France’s EDF, South Korea’s KHNP, and U.S.-Canadian group Westinghouse Electric have made initial bids to build a new unit at the Czech Republic’s Dukovany nuclear power plant, Czech utility CEZ said on Wednesday. The Czech Republic has been a strong backer of nuclear energy as a carbon-free power source for the future, unlike European Union neighbours Germany and Austria. Majority of state-owned CEZ, which launched the Dukovany expansion tender in March, said final bids would come in by the end of September 2023. “We expect the contracts to be finalized in 2024,” board member Tomas Pleskac said in a statement. The 1,200 megawatt-unit should be completed in 2036 and help the country replace current Soviet-designed units at Dukovany that will eventually be decommissioned. CEZ plans to build three more nuclear units – on top of the one now planned – at its Dukovany and Temelin nuclear sites, as the country diversifies away from coal. It is also planning to build smaller modular nuclear power plants. Nuclear made up 36% of Czech electricity output in 2021. Candidates from China and Russia were excluded on security grounds, in contrast to Hungary which has chosen Russia’s Rosatom for its nuclear project. Poland picked Westinghouse last month to...
Rohlik Group has promoted experienced eCommerce manager and Rohlik CZ CEO Olin Novák to the role of International CEO, with this now being his fourth position within the company. Olin Novák will now oversee the day-to-day running of the individual countries of the entire group. Founder and Rohlik Group CEO Tomáš Čupr will now focus more closely on the development of the group as a whole, including increasing efficiencies, along with specific group-wide projects. Rohlik.cz will be newly led by Martin Beháň as of today. As a first step towards making all markets more efficient, Tomáš Čupr centralised operations from all countries where Rohlik Group operates: “We have arrived at a management structure that allows me to focus on much more strategic and valuable issues for the entire Group. We are already one of the most innovative e-commerce companies in Europe, but all who know me know that I already have another milestone in mind.” On Olin Novak’s promotion, he adds: “Olin and I share the same vision of what food retailing of the future should look like, and over the past four years he has proven that he is a true leader made of the same...
The Czech Republic’s police have so far accused 49 people of accepting and supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Czech police spokesman Ondrej Moravchik said. Criminal procedures are ongoing in 86 other cases. The police investigate around 300 cases related to Ukraine or Ukrainian refugees. Mr. Moravchik said that about a third of the cases are the so-called cases of approval and support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “86 cases concern the praise of aggression and other similar ways of accepting the murder of Ukrainian civilians,” Moravczik explained to the Czech public radio portal iROZHLAS.cz. The police triggered the investigation on the basis of two articles of Czech criminal law. The possibility of using the provisions to investigate cases of support for Russian aggression was proposed by Prosecutor General Igor Striz shortly after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. According to the General Prosecutor’s Office, any signs of support for Russia’s actions in the attacked country can be prosecuted under sections 365 and 405 of the Czech Republic’s Criminal Code, which sanction the approval of crime and denying, questioning, approving and justifying genocide. Under Czech law, such acts are criminalized and punishable by imprisonment of up to one to...
Czech pubs are turning to technology to reduce the cost of putting glasses of beer on the bar for thirsty locals. With Czechs among the biggest beer drinkers in the world, brewer Plzensky Prazdroj plans to install sensors which will collect data on beer flow, as well as tube and tap temperatures. This will be sent to a cloud database and analysed to make recommendations on improving a pub’s systems, said Jakub Zaoral who is leading the Asahi-owned brewery’s Smart Taproom project. Plzensky Prazdroj hopes that by making adjustments its pubs will save up to 30 per cent of the energy needed for cooling and tapping their beer, a goal made more pressing by rising energy costs. “We will ‘x-ray’ and observe 45 pubs using 1,200 sensors which gives us the exact numbers, how our tapping system consumes electric energy and we will relate this with the beer flow and its consumption in the pub,” said Zaoral. The system uses Internet of Drinks solutions by start-up firm Smart Technology, which uses ultrasound metering and provides information on the amount of beer tapped, sanitation intervals and the state of the cooling system. At Prague’s Katr pub, where the system is already...
