Who doesn’t need some happy news these days? Just in time for the United Nation’s annual International Day of Happiness on March 20, the results of the 2021 World Happiness Report have been released—and the results will put a smile on your face, despite the ongoing pandemic that has killed more than 2.6 million people around the globe. Finland has been named the happiest place in the world for the fourth year running, in an annual UN-sponsored report. The World Happiness Report saw Denmark in second place, then Switzerland, Iceland, and the Netherlands. Data from analytics researcher Gallup asked people in 149 countries to rate their own happiness. Measures including social support, personal freedom, gross domestic product (GDP) and levels of corruption were also factored in. “We need urgently to learn from Covid-19,” said report co-editor Jeffrey Sachs, professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. “The pandemic reminds us of our global environmental threats, the urgent need to cooperate, and the difficulties of achieving cooperation in each country and globally.” Besides the happiest countries in the world, the Happiness Report also looked at the places where people are the most miserable. This year, countries like Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Jordan were...
As vaccination efforts have increased across Europe, countries like Greece and Croatia are already preparing for large amounts of tourism. In Croatia, the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tomáš Petříček is currently negotiating conditions of entry for tourists visiting the Adriatic sea from the Czech Republic. Safe locations to visit will be designated by a special marking stating “Safe Stay in Croatia”. According to Petříček, Greece will accept an antigen test as an adequate requirement for those who have not yet been vaccinated. They are anticipating the country’s tourism season to begin on May 14 if safety conditions permit. “They are either being tested or will show sufficient immunity as a result of the Covid -19 disease they have already undergone, or they will submit a negative test for covid-19,” Petříček said. This year trains will continue to run from the Czech Republic down to the Adriatic coast with stops along Croatia at Rijeka and Split. Croatia has long been a popular tourist destination for Czechs. Last year, 511,000 Czechs visited the country between Jan. and Sept. despite the global pandemic transpiring. Croatia has implemented new health precautions for travelers to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among tourists. The Stay...
The Czech Republic is known for its solid infrastructure, a highly educated and skilled workforce, and relatively low living costs and wages. Its location means it acts as a ‘gateway’ to other hubs like Berlin and Vienna, there is a strong presence of innovation hubs, incubators, and accelerators (think Startup Yard). Whatsmore, a whole host of big corporates have set up shop here, such as Microsoft, eBay, and Skype. Below you can find a list of companies working on innovative solutions and showing positive signs like closing recent funding rounds, that we will be watching in 2021. Resistant AI – This startup protects the machine learning system from adversarial manipulation and advanced fraud. Deployed on top of existing systems, Resistant AI provides a typical security layer for financial services, such as protecting payments and detecting fraud or money laundering — and also detects forged documents or spots sophisticated attackers attempting to copy the underlying ML model. Last year, the firm raised $2.75 million in a round co-led by Index Ventures and Credo Ventures. Smartmockups – This startup began as a side project in 2016 when two guys were both looking for a tool to present their website and app designs to clients in a professional...
The Czech government has agreed to extend restrictions on movement among districts beyond March 21 until further notice as the coronavirus pandemic ebbs slowly, Health Minister Jan Blatny said on Thursday. The restrictions, introduced at the beginning of March on top of the closure of schools, shops, and most services and compulsory wearing of FFP2 masks, ban people from moving beyond district boundaries except for work commute and other serious reasons. However, the government decided on Thursday to partially relax the pandemic measures. It will be possible to do sports anywhere in one’s district, not just in one’s municipality as at present. People who have already been vaccinated can also now visit the hospital without undergoing a test. The current restrictions have been in place since the beginning of March, when the government said they would be valid for three weeks. The number of newly infected is slightly declining. The health ministry recorded 10,576 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, 6% below the level reported a week earlier. On Monday afternoon, the government approved mandatory antigen testing in companies with 10 to 49 employees. As for larger companies, the testing is mandatory once per week, with exemptions for employees who have...
The United Kingdom officially left the EU on 1 January 2021. The exit was drawn-out and chaotic. It was also uncertain for a long time whether the UK would manage to strike a deal with the EU or not. Therefore, it is no wonder that many British nationals living in Czechia or planning on living in Czechia still aren’t sure what the rules and obligations are. The COVID-19 crisis has complicated matters even more. Are you a British citizen living in Czechia? The following article aims to help you find some sense in the chaos. Visas and Residency Were you a legal resident of the Czech Republic prior to 1 January 2021? According to the Ministry of the Interior website, if you had the right to free movement before Brexit, there is not much that changes for you post-Brexit. You get to keep your existing residence rights on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement. However, you need to obtain a residence document by reporting your residence to your local office of the Ministry of the Interior by 31 December 2021. To report, you’ll need a residence permit. This means either a certificate of temporary residence (for citizens staying longer than...
Growing conflicts over government restrictions and measures are rising. This week, around 20 people in Smichov were busted for hiding in a bar on Saturday night of March 13. Recently, another confrontation made headlines, when a small business owner prohibited a woman to enter his shop with her child, even when the woman was wearing a mask. This happened at a pet store in Bruntál (Moravian-Silesian Region). The woman was banned from entering his shop because she refused to leave her child to wait for her outside shop. The woman filmed the conflict and posted the video on social media. According to government regulation, only one customer per 15 m² of sales area may be in stores, but for the small stores that do not even take up 15 m² square of space, this does not apply to children under 15 years of age, and for others to children under six years of age. The shop owner has been criticized and reprimanded for his actions, especially since the video of the confrontation between him and the woman surfaced online, but he persists and stands his ground. Reportedly, he has had a tragic experience in his family caused by the Covid-19...
