The Czech Republic could follow in Slovakia’s footsteps by signing a deal with the US to deploy American troops on Czech territory, Defence Minister Jana Černochová hinted. Černochová will travel to the US after the Easter holidays and could discuss the US base in Czechia. “I would like to raise this topic during the bilateral meeting. We can follow the path of the agreement that Slovakia took,” Černochová told Deník N in an interview. According to the US-Slovakia deal, Slovakia would grant limited capacities to two military airports to the US army. While in Slovakia, there were strong anti-US sentiments related to the agreement, Černochová does not expect the same discussions in Czechia. “The Slovaks negotiated their agreement before the war in Ukraine, specifically at a time when there were talks of possible aggression. And the sentiment in Slovakia was very negative,” Černochová said, adding that nobody expected Russia actually to invade Ukraine at the time. Czechia’s five-party ruling government has not yet discussed the possible presence of the US military in Czechia. Such a move would have to be approved by both chambers of parliament. Opposition parties have already expressed an unwillingness to have US troops on Czech territory. However, while the...
České Budějovice is the provincial capital of southern Bohemia and a natural base for exploring the region. Transport connections to nearby Český Krumlov are good, meaning you could easily take in both places on an overnight excursion from Prague. The city was founded in the year 1265 by Ottakar II, the “King of Iron and Gold”. It took very little time for the Budĕjovice beer to make a name for itself; the Svitavy brewery was established the same year that the city itself was founded. The German name for Budĕjovice is “Budweis” – and, from this, we get the name “Budweiser”. České Budĕjovice brewed up such good beer that, for a while, it was the location of the Holy Roman Emperor’s imperial brewery. The Svitavy brewery had a good, long run, closing only in 2002. Other breweries include Pivovar Budějovický Budvar, or Budweiser Budvar Brewery; this one has the rights to use the brand name “Budweiser” throughout most of Europe. It has also successfully resisted all efforts from American brewer Anheuser-Busch to gain the exclusive right to the name. The brewery has a visitors’ center, where you can try the real, authentic Budweiser. Beer aside, the city is a delightful jewel...
From Thursday, April 14, it will no longer be obligatory to wear a respirator on public transport in the Czech Republic. “The National Institute (for Pandemic Management) agreed on this decision, although not 100% unanimously,” said the minister of health, Vlastimil Válek. However, Válek still recommends that people continue to use respirators if surrounded by strangers or in poorly ventilated rooms, because of both Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses. “For example, in Japan, respirators have never been mandatory, and yet every citizen wears a respirator when there is a risk of getting infected,” added the minister. The obligation to wear respirators in medical facilities and social services should be also abolished at the end of April and the end of May. “We are still waiting, the situation is not quite ideal yet. (…) We will see how it develops,” he added. Latest statistics 2,251 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Czech Republic on Saturday, a fall of around 350 on the same day a week earlier. The seven-day case incidence rate on Saturday was 295 per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest figure since the end of October. The number of people hospitalised on Saturday, 1,258, was also the least...
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 Czech Republic and eight other European states prepare a joint letter to the European Commission (EC), asking for help with the migrant crisis triggered by the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the letter will also propose “concrete solutions.” Some 1,800 men and women are now expected to join the Czech Army this year, up from the originally planned number of 700, Czech Television reported. Prime Minister Petr Fiala has been re-elected chairman of the Civic Democrats at a party congress in Prague. He defended his post for the fourth time with 510 votes out of 534 delegates and will remain party chief for at least two more years. The office of the Czech President is suspected of prematurely shredding 32 classified documents, Czech Radio reported on Thursday. These included intelligence information on the activities of Russian armed forces on the border with Ukraine and NATO information on the security situation in Iraq. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra will mark the start of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council with a special...
The most successful Czech brewery for the past 30 years is Pivovar Zubr, which won a special award also at this annual Pivex Golden Cup. Zubr Gold has taken top honors in two categories. The Přerov brew was named best-bottled beer and best light draft beer. This year 45 brands from 13 industrial breweries took part in the two-round competition. The Pivovar Přerov was founded in 1872. It is currently part of the PMS Přerov group, which includes Zubr, Litovel, Holba breweries and a malt house. The aroma of the Zubr Gold is malty, with a little sweet taste and honey and diacetyl in the aftertaste. For the production of beer Zubr is used: the purest water; selected malt, which is brought from Pilsen; local “Moravian” hops, which gained the strength of fertile soil. Winners of the 2022 competition in the different categories: Main winned – Zubr Gold Bright lager – Zubr Grand Light draft (výčepní pivo) – Zubr Gold Dark beer (Tmavá piva) – Bernard černý ležák Nonalcoholic beer (Nealkoholická piva) – Birell Best flavored beer with low alcohol content: Litovel Pomelo free. The organizers also held a competition for the title of the best draft beer “Golden Keg” (Zlatý...
The Czech Republic should cut its dependence on Russian energy resources within five years, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Saturday, terming the current situation one of the country’s “greatest security risks”. The Czech Republic meets its gas needs almost entirely through shipments directly or indirectly from Russia and gets roughly half its crude imports from the same source. Fiala told his Civic Democratic Party convention that the country’s energy sector has to change “completely”. “Our dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, neglected for years, is one of the greatest security risks to our country. It should be our goal to escape this Russian energy noose completely in the next five years,” Fiala said. He added that his government should prepare this “five-year project” in the coming weeks. The European Union has pledged to quit Russian fuels by 2027, and will unveil a detailed plan to do so in May. The 27-member bloc approved new sanctions against Russia this week, including a ban on coal imports starting in August, as it aims to punish Russia for its aggression against Ukraine. Moscow calls its offensive a “special military operation” to demilitarise its neighbour. Ukraine and Western supporters call that a pretext...
