Pussy Riot, the feminist performance art group, is performing at Prague’s MeetFactory on September 8. The group, which became famous for their punk rock sound that transformed into more traditional protest music, is arriving in Prague during a tour which has focused on opposition to the ongoing war in Ukraine started following Russian aggression. The group’s history as Russian dissidents has given them a unique platform on which to speak out against the war. Started in 2011, they have never stopped protesting against Vladimir Putin’s government. Along with a general opposition to fascism, they were specifically motivated by Putin’s government’s attitude towards LGBT+ issues and abortion, alongside increasing economic inequality. Their provocative music often calls for rebellion and has landed a few of the more than 10 women involved in legal trouble. In 2012, members were arrested on charges of “hooliganism” following outspoken challenges to the Russian Orthodox clergy. This predictably sparked international action. Since then, all its members have been freed, including another who was arrested in Croatia recently. Proceeds from their most recent 19-stop tour will go towards helping Ukrainian refugee resettlement and a children’s hospital in the country. The band hopes to revive the pro-Ukraine activist movement...
Czech Minister of Agriculture Zdenek Nekula has told Czech Radio that former premier Andrej Babis’ Agrofert holding will have to return agricultural subsidies worth of up to CZK4.5 billion, and he indicated that more aid could be demanded back by other ministries. Nekula’s comments follow the European Commission officially concluding the probe into the billionaire’s conflicts of interest, sparked already by Babis’ first ministerial stint in the cabinet of Social Democratic PM Bohuslav Sobotka (2014-2017) and then his own 2017-21 government. During his time in government Babis’ agro-chemicals holding continued to claim subsidies for projects, despite the fact that, according to the EU, he still exercised effective control of the holding and was therefore in a conflict of interest. The EU has refused to reimburse the Czech government for money paid out to Babis while he was in a conflict of interest, leaving it to the government to recoup the misspent subsidies from Agrofert, the largest private recipient of subsidies in the country. Nekula expects Agrofert to object to his ministry’s move and braces for legal battles ahead. Agrofert is likely to build its case around the looser standards of ownership and consequently conflict of interests under the then-existing Czech legislation. Current opposition leader Babis and his...
On Thursday, the Municipal Court in Prague declared bankruptcy on the property of Čezeta Motors. This company produces electric scooters Čezeta in Prostějov and has been in insolvency proceedings since last February due to millions of dollars in debts. The court decided on the bankruptcy shortly after the second of the two managing directors, Daniel Gašpar, joined the insolvency petition for Čezeta Motors this week. He has so far been trying to find investors for the over-indebted company. The insolvency petition was filed last February by Čezeta Motors, whose managing director and majority owner are Neil Eamonn Smith. He petitioned the court to declare bankruptcy over the assets of Chezeta Motors. However, Gašpar and two of his creditors have long argued that the insolvency proceedings initiated last year were unnecessary as one of the creditors managed to raise CZK 6.5 million from investors for the project. The agreement with Smith was a condition for the transfer of the money. Gašpar told the court on Tuesday that he no longer saw any other way for the company than to secure bankruptcy and expressed his concern that Smith was taking assets out of the company. He allegedly transferred intellectual property rights to...
Since the devastating floods of August 2002, the Prague municipality has invested four billion crowns in the city’s flood protection. Some 20 kilometers of barriers have been built, along with flood gates, and a pumping station. Modifications to rivers and streams in the region have also taken place, returning previously straightened streams to their original beds. Moreover, a new flood wall could protect the Prague Zoo from flooding in the future. The flood, which happened 20 years ago on August 12-15, damaged, among other things, almost two dozen stations of the Prague metro. In total, the flood caused 27 billion crowns in damage in Prague alone, and destroyed dozens of houses. Over 50,000 residents had to be evacuated. The city’s anti-flood measures now include earthen embankments, solid concrete walls and aluminum mobile barriers. The total length of the protection is 19.26 kilometers. Of this, 6.8 kilometers of mobile embankment is made up and its height is from 0.2 to 6.27 meters. Walls are built beneath all barriers, all the way down to the impermeable subsoil, which in some places is up to 12 meters deep. In addition to the barriers along the Vltava, a station with six pumps has been...
