Czech Republic Increases Quote for Ukrainian Guest Workers

Baby Girl Born to Brain-Dead Mother in Czech Hospital

Does Prague Need A Second Airport?

Czech Republic Ranks 108th on Global Slavery Index 2018

According to the Global Slavery Index 2018, the Czech Republic ranks 108th out of 167 countries. There are currently over 30,000 people living in “modern slavery” in the country. Offenders use them mainly for seasonal work or in construction. The country sentenced 16 people for human trafficking last year, according to data released by the Ministry of the Interior. The study, conducted by Australia’s Walk Free Foundation, scores nations based on “combining the proportion of the population that is enslaved, the numbers in child or early marriages and the level of trafficking into or out of the country.” While this only consists of 0.36 % of the Czech population of 10.5 million, this is more than 7 times higher than the average of 0.05 % in other Western European nations. The Czech Republic is a primary destination for migrant workers from surrounding European nations, mainly from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania or Vietnam. Migrant workers are often more vulnerable to trafficking or forced labor. The 2018 edition builds on the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, which estimated that 40.3 million people were in some form of slavery on any given day in 2016. The Index provides rankings across three dimensions: Size of...

Burčák Season is Coming!

Wine harvest is in full swing throughout September and October, but Burčák season has officially started. “Burčák” is partially fermented young wine and it is a very popular drink in Moravia, Austria, and Bavaria. This alcoholic wine drink is produced when pressed grape juice is partially fermented. Its consumption is typically connected with the first autumn days. The law states that to be labeled a Burčák, the product has to be made of Czech or Moravian fruits and can only be sold between August 1 and November 30 of the year. The drink is considered to be a national treasure. Moravians are very passionate about the drink and claim that drinking seven liters per year guarantees good health in the upcoming year! The first burčák has gone on sale in South Moravia. Among those offering the fermented young wine is Miloslav Machuča from Valtice, who began selling it on Friday.  To enjoy a fresh glass of Burčák in Prague, one can take part in popular wine festivals called Vinobraní. There is a number of festivals celebrating the wine harvest, where locals like to enjoy a cup of Burčák accompanied by live music, entertainment, and traditional Czech food. The most popular one is festival Vinobraní...

Říčany Named Best Place to Live in Czech Republic

For anyone looking to leave the mean streets of Prague behind for a suburban idyll, a handy new tool will help you determine the best place for you. Říčany currently ranks as the city with the best quality of life in the Czech Republic, according to Deloitte, which uses data from users to evaluate various aspects of life in Czech cities. The project is called “Obce v date”. Deloitte claims to analyze data from the 206 largest Czech cities and uses the following criteria to evaluate cities’ quality of life:  Cost of living and purchasing power Affordability of housing Pollution including air, water, etc. Crime rates· Health system quality Traffic (commute times) Number of doctors employed Unemployment rate Average salary On the second place ranks Prague, the third – Černošice.  On the contrary, Orlová in the Moravian Silesian Region was judged to have the lowest quality of life, repeating its position last year.  “Many people in these regions have to deal with financial problems. There is also a relatively high level of pollution,” said Jan Havránek from “Obce v date”. About Řičany Řičany is situated about 20 km to the south-east of Prague in undulated and wooded countryside. The first mention of Říčany (according to Hájek’s Chronicle) is...

The Czech Republic, Land of Pleasure

Names as Oldřich Widman and Martin Stiborek are not the best known among the Czech Republic, even though they are some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the pornographic industry worldwide. Yet when you say the name of Robert Rosenberg, almost everybody will know who you are talking about. The Czech Republic became a “porno paradise” just shortly after the Velvet Revolution, and this status has lasted for more than a decade. Despite possessing slightly over 10.5 million inhabitants (about 0.14% of the world population), the Czech Republic is the third nation in the world in the number of porn stars behind only the United States and Russia. In fact, 12.88% of the world total of adult film stars comes from Bohemia and Moravia. According to one estimate, there are 70.7 porn actors and actresses for every million inhabitants. The centrality of the geographical position helps production companies to find actors and actresses from neighboring states, also taking advantage of the free movement of people and workers within the European Union. Specifically, Prague is the destination of many performers from Hungary, a country that in the 1990s represented the Eldorado of producers of hardcore porn content, but today suffers from structural...

