A total ban on trade with Russia proposed by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is not realistic as the EU’s four sanction packages are working well, said Czech finance minister Zbyněk Stanjura. “From what I have heard from fellow finance ministers from other countries, I do not think this proposal will get support,” Stanjura said. While the Czech government claims that it promotes the strictest sanctions against Russia, a complete ban on trade would mean the end of gas and oil imports from Russia – a move unacceptable for several EU countries, including Germany and Austria. Further measures against Russia will be discussed at the European Council summit on 24 and 25 March. In its latest package, the EU widened sanctions to more Russian and Belarusian oligarchs and banned exports of luxury goods, iron, and steel, as well as investments in the Russian energy sector. EU sanctions are landing a devastating blow to the Russian economy, said Czech National Bank Governor Jiří Rusnok. European and US sanctions will set the Russian economy back twenty years, he added. Stanjura added that the fifth package of EU sanctions is being prepared. Czechia proposes to exclude all Russian banks from the SWIFT international...
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. Over 205,000 people fleeing Russia’s war on Ukraine have now received special visas to be in the Czech Republic, the Ministry of the Interior said on Monday. To date around 110,000 have registered with the country’s migration police. EU foreign ministers did not agree on the form of the fifth package of sanctions against Russia today and their scope is to be defined by EU leaders at their summit in Brussels on Thursday, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told journalists. Public prosecutor Jaroslav Saroch brought charges against former PM Andrej Babis and his former aide Jana Nagyova in the case of a 50-million-crown EU subsidy for the Capi hnizdo farm and conference centre. The Prague Municipal Court will deal with the case. The Czech government plans to introduce the option to keep company accounts and tax records in Euros from January 2024, according to the Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura (ODS). The Czech Republic is the 9th best destination for an active holiday, according to fitness platform Gymcatch, mostly due to the country’s...
Czech Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš will face trial after the prosecution indicted him in a fraud case involving European Union subsidies. The move announced on Monday by Prague’s public prosecution office came weeks after lawmakers in the lower house of the Czech Parliament agreed on March 3 to lift Babiš’ immunity from prosecution for his alleged involvement in the $2 million fraud. That decision allowed the prosecutors to complete their review of the case and go ahead with Babiš’ indictment. It was repeatedly recommended by police investigators. Babiš denies any wrongdoing and has repeatedly said the allegations against him were politically motivated. “I’ve never done anything illegal, in the past or in politics,” he said on Monday. “I’ll prove it at the court.” The prosecution said Prague’s Municipal Court will take over the case. A date for the trial has not been immediately set. The allegations involve a farm that received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babiš-owned Agrofert conglomerate of around 250 companies to Babiš’ family members. Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm. The subsidies were meant for medium- and small-sized businesses and Agrofert wouldn’t have been eligible for them. Lawmakers twice...
Czech scientists have devised a way to distinguish healthy sperm from damaged sperm and separate them from each other, an important discovery which gives new hope to couples who fail to conceive. Thanks to the discovery by Czech scientists, hopes have increased that humanity will remain fertile, even if the depressing predictions of a critical decline in male fertility come true, the discovery could significantly increase the efficiency of assisted reproduction. Male fertility is deteriorating drastically Concerns about the dramatic decline in fertility in the future are fueled by the trend observed around the world in recent decades. Already in 1992, a worrying study was published which found that in the previous 60 years, the average sperm count of men had halved. According to a recent study from 2017, which focused on the period from 1973 to 2011, the amount of sperm in ejaculate decreased by 50 to 60 percent. And that’s not all. Men have fertility issues not only due to the loss of sperm but also because of the deterioration in sperm quality, leading more and more couples to have to seek assisted reproduction. The cause of the trend is still unknown, as is the question of how much the problem...
Spring has arrived in the Czech Republic, with the March equinox taking place yesterday and increasing amounts of daylight through June. “Air temperatures will be above the long-term averages of March. In the afternoon, the humidity will drop even below 20 percent,” said František Šopko from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) on Monday. Monday will be sunny with day temperatures between 9 and 13 degrees Celsius. In the mountains, temperatures will range between 4 and 7 degrees. There will be a mild south-easterly wind in the east of the country. At night we expect clear skies and temperatures will drop to 1 to minus 3 degrees Celsius. There will be a slight south-easterly wind with a speed of 1 to 4 meters per second in Moravia and Silesia. On Tuesday we also expect sunny weather. The maximum daytime temperatures will be between 14 and 18 degrees. There will be a slight south-easterly wind with a speed of 2 to 6 meters per second, in the east of the territory a slight variable wind with a speed of 4 meters per second. On Wednesday we expect clear weather. Night temperatures will drop to 2 to minus 2 degrees Celsius. Daytime temperatures...
