The last living Czech pilot who fought the Nazis while serving with Britain’s Royal Air Force during World War II has died at age 100, A community center for war veterans in the Czech Republic city of Brno, his hometown, said Bocek died on Saturday. The Czech Defense Ministry confirmed his death. No further details were given. “General Bocek was fighting for our country to be democratic, free and independent,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said. Born Feb 25, 1923, Bocek fled Czechoslovakia in 1939 at age 16 following the country’s occupation by Germany. He fought the Nazis in France and then moved to Britain, where he served as a technician in the air force’s No. 312 Squadron before joining the RAF’s No. 310 Squadron as a pilot in 1944. Both fighter squadrons had Czechoslovak pilots.
Within a few weeks, a RМ-70 rocket launcher along and 365 missiles will be transferred to Ukraine from the Czech Republic. However, this is not part of and aid package from the government, but is the result of €1.2 million donations made by Czech citizens. The launcher can fire 40 missiles in 90 seconds and can reload exceptionally quickly. “Today we have exceeded USD 1.3 million (€1.2 million) , our goal is more than USD 2.3 million (€2.4 million). The launcher costs almost USD 784,000 (€730,000),” said Martin Ondráček, author of the donation project, dubbed ‘A Gift to Putin’. In one year, more than 120,000 contributors have more than 18 million euros in aid to Ukraine. After the full-scale Russian invasion in February, they immediately started sending money to the Ukrainian Embassy account. However, interest in the account slowly waned. Now, they aim at raising funds to help care for wounded soldiers. Dalibo Dedek, an entrepreneur involved in the project, said that the problem is that the cause of human suffering is “military aggression” and “that cannot be stopped with words, only actions”. Inflatable tanks Russia’s war in Ukraine has sparked a surge in demand for weapons and vehicles, with...
In 2022, Czech Republic’s tourism income were almost CZK 51.2 billion higher than a year earlier. Data provided by VisitCzech Republic, the official website of the Czech National Tourist Board, also revealed that the revenue, in total, was about CZK 118 billion. The same source shows that the country has now exceeded the figure of CZK 100 billion, even though it has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. According to these data, the balance of tourism was also positive, namely two billion crowns. The Czech Republic’s income from tourism in 2021 was CZK 66.8 billion, compared to CZK 83 billion the year before, in 2020, while in 2019, revenues were CZK 167 billion. Ukrainians Contributed Most to Czechia’s Tourism in 2022 In this regard, the head of the Tourism Institute of the Czech Tourism Headquarters – CzechTourism revealed that Ukraine contributed the most to the Czech Republic’s income from tourism in 2022, with almost CZK 42 billion. He also noted that Ukraine was followed by Germany with CZK 17.7 billion and Poland with CZK 12.3 billion. At the same time, Slovakia also contributed CZK 12.3 billion and the United States of America with nearly three billion crowns. Almost 20 Million Tourists...
Goods from thousands of e-shops in one location – this is the future of e-commerce as online platforms take over the Western world. It’s no different in the Czech Republic, where Germany’s Kaufland and Poland’s Allegro are both competing this year. The Big Players Lacked Competition Until now, the market has been controlled almost completely by the most well-known domestic e-commerce companies, Heureka Group, Mall Group, and Alza. Their market dominance, however, may be fading as the online world is being taken over by platforms, with several major names trying the Czech online scene. This year, Kaufland and Allegro will debut their markets in the Czech Republic. The Mall Group owns Allegro in Poland, the world’s tenth biggest internet marketplace. Seznam is also preparing to open a marketplace next year. Kaufland, which debuted the German marketplace Kaufland.de in 2021, has over 40 million products from over 8000 vendors. “Among them are a number of Czech merchants who have been selling effectively on the German marketplace. “We are excited to launch two new marketplaces in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Kaufland.cz and Kaufland.sk, on which we are currently focusing,” said spokeswoman Renata Maierl. According to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey,...
A Czech medical volunteer who, as part of the Phoenix project, was helping with the treatment of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line, was killed over the weekend. The spokesman for the Czech Foreign Ministry confirmed it on Monday. This is the second such case in the last year. The Phoenix project said in a Facebook post that the volunteer is being transported home to the Czech Republic. “One of our brave medical volunteers in Donbas received shrapnel wounds. His condition has stabilized now, but the situation is serious and it is impossible to predict developments. We are doing everything in our power so that he can return to his homeland as soon as possible,” it was stated yesterday. The victim was an important member of the Phoenix group, who saved 25 people during the last trip alone. As reported, as part of the Phoenix project, Czech medics in eastern Ukraine train soldiers to provide first aid and transport the wounded from the front lines. Since the onset of the conflict, the Phoenix Association has been involved on the front lines in Ukraine, beginning in April 2022. Comprised of volunteers, the group offers material and medical assistance during battles and in areas affected...
A Czech volunteer who is helping in the east of Ukraine with the treatment of soldiers on the contact line as part of Project Phoenix has been seriously wounded in Donbas. “One of our brave volunteer medics received a shrapnel wound in Donbas. His condition is stable at the moment, but the situation is difficult, and it is impossible to predict the further development of events. We are doing everything to get him back home as soon as possible.” His transport to Czechia is being organised. As part of Project Phoenix, Czech medics teach soldiers the basics of providing medical aid as well as transport the wounded from the contact line. A spokesman for the organisation told Czech TV that the wounded volunteer was helping to evacuate one of the wounded. “Unfortunately, there was artillery shelling during this [evacuation of wounded – ed.], and he sustained shrapnel wounds,” he said, adding that wounds were relatively serious. As a result of Russian shelling, a Polish volunteer was injured near Bakhmut when his minibus was hit by a rocket.