Czechs Europe Leaders in Beer Consumption Since 1971

If medals were given out for consuming beer, the Czechs would have been wearing gold around their necks for the past 48 years. Since 1971, we have been sitting on top of the tree of the European ranking for the foamy beverage consumption. The Czech Beer and Malt Association (CSPS) drew attention to this fact during yesterday’s International Beer Day. “With 141 liters per capita, Czechs are at the top of the pan-European beer consumption chart. We came to the forefront in 1971 with a consumption of 160 liters; the highest consumption of beer (167 liters) was registered in 1992,” says Martina Ferancová, Executive Director of ČSPS. Last year was a record for breweries. The total production of Czech beer reached 21.3 million hectoliters.  Czech breweries produced a record 21.3 million hectoliters of beer last year, an increase of 4.7 percent on 2017. The main driver of that increase was a jump in exports, though domestic consumption was also up on the previous year.  On the other hand, consumption of draft beer is decreasing in the Czech Republic. The reason for this observed decline can be found specifically in the anti-smoking law, which had a negative impact on the market. Anti-smoking law according has...

Drought Continues in Czech Republic With High Temperature, Short of Rain

Drought continued in all areas of the Czech Republic as soil drought has spread and currently affects three-quarters of the country, according to a statement released by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) on Thursday. The previous week was characterized by a higher temperature, which intensified mainly the evaporation from the soil and watercourses. Statistics from the institution showed that it was four degrees Celsius warmer than the average for the period, but only about a third of the normal amount of rain fell. Drought spread to 75 percent of the country’s territory from 64 percent in the previous week, as shown by drying and dying of vegetation. According to the institute, conifers are the most affected species. Some wildwood species, such as birch, hazel, sycamore, cherry, hornbeam, start to turn yellow prematurely. For watercourses, the water authorities begin to gradually regulate the pumping of water. Significant rain (from local storms) occurred at the weekend, but its impact was only short-termed. The groundwater level did not change much compared to the previous week and remained strongly below normal. According to hydrologists, no improvement is expected in August. Author: red

Czech Scientists Among World's Elite

Czech scientists placed 26th in the prestigious Global Nature Index 2018, ranking closely alongside Finland and Norway. The renowned Global Nature Index is created by Nature magazine and the final ranking is based on articles published in 82 selected science journals worldwide. The Czech Republic placed 26th with 191.1 points, which is roughly at the same level as Finland in 25th and Norway in 27th. The overall placement of the Czech Republic is remarkable as it is not as big as Poland which received 224.6 points. The strongest Czech institution in basic research is the Academy of Sciences with 84.1 points, which made the 172nd place in the ranking. The number of Czech scientific papers that have the potential to rewrite textbooks and the state of human knowledge is also more than twice as high as in Hungary (38th). Another V4 country, Slovakia, did not make it into the top 50. “The Czech institutions simply cannot be ignored by the world rankings. They have gained prestige and can be an important guide for foreign scientists or Ph.D. students looking for a place to work,” said Aleš Vlk, a research policy scientist and also the head of Vědavýzkum.cz Author: red

Czech Rep. the Most Sustainable Country in Central & Eastern Europe

The Czech Republic is the most sustainable country in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the 2019 Sustainable Development Report, published by the United Nations together with the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Countries in the report were evaluated on 17 key criteria for sustainable development, including eliminating poverty and hunger, establishing quality education, providing access to clean water and sanitation, promoting responsible consumption and production, having access to a decent workplace and contributing to the economic growth. Four years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, no country is on track to meet all the goals. Overall, emerging Europe’s countries obtain their best performance when it comes to erasing poverty and promoting affordable and clean energy. But compared to other regions, when it comes to the rule of law, peace, justice and strong institutions, CEE lags behind, due to relatively high perceived corruption in some countries, poor freedom of speech or insecurity. The Czech Republic scored best in the No Poverty index, having already met the criteria for achieving this goal. However, major challenges remain in the area of Climate Action, although only Latvia performed slightly better. Estonia (10th),...

Customs Officers Find Five Illegal Migrants in Lorry in Brno

Czech customs officers found five undocumented foreigners claiming to have come from Afghanistan in a North Macedonian lorry during a regular check of lorries in Brno-Slatina on Thursday. The North Macedonian lorry driver said he had not known about the foreigners hiding inside. “Customs authority officers were checking a North Macedonian lorry transporting car parts to the Czech Republic from Poland this afternoon. The security seal of the cargo space was in order at first sight and corresponded to the documents, but a closer look revealed that it had probably been broken and repaired carefully,” South Moravian Customs Authority spokeswoman Lada Temnakova said.  Germany has reported an increase in the number of illegal migrants entering the country from the Czech Republic. According to data released by the German Interior Ministry the police intercepted over 3,900 illegal migrants trying to cross the border from the Czech Republic between January and November 2018, an increase of 10.8 percent as compared to the previous year. According to the Czech Interior Ministry the statistics are misleading, due to the fact that the numbers include persons who had already been granted asylum in Germany and who failed to produce proof of this after making a...