Prague’s public transport system is returning to normal operation today after restrictions caused by the covid-19 epidemic and the spring break. The interval on the A metro line is reduced from 180 to 150 seconds in the morning peak of working days, and by half a minute to 180 seconds in the afternoon. On the B line, it is reduced from 160 to 140 seconds in the morning, and by half a minute to 150 seconds in the afternoon. On the busiest C line, trains start running at 115 seconds instead of 130 in the morning peak, and at 145 seconds instead of 155 in the afternoon. Trams at peak times will run every eight minutes, while backbone lines 9, 17, and 22 will run every 4 minutes. City buses are newly running at five to six minutes on morning peak days on the backbone lines and at seven to eight in the afternoon. “On selected lines, for example 125 from Skalka to Smíchovské nádraží, 131 from Bořislavka to Hradčanska or 137 from Malé Ohrada to the Na Knížecí stop, the intervals will also be shortened on weekends,” said Filip Drápal, spokesman for Ropid. The operation of bus lines no. 100 (Zličín...
On Saturday, March 26, in the center of Prague will be held a march “Russians Against Putin.” Demonstrators will meet be at Náměstí Míru at 13:00 and then walk to the Old Town Square. The main organizer is the Prague Russian Anti-War Committee. “Friends! We need this action. Citizens of Russia in the Czech Republic should be able to say loudly and massively: “No war”, “No Putin”, “We are with Ukraine”, “We are with the Czech Republic, Europe, and the whole world against Russian aggression”. It should be made clear that Russians in Prague, people of different nationalities, are part of Czech society, not secret supporters of Putinism”, they wrote on Facebook. Over 200,000 Ukrainian refugees have now received special humanitarian visas in the Czech Republic, and the overall number of refugees in the country, according to mobile operators, is nearing 300,000. The government last week negotiated with the regions about how many refugees they could take and the fire service transported some of those who arrived in Prague to other regions in order to even out the burden and provide refugees with more suitable accommodation. In the coming days, the influx of refugees from Ukraine will increase, not only...
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 government will ask the lower house of Parliament to extend the state of emergency in the country in connection with the refugee crisis, Interior Minister Vit Rakušan said on Sunday. Over 200,000 Ukrainian refugees have now received special humanitarian visas in the Czech Republic, and the overall number of refugees in the country, according to mobile operators, is nearing 300,000. The Czech Republic is planning to open a temporary diplomatic representation in Ukraine. Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Smolek told Czech Radio that the ministry wants to open an office in Uzhhorod within two weeks. After a relatively cool start to the astronomical spring, which fell on Sunday, temperatures will begin to rise noticeably this week. Temperatures could reach 17 °C on Wednesday. The Czech Republic is the 9th best destination for an active holiday, according to fitness platform Gymcatch, mostly due to the country’s appeal for hikers, cyclists, and skiers.
Sunday, March 20, is the 30th anniversary of the opening of the first branch of the fast-food chain McDonald’s in the then Czechoslovakia. An estimated 11,000 people turned up for the opening of the company’s first outlet on Prague’s Vodičkova street on 20 March 1992, iDnes.cz wrote. In 1993, a Big Mac cost CZK 50, while the average salary was less than 6,000 crowns. But even the high cost did not deter customers from coming. In its first year, the company opened three restaurants in the Czech Republic, which attracted over three million customers. The first restaurant outside the capital opened a year later in the eastern city of Ostrava. And there was even a famous photograph of the former general secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, Miloš Jakeš, sitting down for a McDonald’s meal a few years later.
ChemiS, a Czech street artist with Kazakh roots, has created a new mural in Prague 4 featuring a girl taking shelter under a Ukrainian flag.
The assistance center in the Congress Center in Prague’s Vyšehrad and other places continue to face a huge influx of refugees. To date, the number exceeds 40,000. In the coming days, the influx of refugees from Ukraine will increase, not only in Prague but also in other regions. Thousands more volunteers can join the registration system and start helping. The organization Vlna pomoci enables fast and efficient volunteer coordination using a web application. Everyone who is currently can easily register on the website. “In the past week, 5,230 volunteers applied, and we have already filled the first 2,000 volunteer positions,” says David Suslik. The Prague Congress Center (KACPU) remains the most congested. Volunteers work about 250 shifts a day. Other centers in Prague are Central Station and Florenc Bus Station. “The first week was hectic. The initial interest was incredible, but we will need almost twice as many volunteers from next week,” adds Suslik. The centers need interpreters, but non-linguistic volunteers are also welcome for a variety of assistance. You can help refugees with interpretation in obtaining patience, health insurance, and work permits or obtain social benefits. They also help provide humanitarian accommodation. In addition to KCP and other places...
With the world in a state of upheaval, we could use some happy news. The United Nations has released its 10th annual World Happiness Report—just days ahead of the annual International Day of Happiness on March 20. For the fifth year in a row, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world, with Denmark coming in second, followed by Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The World Happiness Report—which ranks global happiness in more than 150 countries around the world—is released every year by the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The statisticians base the ranking on data from the Gallup World Poll and several other factors, including levels of GDP, life expectancy and more. With the world entering the third year of the pandemic, the report has three areas of focus in 2022: looking back; looking at how people and countries are doing in the face of Covid-19; and looking ahead to how the science of well-being is likely to evolve in the future. Happiness in troubled times Average life evaluations “have remained remarkably resilient” during the pandemic, with negative and positive influences offsetting each other, the report says. “For the young, life satisfaction has fallen, while for those over 60, it has risen...
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