If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. The validity of Covid-19 vaccination certificates will be reduced to only nine months from January 2022, outgoing health minister Adam Vojtěch announced on Thursday. Another vaccination center will open on December 13 in the Kotva shopping center in Prague. It will be operated by the General University Hospital (VFN). A court in Paris has convicted three Czech men for assaulting Thai political refugee Aung Neko in a Paris café in November 2019, the French daily Le Monde reported on Thursday. The largest P + R car park in Prague has opened in Černý Most. It has a capacity of almost nine hundred cars. The construction cost about half a billion crowns. A total of 302 doctors for adults and 24 pediatricians met the call by the Doctors Help Czechia initiative on the first day and reported their readiness to start vaccination against Covid-19 in their offices, the initiative, whose goal is to speed up the vaccination.
Czech traveller, writer, and publicist Miroslav Zikmund has died at the age of 102. Miroslav Zikmund is known mainly for the travel expeditions he made together with Jiří Hanzelka between the 1940s and 1960s and during which they, literally, travelled all over the world. They described the experiences gained during their travels in their books and thus enabled people in Czechoslovakia to learn something new about foreign countries. They even had a radio show on Czechoslovak Radio, where the nation could listen to the duo’s international adventures. However, after 1968, their activities were impeded by the regime, therefore, Miroslav Zikmund was able to return to travelling only after 1989. Hanzelka and Zikmund shared the fate of other Czechoslovak dissidents in the post-Prague Spring era, living meagerly for 21 years in menial jobs until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Hanzelka was one of the dissident speakers at Wenceslas Square when the revolution began on 19 November. With the fall of the Communist government, Hanzelka and Zikmund were again acclaimed as heroes, with extensive interviews and rebroadcasts of their films. Life of Dreams and Reality, a new book about their travel experiences, was published on 22 April 1997, the fiftieth anniversary of the start of their first trip....
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. Pensioners and students can at the moment travel by train and bus at a 75% discount on the total ticket price. However, these transport discounts will soon not be valid because the future government of Petr Fiala is planning changes. Martin Kupka (ODS), a candidate for transport minister, confirmed the speculation. Leading Communist-era dissident Petr Uhl has died at the age of 80. He was a co-founder of the Charter 77 human rights movement. The Czech police have ordered Belarusian football chief Vladimir Bazanov to leave the Czech Republic by December 1, news portal Denik N reported on Wednesday. He and his wife were detained for several hours on Tuesday by migration police in the Moravian-Silesian Region after entering the country without a visa. The monoclonal antibody drugs from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and probably also from Eli Lilly may not be effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Czech immunologist Zdenek Hel said on Twitter on Wednesday. A total of 302 doctors for adults and 24 pediatricians met the call by the...
Petr Uhl, a prominent Czech journalist and human rights activist jailed by former communist rulers, died on Wednesday, news agency CTK reported. He was 80. Uhl was a lifelong leftist but never joined the Communist Party that governed Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1989, and was respected by democratic activists of all political convictions. He drew inspiration from west European leftists in Paris where he repeatedly traveled in his youth. He set up a radical leftist youth movement in the 1960s that spoke out against repressions following the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and was jailed for four years on charges of subversion. He was one of the founders in late 1976 – alongside future president Vaclav Havel – of the Charter 77 human rights movement which became the main platform of peaceful opposition to the communist government. “Petr Uhl was a brave and straight-forward man who did not change his stance or opinions according to the current expectations in society,” former fellow dissident, Catholic bishop Vaclav Maly told CTK. The country’s incoming center-right government also paid tribute to him. No cause of death was given. “I esteemed Petr Uhl for his courage and persistence in the fight against the communist...
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, living standards in the Czech Republic approached the average level in the European Union last year. In addition, the Czech Republic maintained the lowest unemployment rate in the EU. Gross domestic product per capita based on purchasing power parity rose to 94 percent of the EU average last year from the previous 92 percent. The Czech Republic is thus at the level of Italy and above the level of Portugal (77 percent) and Spain (86 percent), according to data published by the Czech Statistical Office in the Statistical Yearbook 2021. This indicator was lowest in Bulgaria, which was at 55 percent of the EU average. On the other hand, Luxembourg had the highest level at 266 percent. The Czech economy contracted by 5.6 percent last year, which was the biggest decline in the history of the independent Czech Republic. Last year, the economies of all EU countries, except Ireland, declined. At the same time, last year, the country maintained the status of a country with the lowest unemployment rate within the EU for the fifth year in a row. Namely, it was at 2.6 percent. Poland had the second-lowest unemployment rate with 3.2 percent, followed by...
Cities are looking for a way around the government’s ban on Christmas markets. One trick, already in use by the city of Most, is to rename the traditional event; in their case, the Christmas market is now the Winter Farmers Market. Lawyers say government measures allow for different loops. However, they consider the ban on Advent markets to be meaningless. According to the daily Echo24, the cabinet of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) issued the ban before it was assessed by experts from the government’s legislative council. The stalls were already standing in the squares, the merchants had bought goods, and last Thursday a government decree banning the Christmas markets came. Some town halls immediately started counting losses. However, they did not give up in Most. Similarly, Prague 1 has transformed the Advent tradition into a cultural event, in which the government now allows the participation of hundreds of people. Both are likely to provide a way to circumvent government anti-pandemic measures. “The measure is so stupidly written that this procedure is really possible,” lawyer Ondřej Dostál, who has successfully challenged some anti-pandemic measures in court in the past. “For an incomprehensible reason, the measure is only aimed at the...