Many Prague hotels have been full for most of the summer as Prague has seen tourism returning to the city. Following the lifting of pandemic restrictions, many foreign tourists are coming, mostly from neighboring states and other European countries, as well as the United States. However, guests from Asia are still missing, and as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the decisions made, travelers from Russia are as well. Some hoteliers are reporting record occupancy for July, even higher than in the pre-crisis year of 2019, while elsewhere it remains below this level in part due to the missing demographics. The Czech Inn Hotels network has had occupancy recently floating around 95% of capacity. “Even after covid, we are the market leader in terms of Prague hotels. The customers are completely different,” said company owner Jaroslav Svoboda. A high share of Czech tourists to Prague has bolstered numbers, which was vital throughout the pandemic when foreign travel was challenging. From abroad, guests come from neighboring countries and Europe in general. Visitors from more far-flung locations are missing. The season so far has been, according to him, well above expectations set at the beginning of the year. The occupancy of...
Hundreds of firefighters are continuing their efforts to tackle a wildfire that has been burning in the Czech Republic’s Bohemia Switzerland National Park for a week. So far around 1100 hectares have been destroyed. Some 700 emergency service workers are on the scene, including Swedish firefighters who arrived in the Czech Republic on Friday to help using firefighting aircraft. Slovakia, Poland and Italy have also been assisting. A firefighter was seriously injured while working at the fire on Saturday afternoon after he fell off a cliff. A helicopter transported him to the hospital. He is not in life-threatening danger. Two other firefighters were also injured the same day and taken to seek medical attention. According to Martina Gotzová, the spokesperson for the Hradec Kralove region’s fire brigade, they have deployed all the aviation equipment they have to tackle the fires. This includes six helicopters and five aeroplanes. However, there is some optimism. A few areas have been given the all clear and the 500 people who had to evacuate Vysoká Lípa have been allowed to return. The local fire brigade is also making progress in reducing the blazes. In Germany’s nearby Saxon Switzerland natural reserve, authorities are also dealing with fires....
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 board of the Czech National Bank will most likely decide to keep the base interest rate at 7 percent at a meeting scheduled for next Thursday. However, the situation is hard to call and some predict that a further rise may in fact be announced. The current interest rate is the highest seen in the country since 1999. . The average old-age pension could increase by about CZK 850, regularly indexed from January. With child-raising bonuses, it could total around CZK 19,500. According to the Labour Minister Marian Jurečka, it will be clear in September how much of the added amount should go to the solidarity and merit part of the pension. The Municipal Court in Prague declared bankruptcy on the property of Čezeta Motors. The company produces electric scooters Čezeta in Prostějov and has been in insolvency proceedings since last February due to millions of dollars in debts. The European Commission has approved a multi-year €152 million Interreg program meant to foster cooperation and development between the German state of Saxony...
Fire crews are continuing to battle a blaze in eastern Germany’s Saxon Switzerland national park after the forest fire spread further. Thomas Kunz, spokesman for the regional council of the Saxon Switzerland park, said on Friday that pockets of fire were discovered on Thursday evening and extinguished beyond the Kirnitzsch tributary to the River Elbe, which firefighters had hoped would act as an natural barrier to the fire. More than 220 firefighters were battling the flames in the morning, with additional forces expected to arrive from other parts of the country during the day. Seven firefighting helicopters are deployed with two helicopters carrying out reconnaissance flights with thermal imaging cameras. Two more helicopters will be sent over the weekend to help extinguish the flames, and satellite images will be evaluated. Some 250 hectares of forested area are burning, according to the authorities. A fire in southern Brandenburg, also in the country’s east, is now under control, local authorities said. It prompted the evacuation of around 700 people earlier this week. Rain showers on Saturday were not enough to keep the flames at bay. The fire broke out last weekend in the Bohemian Switzerland national park in the Czech Republic and...