A few dozens of demonstrators took part in the protest held in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague on Saturday morning, calling attention to the murder of innocent civilians in Ukraine. The event had protesters lying on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs, as the murdered citizens of Bucha appeared to be in the video evidence of the killings. The action in front of the Russian Embassy began at 1 p.m. and lasted approximately twenty minutes. It was supervised by police, who diverted traffic. Ukraine’s recent counterattack against retreating Russian forces from multiple parts of Ukraine has revealed civilian casualties that have caught the attention of the international community. Photos and videos in Bucha show dozens if not hundreds of murdered civilians on the streets, some of them appearing to have been shot in the back of the head after their hands were tied. Czech diplomats are set to return to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavksý, said on Friday. The city’s Czech Embassy would reopen soon. It was closed on February 24. The Czech Republic has become the first NATO country to send tanks to Ukraine, providing T-72 and armoured infantry vehicles...
The Czech Republic has delivered tanks, multiple rocket launchers, howitzers, and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine among military shipments that have reached hundreds of millions of dollars and will continue, two Czech defense sources said. Ukraine has repeatedly called on the West to urgently supply more weapons, especially heavy equipment, as Russian forces regroup in the country’s east for new offensive after withdrawing from the capital Kyiv and other regions. NATO members are providing a wide range of weapon systems to the country, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday. The Czech Republic has spare equipment that Ukrainian forces are familiar with in storage as well as a defense industry focused on upgrades and trade in such weapons. It has been among the most active EU nations in backing Ukraine. Defense sources confirmed a shipment of five T-72 tanks and five BVP-1, or BMP-1, infantry fighting vehicles seen on rail cars in photographs on Twitter and video footage this week, but those were not the first shipments of heavy equipment. “For several weeks, we have been supplying heavy ground equipment – I am saying it generally but by definition it is clear that this includes tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, howitzers,...
Effective 9th April 2022, the Czech government decided to lift all the travel restrictions for entry and return from all countries to the Czech Republic related to the COVID-19 pandemics. People no longer need to fill in an entry form, undergo coronavirus testing or present a vaccination certificate, regardless of where they return (from the European Union or other countries). At the same time, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged travelers to check the requirements of specific carriers before traveling. Some airlines may still require a vaccination certificate or a negative test onboarding. Up until now only EU member states and a few selected countries were exempted from this requirement. The Health Ministry has also announced that as of the end of next week respirators will no longer be compulsory on public transport.
The Prague Transport Company (DPP) will start building the new metro line D on 21 April, said Daniel Šabík, head of the company’s communication department, to ČTK. The first section to be built will be between Pankrác and Nové Dvory and the total cost should be about CZK 52.09 billion. The 10.6 km metro line will be served by ten stations from Náměstí Míru station (on Line A) crossing the Line C at the Pankrác station and continuing towards the southern area to the Písnice town, situated in the municipal district of Prague 12. The metro Line D will be constructed in two phases. The first one covers the construction of the line from Pankrác to the depo of Písnice and it will be later extended to the city center and Náměstí Míru station which is designed to allow further extension to the north. Line D will be Prague’s first automated metro line which will be equipped with the latest generation of CBTC system. The entire process should be divided into 3 stages. Stage 1 – Pankrác to Nové Dvory, 4.1 kilometres long, 5 stations. Stage 2 – Nové Dvory to Depo Písnice, 3.8 kilometres long, 3 stations. Stage 3 – Pankrác to Náměstí...
The first case of XE, a more transmittable Covid-19 variant, has been detected in the Czech Republic, the State Institute of Health announced on Thursday. The sample was identified by the National Reference Laboratory. Early indications suggest it could be around 10 per cent more transmissible than other Omicron mutations, but there is no evidence that XE is any more serious in disease severity, with all Omicron variants so far shown to be less severe. Here’s all you need to know about the XE variant: 1. The XE variant is a mutation of the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron variant, referred to as a “recombinant.” As per the initial studies, the XE variant has a growth rate of 9.8 percent over that of BA.2, also known as the stealth variant because of its ability to evade detection. The World Health Organization has said the latest mutant may be more transmissible than the previous ones. 2. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is studying XE a mutation of the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron strains and as of March 22, 637 XE cases had been detected in England, according to official figures. Professor Susan Hopkins, the UKHSA’s chief medical advisor, said such variants...
Czech operators have covered with 5G services the last section of the Prague Metro. 5G services are available also along line A between stations Dejvicka and Nemocice Motol, which was the first section covered by mobile services in 2015. As a result, the whole metro is covered with 5G. LTE services became available in more than 60 stations of the metro at the end of 2021, and the whole coverage project took three years. The operators T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2, and Cetin work in a consortium with the Prague city municipality to provide the network coverage. New metro D The construction of the first part of a new “D” line of the Prague Metro system will start on April 21. The line – which will feature driverless trains – will at first run from Pankrác to the as yet unbuilt Depo Písnice station in the south of the city before being extended later. In the first stage, the metro will be built between the stations Pankrác and Nove Dvory, then it will continue to Depo Písnice, and in the future, from Pankrac to Namesti miru. According to the City of Prague, the estimated total costs for this ambitious project will amount...
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