A regular study by the European Commission has once again confirmed that the Czech Republic has one of the most expensive mobile tariffs in the European Union. Mobile users from neighbouring countries are significantly better off than they are over here. The Czech Republic was the worst of the entire “twenty-seven” in virtually all twelve consumer baskets compared, combining different data volumes with different numbers of free minutes. The last place is shared with Cyprus, compared to which the Czechia did better only in a basket with 20 GB of data and no free minutes. Cyprus, on the other hand, performed better with a basket with 0.5 GB of data and 30 free minutes. Placed at the top of each of the consumer baskets, Poland is traditionally the best-rated country for its cheap offers. Czech mobile users pay almost eight times more for this volume of services than Polish ones. It is the offers of Polish operators that are very often mentioned as a counterweight to the expensive mobile services of domestic operators. In terms of the most attractive prices, Poland is followed by Romania, Estonia, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia. The European Commission collected data for the current comparison during...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. Candidate for the minister of European affairs Mikulas Bek was received by President Milos Zeman at the Lany manor on Tuesday, to discuss issues related to the Czech EU presidency starting in mid-2022, Bek has told reporters. Prime Minister-designate Petr Fiala has convened the first informal government meeting of the government slated to come to power in mid-December. Fiala’s cabinet is to comprise the election-winning Together alliance of the ODS, Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and TOP 09 and of the Pirates/STAN tandem. The Prague City Hall announced on Tuesday to cancel all festivities on New Year’s Eve, including the fireworks and projection mapping, due to rising Covid-19 infection numbers. This is the second year in a row that all New Year’s celebrations are cancelled at the municipality. The new government program aims to strengthen the protection of the landscape and biodiversity in the Czech Republic, as both an environmental and a political issue. It also envisions the Czech Republic becoming an active and proactive player in the negotiation of the European Green Deal. ...
The Czech Republic’s outgoing and incoming prime ministers put aside their differences on Tuesday to support an initiative to administer 1 million COVID-19 booster shots in a week. Outgoing Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Petr Fiala, the prime minister-designate, voiced their support for the plan announced by the “Doctors help the Czech Republic” group that aims to provide relief struggling hospitals. “The pandemic doesn’t know any political barriers,” Babis said about the unusual partnership. “There are moments when we need to show our common will,” Fiala said. The country has been facing a record surge of coronavirus infections. The new daily increase hit an all-time high of almost 28,000 cases on Thursday. The infection rate was 1,230 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days on Monday, currently making it one of the hardest-hit countries. A number of COVID-19 patients needing intensive care surpassed 1,000 on Monday for the first time since April 14, with the overall number of hospitalized at 6,394 on Monday. About 30% of them have received two shots of a vaccine, while authorities hope the booster shot makes a difference. The initiative has called on their colleagues from outpatient clinics to help speed up...
Czech President Miloš Zeman called on Visegrad countries to follow the Austrian example and make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for everyone. “We should think about mandatory vaccination as Austria did because it seems like the only way to end the COVID crisis,” Zeman said during his online meeting with his counterparts from Visegrad countries – Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. Zeman could not join the V4 presidential meeting in person, as he was recently released from the hospital where he was treated for liver cirrhosis. He also tested positive for COVID-19. According to Zeman, politicians are avoiding obligatory vaccine decisions because it would be a very unpopular move. Zeman himself is aware that his supporters would be against such a measure. “All the politicians are afraid to say that mandatory vaccination is the only solution because they would lose votes. I can do it because after ten years, my presidential mandate is coming to an end,” Zeman said. Zeman is performing his duties again after a 6-week stay in hospital. As he has not completely recovered and he is COVID-19 positive, his ability to work is limited. On Friday, Zeman appointed Petr Fiala as the new Czech Prime Minister, raising eyebrows as...
Sellers and operators of the canceled Christmas markets will receive higher compensation, said Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček (ANO) via Twitter. Compensation should range from 30 to almost 100 percent, the minister said on Czech Television. According to Havlíček, the agreement with representatives of the trade unions is scheduled for Sunday. The resigned government ordered the closure of Advent markets on Friday at 6 p.m. as a measure against the spread of coronavirus. “Operators of Christmas stalls and Advent markets will achieve higher compensation. We are already preparing their parameters with the representatives of the trade unions, we want to have a final agreement on Sunday evening, we will publish on Monday,” Havlíček wrote on Twitter. According to him, every limited or closed establishment will receive support. Compensation is likely to follow three levels of revenue shortfalls: 30 to 50 percent, 50 to 100 percent and complete closure, the minister said on Czech Television. “Of course, for those who have to close, the compensation will be maximum, that is, it will be close to one hundred percent,” he said. According to Havlíček, the final meeting with business representatives is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sunday. The sale of...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. Health Minister Adam Vojtěch (ANO) proposes that selected groups should be vaccinated against coronavirus from 1 March 2022. Compulsory vaccination should apply to people over 60 years of age, police officers, soldiers, and other armed forces, as well as firefighters and health and social care workers. On December 18th, Prague will host a day of activities dedicated to Václav Havel, including concerts, screenings, exhibitions, meetings and discussions that celebrate the 10th anniversary of Havel’s death. The Liberec hospital confirmed that the woman who caught coronavirus had the Omicron variant and is the first confirmed case of this variant in Czechia. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers Omicron alarming because it is potentially more transmissible than other variants. Sellers and operators of the canceled Christmas markets will receive higher compensation, said Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček (ANO) via Twitter. Compensation should range from 30 to almost 100 percent, the minister said on Czech Television. Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia should be considering making vaccination against COVID-19 obligatory as it seems to...
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