The European Space Agency announced its new team of astronauts at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris on Wednesday – and among them is Czech fighter pilot Aleš Svoboda. Svoboda was the only successful candidate out of some 200 Czechs who had applied for the project. “For me, it was always a child’s dream,” Svoboda told Czech Television. “As a child, I used to go to the planetarium in Brno, always taking interest in space, aviation and space flights. For me, it is a logical continuation of what I do now.” The main team of the selected astronauts consists of two women and three men. Another 11 are in the reserve team. The training will start next year. Aleš earned a bachelor’s (in 2008) and a master’s (in 2011) degree from the University of Defence in Brno, where his studies focused on military technology. In 2010, he completed a master’s degree in the field of transport engineering from the University of Pardubice. In 2013, Aleš enrolled with the Air University of the United States Air Force in Alabama, USA, where he graduated from the International and Squadron Officer Schools. In 2011 Aleš started his doctorate with the Faculty of Military...
Almost 57 percent of Czechs are planning to spend less this Christmas than they did last year, suggests a survey carried out by the STEM/MARK agency. Seven out of ten people said they would cover their Christmas expenditures from their regular monthly salary and select mainly cosmetics and books 57 per cent of respondents will spend less on Christmas presents this year, 15 per cent will wait for the post-Christmas sales while a tenth of respondents will not buy presents because of the rising prices and the unfavourable economic situation. Last year, 40 percent of people saved money on buying gifts. This year’s pre-Christmas survey, according to the authors, shows that people are more worried and will therefore cut back on Christmas. Forty-three per cent of respondents expect to spend up to CZK 5,000 on all Christmas presents, while 30 per cent want to buy gifts of up to CZK 10,000. While two years ago 34 per cent of people bought electronics for their loved ones, this year only 16 per cent of respondents want to buy them as Christmas presents. Traditionally, cosmetics and books or small gift items ranked first. The types of gifts that Czechs will buy this...
The weekend is expected to bring the first bout of cold winter weather to the Czech Republic with up to 15 centimeters of snow in places and day temperatures hovering around zero. Temperatures will drop to -7 degrees Celsius at night and drivers have been warned to expect icy conditions. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute has issued a warning about snowfall. It is expected in some regions of the country on November 18 and 19. A warning for low-level snowfall is in effect from 20:00 on Friday until 18:00 on Saturday for the Vysočina, Ústí, Karlovy Vary, Plzeň, Central Bohemia, South Bohemia and South Moravia regions. Between 5 and 15 centimetres of snow may fall there during this period. In addition, forecasters have warned that the night of Sunday, November 20, will be quite frosty. Depending on the region, overnight temperatures will range from -8 to -12°C. Drivers should expect snowdrifts and the fact that less frequented roads may be impassable. The current spell of cold and wet weather has already brought the season’s first snow to most of the country’s mountainous regions.
In Ostrava, huge piles of coal are stacked up ready to sell to eager buyers and smoke belches from coal-fired plants that are ramping up instead of winding down. The city has been working for decades to end its legacy as the most polluted area of the country, transitioning from an industrial working-class stronghold to a modern city with tourist sights. But Russia’s war in Ukraine has triggered an energy crisis in Europe that as paved the way for coal´s comeback, endangering climate goals and threatening health from increased pollution. Households and businesses are turning to the fuel once considered obsolete as they seek a cheaper option than natural gas, whose prices have surged as Russia slashed supplies to Europe. Demand for brown coal – the cheapest and most energy-inefficient form – used by Czech households jumped by almost 35% in the first nine months of 2022 over a year earlier. In the same period, production rose more than 20%, the first increase after an almost continuous, decadeslong decline, the Czech Industry and Trade Ministry said. Coal-fired power is not only disastrous for climate, it´s also a health hazard, releasing heavy particle emissions, nitrogen oxides and mercury, which contaminates fish in lakes and rivers. A 2021...