Over 120 meters of surface, three and a half days of work, seventy cans of paint. The new mural in Karlín is ready. In Křižíkova Street, the artist Michal Škapa completed a giant mural on the facade of house number 61. It is the second mural that appeared on the streets of Prague as part of the Wall Street Festival. Three more will be added to the city during the summer, one of which will again be created by Skapa alias Tron. “I really liked the wall here, so I wanted to do create something new. It was a great wall for a more detailed painting like this. I am glad that it is in Karlín, in this great location. It’s a very busy street and I have a personal relationship with that place,” Škapa said. He started work on the forklift on Monday, and finished it on Thursday. “We start at night and use a projector to outline the reference points in one color on the wall. The next day, we started painting and coating, making shapes, adding other elements,” Škapa described, adding that he used about seventy cans of paint for the mural. During the Wall Street festival,...
Slovak soldiers will join the international effort to extinguish the fire that’s been raging in the Czech Switzerland National Park. On Thursday in Bratislava, the government approved the dispatch of 30 members of the Slovak Armed Forces for the purpose of humanitarian aid in managing the fires and eliminating their consequences. They will go to the Czech Republic together with a Black Hawk UH-60M helicopter and appropriate equipment. Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď believes that the situation in Czech Switzerland will be under control within a short time. The Black Hawk helicopter arrived at the deployment site yesterday, July 29. An area of approximately 1,000 hectares is burning in the Czech Switzerland National Park, and Slovak firefighters are already participating in the effort to extinguish it, who were sent along with a helicopter provided by the Interior Ministry. Five helicopters and eight helicopters are also being used to combat the fire, which has been contained to a certain area in the national park. At one point smoke from the fire could be smelled in Prague and other parts of Czechia. Officials say human carelessness appears the most likely cause. The weather, especially the changing direction of the wind, has complicated...
For Czechs, buying used goods has typically been taboo and while second-hand stores aren’t uncommon, few people readily admit to shopping in them. “People usually share their enjoyment of shopping for second-hand clothes only with a circle of family and close friends,” concluded a 2019 study on Czech shopping habits, authored by the analyst Marketa Rulikova. “Not wearing brand new (and brand-named) garments also suggests, for many Czechs, an inability to provide for the family, a too familiar distress remembered from the socialist past.” But the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, topped by spiralling inflation and energy prices, has led to a second-hand shopping spree. “We have never had such takings as in these past few months,” says Monika van den Berg, of Moment Czech Republic, an NGO that runs several second-hand, charity shops across the country. Second-hand sales have increased threefold nationwide since last year, the Association of Social Responsibility, an industry body, told local media earlier this month. What’s changed? Some think it’s taste. Czechs are increasingly eco-conscious while buying second-hand often means quality. “We think that the boom is partly caused by our offer,” says van den Berg. “We sell clothing of the best quality and...
Czech Republic police have confiscated a Ferrari 458 from criminals and revamped it into a police car that can drive up to 202 miles per hour. The car will aid police in fighting crime nationwide, or potentially even abroad. Police who have undergone special training will be operating the car. Before its seizure, the 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) originally had a racing red color. However, the car has now been revamped with stripes of blue and yellow paint over a gray base, with new flashing lights mounted on the car roof. “It used to serve criminals, now it will protect Czech roads. What are we talking about? Today, a new special in the colors of the Police of the Czech Republic—Ferrari F 142 – 458 Italia—begins its service,” police said in a statement. “The vehicle will be deployed against the most aggressive drivers on Czech highways, when chasing stolen vehicles or during surveillance at the locations of reported tuning events.” Due to being a formerly criminal asset, the Ferrari was bought by the Czech police for a price much cheaper than market value. “This vehicle is one of many seized as criminal property each year,” said police. “Thanks to the excellent work of our...
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