In his traditional Christmas message to the nation, President Miloš Zeman praised the activities of the former government of Andrej Babiš (ANO), supporting compulsory vaccination, and criticizing the Green Deal. Zeman called the parliamentary elections, which led to the new government of Spolu (ODS, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09) and Pirates with STAN, “undoubtedly the most important event in the Czech Republic in the last year”. “I would like to appreciate the relatively correct course of the election campaign,” he said. He also praised the former Babiš government. “It has done a lot of good,”. He wished the deputies and members of the government many successes. “We have to respect the majority opinion of the population. Those who are not satisfied with the result of the election and at the same time did not vote, can only blame themselves,” he added. The cabinet has to deal with covid, energy and budget Zeman justified his opposition to Lipavsky (read more here) by his low qualifications or his views on relations with Israel and the Visegrad Four. However, in agreement with PM Fiala, he later appointed him. “I was told that it is important that (members of the government) are primarily politicians,” Zeman said...
Dozens of hardy swimmers took a very cold Christmas dip in Prague’s Vltava river on Sunday. It was the 75th edition of the event which commemorates the life of Alfred Nikodém, who was a goldsmith and a promoter of the Spartan lifestyle. The water and air temperatures were 3.5 and -1 degrees Celsius. The swim took place under tight anti-virus measures, with swimmers getting tested for Covid-19 and having to wear masks when not swimming. Swimmers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Britain, Austria, the USA and Russia took part in the competition. The competition takes place between two islands, the Slovanský and Strelecky islands. Along the entire route specialists observe the race and are ready to act if they detect hypothermia in participants. As participants completed the races, they dried off on the Slavonic Island where the prize ceremony took place in the Renaissance Zofin Palace. Last year, the race took place despite anti-pandemic measures. The water was 5.8 degrees a year ago, the air temperature was 1.8 degrees. Also this year, only those who have recovered from Covid-19, who are vaccinated or, have submitted a negative PCR test, could participate. Winter swimming was first seen in Prague...
At its first cabinet meeting, the new government headed by Petr Fiala decided not to ask the lower house to extend the Covid-related state of emergency in the country introduced on November 25 for a period of 30 days. Therefore, today at 23:59, the quarantine measures introduced will automatically expire. From tomorrow, December 26, restaurants, bars, clubs, and casinos will be able to remain open after 22:00, including on New Year’s Eve. The ban on drinking alcohol on the streets and in other public places will also expire. However, from December 29 to January 2, additional restrictions will apply. The measure is aimed at limiting the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant during New Year’s celebrations. – in restaurants, a maximum of four people can sit at one table (instead of the current six people). An exception is made only for members of one household, who will be allowed to sit at the table without limitations; – a maximum of 50 people will be allowed at indoor events, parties and New Year’s celebrations with only four people at one table.; – Cultural events will still be limited to 1,000 people but events, where people mingle, must not exceed 100 participants....
Police officers in Pardubice received a phone call from a local fast food on Thursday morning. Employees said they found a live carp in the toilet bowl. The carp were brought to the restaurant by a 28-year-old customer. The man bought the animal for the traditional Christmas dinner, but for some reason decided to place the carp in the toilet while he was waiting for his breakfast. “He probably didn’t come up with any better idea,” said police spokesman Jiří Sejkora. Before the arrival of the police, two employees took out the carp, placed it in a bucket of clean water, and then returned it to the owner. Carp and Christmas Carp for Christmas is not as strange as it seems. In Christianity fish have religious symbolism. Christ fed 5,000 with two fish and five loaves. He called his disciples ‘fishers of men.’ Fish should be eaten on fasting days. Christmas Eve is a fasting evening so carp is on the menu. One carp is enough for the whole family as there is sufficient meat between the bones to feed all. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, you’ll find massive tanks full of carp outside every single supermarket, ready...
129,440 new flats are now being built in the capital. However, less than 50,000 have entered the approval process. More than half of the flats will be built in Prague 9, 5 and 4, where there are a large number of brownfields. In Prague 9, the prices are the lowest thanks to a larger offer and competition. Compared to the previous half of the year, the number of new flats in preparation increased by more than six thousand and more than 50 percent compared to five years ago. In the last 10 years, only 2,900 flats in apartment buildings have passed through the permitting network every year. This year, the authorities have approved a record 5,952 flats, the highest since 2007. However, in order to improve the availability of housing, it is necessary to permit at least 10,000 flats a year. “Currently, the total value of all prepared projects reaches almost 1.2 million crowns. If they got the green light, the state would have at least CZK 155 billion in VAT alone. Accelerating the permit would therefore not only help solve the current housing crisis, but it is also in the great economic interest of the state,” says Central Group...
Manifesto Anděl will sparkle on the last night of this year with a diverse and glamorous program for visitors called Glam & Bubbles New Year’s Eve. Set up in the heated and decorated area under the covering, guests can kick off their evening at the beauty parlor with a private make-up artist invited for the occasion, to get a radiant look with glitter cosmetics. Throughout the evening, guests can enjoy a special, super photogenic Prosecco-based cocktail with a puff of cotton candy and a sweet cherry on top. DJ Giacomo, accompanied live by a saxophonist, will contribute to festive vibes from 5:30 pm. After 6:30 pm, visitors can look into their bright future thanks to the tarot cards fortune teller Andrea. As the closing time of Manifesto is 10 pm, guests will not experience the countdown till midnight during the evening program, yet their whole evening is an occasion to say a euphoric goodbye to the current year approaching its last moments. Attendance is subject to the same pandemic rules as visiting restaurants and guests are advised to make a reservation through the Manifesto e-shop. Program: Glam & Bubbles New Year’s Eve | 5 pm–10 pm 5: 30–9: 30pm |...