The Czech government plans to provide training to as many as 4,000 Ukrainian troops over the next year, Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova said on Wednesday. The training would be done in five four-week cycles with up to 800 troops attending each, and cost 975 million crowns, the Defence Ministry said. NATO member Czech Republic has strongly backed Ukraine since Russia’s attack in February this year, and has sent it light and heavy weapons and ammunition. The training program would be started with the first batch of troops this year and eventually be folded under a planned European Union training scheme for Ukraine. European Union foreign ministers agreed to set up a mission to train some 15,000 Ukrainian troops and to provide an extra 500 million euros worth of funding for arms deliveries to Kyiv at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. Ukraine has shown interest in training of mainly mechanised battalions and also medics, engineering and chemical troops, Cernochova said. The Czech Republic will also send 55 troops as instructors or members of command structures of the planned EU training mission in other EU member states. Both parts of the plan require parliamentary approval.
The Czech Republic is considering throwing its hat in the ring to host the U.N.’s COP29 climate summit in 2024, which would put it in contention with a handful of other countries for the massive international conference, its deputy environment minister told Reuters on Monday. “In our consideration of possible hosting, we take into account both logistical and financial challenges for the host country, but also our experience with energy transformation and decarbonisation,” Jan Dusik said in written comments. Dusik said the Czech Republic had not yet decided whether to bid, and would also consider making a joint bid with another country from eastern Europe. Bulgaria has already said it is willing to host the global climate talks. Dusik said several countries from the region have expressed interest in hosting or co-hosting the event. The annual COP meetings draw tens of thousands of delegates, and provide a setting where nearly all countries in the world negotiate joint efforts to avert disastrous climate change and assess their progress. Hosting the U.N. climate event can bring a degree of international prestige and tourist income, but also intense media scrutiny, costs, and logistical problems. The French-hosted COP in 2015 produced the landmark Paris...
By sticking masks on its forty vehicles, the Prague transport company is spreading awareness about men’s health again this year drawing attention to a dangerous disease and targeting prevention methods. At the beginning of this month, the Prague transport company’s cars with mustaches took to the streets of the capital. For the fifth time in a row, the carrier is one of thirteen carriers in eleven Czech cities that have joined the global awareness campaign for men’s health. “Twenty trams type 15T and twenty SOR buses have grown mustaches in Prague. Not only public transport fans have something to take pictures of,” said Aneta Rehkova, spokesperson for the company. However, according to many, this year the awareness of this preventive action in the capital is a little less “loud” than it was in the past. This is despite the fact that there are more windowed cars in Prague every year. It started with fifteen buses and the same number of trams. “We are trying to raise awareness, just like in previous years,” said Řehková, adding that there is information posted in the cars with a link to the transport company’s website, where everything is listed. “Our drivers are heavily dominated...
Over 1,400 shops, including stores owned by major chains, take part in the event in which people can donate non-perishable foodstuffs that will then be redistributed to those in need. “There has been a marked increase in the organisation’s clients this year due to a sharp rise in food and energy costs. Any food will help us,” said Helena Balabánová, Chairwoman of the Food Bank in Ostrava. The situation is reported to be worst in Prague and the northern regions, where an increasing number of people are asking for help in securing basic food supplies. The groceries and drug-store goods will be delivered to single mothers, seniors, asylum-seekers, and others in need. The annual wave of solidarity is also highlighted by volunteers who will help put the collection into life. In most shops goods are being collected by volunteers between 8 am and 6 pm. People can also donate products bought online. Citizens can donate food from the retail chains Albert, Billa, Globus, Kaufland, Lidl, Makro Cash & Carry, Tesco, and Rossmann. Rohlik.cz and Tesco Online stores will also join the National Food Collection. The National Food Collection is organized by BpS – the Business for Society in cooperation with...
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