The leaders of Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Bulgaria are calling for talks among European Union leaders about the distribution of vaccines within the 27-nation bloc. Austrian media reported Saturday that the five leaders wrote a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel. That came after Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz complained on Friday that, even though the EU had agreed on the distribution of the vaccines on a per-capita basis, some countries were receiving considerably more than others. The letter asserted that “if this system were to carry on, it would continue creating and exacerbating huge disparities among Member States by this summer.” Officials elsewhere have noted that countries have wanted differing amounts of various vaccines and have not always taken up their full allocation. Austria’s health ministry – which is run by Kurz´s junior coalition partner – was among those rejecting Kurz´s criticism. Oe1 radio reported that its general secretary, Ines Stilling, said negotiations on distributing the vaccines had been “balanced and transparent.”
At the end of March, the Czech government campaign will launch on television to support vaccination against covid-19, said Vladimír Vořechovský, head of the government’s communications department. A few days ago, Vořechovský signed a contract worth CZK 4 million for the preparation of the campaign, while another CZK 50 million will be spent by the Ministry of Health to purchase media spaces. “Preparations for the campaign are in full swing, and a key TV spot will be filmed on March 22, which will be presented to the public by the end of March,” Vořechovský told Novinky. The TV clip should include personalities who have been “hit by the crisis”. The Ministry of Health will buy media space on television and other communication platforms for CZK 50 million. Based on the filmed TV spot, which will launch the campaign at the end of March, other visuals will be created, for example for advertising in newspapers. The campaign should also include sample solutions for social networks or recommendations on how to work with influencers. Latest statistics The health ministry recorded 14,920 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, 1,750 more than a week ago. The reproduction number increased slightly from 0.91 to 0.94. The...
Croatia is ready to take in about ten COVID patents from the Czech Republic and Slovakia each, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković tweeted on Tuesday after his telephone conversation with his counterparts Andrej Babiš and Igor Matovič. “I have conveyed Croatia’s readiness to hospitalize about ten COVID-19 patients each from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, if necessary, taking into consideration the fact that their respective health systems are under strain,” Plenković wrote on his Twitter account. Croatia is showing its solidarity with EU member-states in the struggle against COVID-19, he underscored. The Czech Republic, which has been one of the hardest-hit countries in the world by the COVID epidemic recently, has asked Germany, Switzerland, and Poland to take in dozens of COVID-19 patients as the situation in its own hospitals has reached a critical point. Slovakia has already transferred some of its patients abroad this week. Poland and Germany each have said that they can hospitalise ten patients from that country.
AstraZeneca cut its supply forecast of Covid-19 vaccine to the European Union in the first quarter to about 30 million doses, a third of its contractual obligations, and a 25 per cent drop from pledges made last month, a document seen by Reuters shows. On Feb. 25, AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot told the European Parliament that the company would try to deliver 40 million doses by the end of March. The document shows that on Feb. 24, the Anglo-Swedish company had estimated a supply of only 34 million doses to the EU for the January to March period, well below its contracted target of 90 million doses. The new cut follows a decision last week by Italy and the European Commission to block a shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines from Italy to Australia, in the first application of an EU mechanism that allows the bloc to refuse export requests from vaccine makers that do not comply with EU supply contracts. AstraZeneca has committed to making its “best reasonable efforts” to meet the targets set in its contract with the EU, which foresees delivery of 300 million doses from December to the end of June. The vaccine was approved for use in...
Jan Masaryk, the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia in the 1940s of Czechoslovakian descent, died on March 10, 1948, in the courtyard of the Černín Palace in Prague. He fell to his death and was found outside, his corpse laid below his bathroom window. The case of Masaryk’s death has remained unsolved until now, with authorities failing to reach a conclusion. Unfortunately, police have decided to shelf the case, meaning it will remain a cold case for an indefinite amount of time. Masaryk’s death according to official ruling states that he committed suicide, but his case has been reopened several times, and each time three possible scenarios have been hypothesized and considered: murder, accident, or suicide. All previous investigations concluded that the first investigation was ‘sloppy’ and poorly executed and wrapped up. The first investigation ruled our Masaryk’s case as death by suicide. March 10 2021, just yesterday, was the 73rd anniversary of Masaryk’s death, and Michal Muravský, Prague Public Prosecutor and supervisor of the Masaryk case, sheds insight on the updates of the investigations in an interview with Czech news reporters. “Even the supplementary investigation failed to establish such facts that would allow a clear conclusion to be drawn on...
Police officers in Uherské Hradiště are facing criticism for Wednesday’s intervention against a man for not wearing a face mask or a respirator. The man was walking outside with his child. According to mayor Stanislav Blaha (ODS), both police officers are currently out of service. “We’re sorry the child witnessed it, but before I come to any hasty conclusions, I will first investigate what really happened, and what preceded the incident,” he added. The man repeatedly refused to prove his identity and wear a respirator. In addition, according to the officers, he tried to leave the place. As of Monday, March 1, 2021, at least a surgical mask, respirator, or similarly protective device is mandatory in the built-up areas of cities. In the riskiest places, such as shops or public transport, two surgical masks are no longer an option. People have to wear at least a respirator FFP2 or nano-filter mask. The respirator becomes mandatory at work as well. Employees will be able to take it off only if they are alone in their workplace.
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