The Czech Republic´s central bank has again aggressively moved to increase its key interest rate in a continuing effort to tame soaring inflation. The 1 percentage point hike Wednesday to 3.75% was the fifth straight increase since June and was higher than expected by analysts. The bank, which considers high consumer prices a major threat, also had indicated it would raise the rate. Inflation jumped to 6% in November, the highest level in 13 years and well above the bank´s target of 2% target. Banks controlling monetary policy worldwide have started shifting their focus from stimulating the coronavirus-battered economy to combating soaring consumer prices that arrived during the recovery. Last week, the Bank of England became the first in a major advanced economy to raise interest rates since the pandemic began. Others, including the European Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve, are moving to exit pandemic-related economic stimulus. In the Czech Republic, the last time the central bank changed its rates was Nov. 4, when it increased the key interest rate by a point and a quarter to 2.75%. It was the first such move under the new government led by conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala, which was sworn in...
On 20 December, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the Czech national regulatory authority’s (CTU) draft market analysis with regard to the regulation of the wholesale market for access to mobile services in the Czech Republic. Access and call origination are services which mobile network operators (“MNOs”) supply to themselves and to other mobile network operators or mobile virtual network operators (operators who do not own a network, “MVNOs”) hosted on their networks. Such services can be provided also to other MNOs who have their own network and access rights to spectrum, but their network is still underdeveloped (e.g. due to late market entry, or due to a commercial decision to rely on national roaming in certain areas, rather than deploy its own network). CTU proposes to designate three MNOs (i.e. O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone) as having joint Significant Market Power (“SMP”) in this wholesale mobile market and consequently to impose regulatory obligations on these three operators, that are the main operators in the Czech market. In its serious doubts letter, the Commission does not question as such that the Czech mobile market may not display the characteristics of a fully competitive market. However, the Commission questions the...
Google published its annual “Year in Search”, revealing the top global Google searches by country. To highlight the most significant events and say goodbye to 2020, we collected the top searches in the Czech Republic. Sčítání lidu – the census that took place this year Euro 2021 Bitcoin Registrace očkování (vaccination registration, with several peaks in late February, May and late November) Volby (elections). The most searched Czech person was Milos Zeman, with a sudden peak in mid-October, when the Czech head of state’s hospitalization threw the country into a post-election limbo. Czechs also expressed the most interest in Dominik Feri, the youngest and first black MP in Czech political history who was forced to resign in May following a sexual abuse and harassment scandal. The “How to…” searches are also always full of valuable and surprising lessons to understand what was on the mind of a population. This year, Czechs were particularly keen on knowing more about: Jak dlouho platí antigenní test? (How long is an antigen test valid?) Jak vzniká tornádo? (How is a tornado formed?) – yes, the Czech Republic now has tornadoes, courtesy of 2021. Jak volit? (How to vote?) Jak dlouho trvá karanténa? (How long does the quarantine last?).
The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) and its partners O2 Czech Republic, T-Mobile Czech Republic, Vodafone Czech Republic and CETIN are proud to announce that the deployment of the 4G LTE mobile network is now complete in all 61 stations and 63 km of tunnels that make up Prague’s metro system. 180 Minute Installation Window All work on the installation of the LTE network has had to take place during regular nighttime subway closure times, which last for approximately three hours. However, network installation couldn’t be done every night as priority has to be given to essential reconstruction and repair work to stations and tunnels plus all of the other activities necessary to maintain the full operability of the metro system. To install this special radiating type of coaxial cable, it was first necessary to drill and insert plastic clips into the tunnel walls. These plastic clips are used instead of metal ones in order to eliminate the risk of signal interference. Up to 2,748 Meters between Stations The speed with which the new LTE network can be installed between stations has been highly dependent on the amount (length) of cable that needs to be installed. The shorted section of...
Prague wine supermarket LÁHVE: launched its own online store. Hundreds of quality wines can be delivered to your home or office. The online store is available at this link Customers can find about 600 types of wines for all budgets from France, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. The system allows you to sort them by different parameters. For example, by country of origin, sugar content (dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, etc.), color, year of bottling, and alcohol content. The list includes a wide range of sparkling wines, which is especially important on the eve of the holidays. On the occasion of the opening of LÁHVE: gives a 10% discount on all orders until the end of the year. To get it, you must enter the code PM2021 in a special field in the “Basket” The minimum order amount is 500 CZK. So far, the store delivers only in Prague and only by courier service Liftago. The cost for most parts of the city is 119 CZK. At the start of the new year, other shipping methods will be added, and the coverage area will be expanded.
What will this year’s festive timetables be like in Prague? They will basically not be much different from last year’s. Christmas Eve, 24 December – Prague public transport will operate on a Saturday schedule with the end of the daily schedule at 18:00. From this time on, the metro will start running at extended intervals of 20 minutes. The last trains from the terminal stations will leave as usual at midnight. Trams and buses in the evening and at night (from 18:00 to 07:00) will run at intervals of 30 minutes (except for bus 119). The last departure of the funicular at Petrin will take place at 17:00. December 25 and 26 – All public transport will run on a Sunday schedule. Daytime buses and trams will hit the streets at 07:00 am (route 119 earlier at 04:30). Bus routes 143 and 187 are canceled. December 27-30 – public transport will follow the “vacation” (prázdniny) timetables, which is valid during school holidays. Trams 4 and 21 and the bus 187 will be canceled. Tram 16 will only serve the Kotlářka – Ústřední dílny DP section. December 31 – transport will go on a special “vacation” (prázdniny) schedule. Trams 4 and...
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