Once again, strong winds have carried sand grains from the Sahara Desert to Central Europe. According to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, on Sunday, March 19, these grains may fall along with rain in the Czech Republic, settling in characteristic orange streaks on windows, cars, and other exterior surfaces. In the eastern regions of the country, the concentration of sand grains will be so high that they will color the sky orange-red, a phenomenon visible at both sunrise and sunset. This occurrence will also reduce the amount of sunlight that passes through, which will affect the daytime air temperature. Additionally, it may cause breathing difficulties for people with chronic respiratory diseases. It’s worth noting that sand from the Sahara reaches the country almost every year, which upsets drivers but pleases… car wash owners, who immediately see an influx of customers! Approximately 60,000 tons of sand from the Sahara make their way to Central Europe each year during heavy storms in the desert.
As I’ve written before, we’re entering a sweet spot in the property market where, finally, buyers have more power than I’ve seen in the 10 years I’ve done this job. It’s true mortgage rates are higher than they have been in a long time, but properties are sitting on the market longer and sellers can therefore be negotiated down on their asking prices. For a lot of people, purchasing the kind of property they want, whether that’s size, style, location, or other factors, can still be out of reach with the level of repayments needed. However, for those still wishing to get on the property ladder, there is another option: buy to rent. With many hopeful homebuyers being priced out of the market, they are renting longer, which is increasing demand for rental properties and therefore pushing up prices – more good news for people thinking to invest in a property to rent. In addition to the increasing rents, and adding to that sweet spot for investment, is the expectation that mortgage rates will come down in the future, property values will continue increasing. According to data from property developer Central Group late last year, the average rent gained on...
In a huge blow to legalization efforts, the Court of Appeal ruled that publishing a magazine about cannabis can be deemed illegal because of the so-called “spreading of toxicomania”. Robert Veverka is editor-in-chief and sole publisher of magazine Legalizace, which has existed in the Czech media space without any problems for more than ten years. After over a year battling in court, he has been ordered to pay a fine of more than 250 000 CZK, and the court ruling effectively bans him from publishing the magazine in the future. Bolshevik relics in the law According to the court in Ostrava, the magazine offered instructions on how to illegally obtain cannabis, how to grow, process and use the plant. From time to time there were also seeds inserted in the magazine, since the sale and possession of cannabis seeds is completely legal in the Czech Republic, and there were disclaimers attached. The court also didn’t like advertisements of fertilizer companies and seedbanks, although all the goods are normally sold in gardening shops and are all perfectly legal. Veverka described the “spreading toxicomania” (or the ‘promotion of drug addiction’) section cited in the law as very flexible, sufficiently vague that it can be interpreted in many different ways so that it suits the prosecution, saying: “It...
Retired general Petr Pavel, who was sworn in as the Czech Republic’s new president on Thursday, is a war hero with a pro-Western drive and a passion for motorcycles. Pavel won the January presidential election by defeating billionaire former prime minister Andrej Babis in the run-off. “In a victory of values, there are no winners and no losers. We are one community and we have to stick together,” Pavel said after winning. “I can’t ignore the fact that people here increasingly feel chaos, disorder and uncertainty,” Pavel said on his campaign website. “We need to change this. We need to play by the rules, which will be valid for everyone alike.” In the run-up to the inauguration, Pavel proved to be an active president-elect. He attended a security conference in Munich in February and travelled to Czech regions where he had lost to Babis, meeting voters including the poverty-stricken Roma minority. He also repeatedly voiced support for Ukraine and to Taiwan. Though he rarely smiles in public, Pavel described himself as a “very merry person” in a recent interview with AFP. “I just don’t show that during official events. But everyone who knows me will tell you that good jokes...
The Czech cyber security watchdog warned on Wednesday against using TikTok, joining a growing number of Western agencies alleging the Chinese-owned social media app poses a security risk. The NUKIB agency recommended that TikTok should not be installed on phones whose users access critical and other significant infrastructure. “The Agency is concerned about potential security threat stemming from the use of TikTok primarily due to the amount of user data that is collected by the app as well as the way the data is handled.” NUKIB said. “Such large-scale data collection is concerning due to the legal and political environment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), given that ByteDance, the developer and administrator of TikTok, falls under the legal jurisdiction of the PRC.” NUKIB also recommended politicians and officials to avoid using TikTok, and said the wider public should consider whether to use the app as well, especially for sharing content. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ByteDance has said previously that concerns about the app are fuelled by misinformation, and has denied using it for spying. Beijing has also repeatedly denied having any intention to use the app for espionage. Several countries have taken...
The best place to live in Czechia is the Central Bohemian town of Říčany, followed by Prague according to this year’s Quality of Life Index put together by Deloitte for the Obce v Datech project. The annual list is created by using big data analysis to crunch a wide array of statistics ranging from community services, to work, education and health conditions. Deloitte claims to analyze data from the 206 largest Czech cities and uses the following criteria to evaluate cities’ quality of life: total population growth, crime rate, life expectancy, traffic accidents, number of working doctors, sustainability, clean environment, unemployment rate, median wage, number of companies and private entrepreneurs, number of schools and kindergartens, accessibility of leisure activities, number of restaurants, ATMs, pharmacies and other services. If you’re looking for the ideal place to settle down in Czechia then Říčany, a town with a population of around 16,000 which lies to the east of Prague, is probably your best bet. At least according to the annual Quality of Life Index, which has placed it at the top of its list for the past five years in a row. The ruins of the old Říčany castle, dating back to the...
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