2. Designed by Jiri Hanuš, the coin features Smetana’s portrait and “My Country” inscription, with a total mintage...
* CZECH COMPANIES: Smartwings has become a fully Czech-owned company after Chinese state-owned CITIC Group sold its stake to local company Prague City Air, that also owns a 70% stake in Czech flag carrier CSA. The announcement comes after Israir opted to suspend talks to purchase the 49.92% stake from the Chinese investor because of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. * CAR PRODUCTION: Škoda Auto is set to launch production of a compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) in India, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.The new compact SUV is expected to hit the roads in the first half of 2024. * POLITICS: An informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries will take place in Prague on May 30-31, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday. The meeting will mark this year’s 25th anniversary of Czechia’s membership in NATO and the 75th anniversary of the alliance’s founding. * TRAVEL: A new regular direct connection from Prague to Tashkent will be offered by Qanot Sharq Airlines from 18 April 2024. Flights to the capital of Uzbekistan will be operated once a week, every Thursday. Tickets can be bought on the airline’s...
* LAWS: The European Commission (EC) has confirmed the Czech government’s decision regarding adding the psychoactive substances HHC, HHC-O and THCP to the list of substances banned in the country, the Ministry of Health has announced. The ban on the sale and possession of these substances will probably come into effect at the beginning of March. * FROM ABROAD: Three Czech citizens have died in an avalanche on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday. According to the Russian News Agency TASS, the accident took place in the Jyrgalang valley in Kyrgyzstan, near the border with Kazakhstan and China. * ENERGY: Czech gas consumption fell last year to its lowest levels since 1992, decreasing more than 10% as customers cut back further amid a savings drive since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country’s Energy Regulatory Office (ERU) said on Monday. The Czech Republic has diversified away from near total dependency on Russian gas since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, turning to gas from Norway and LNG, mainly through a terminal in the Netherlands. * UKRAINE: Czech President Petr Pavel granted permission for 20 Czech citizens to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Czech...
* EU: By the end of last year, Czechia had received CZK two trillion from EU funds since joining the European Union in May 2004. Over the same period, it paid CZK 876.6 billion to the EU budget, the Czech News Agency reported on Sunday. The largest part of the revenue, 44 percent, was made up of money from structural funds intended to support economically weaker regions. * UKRAINE: The Czech non-profit organisation People in Need has already collected CZK 2.4 billion within its SOS Ukraine drive. The organisation’s director Šimon Pánek announced the news at Saturday’s concert within the Day for Ukraine programme, co-organised by People in Need. * CRIME: In the Beroun region on Saturday afternoon, authorities discovered three bodies—a woman and two young children—in a multi-apartment building. The incident is being treated as a triple homicide. Police suspect that the victims were violently killed. * EURO: The Czech Republic must adopt the euro if it wants to be involved in the EU’s future developments, all three former Czech EU commissioners, Pavel Telička, Vladimír Špidla and Štefan Füle, told the Czech News Agency, adding that the EU must undergo reforms. Telička, Špidla and Füle spoke separately to the...
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