Interior Minister Jan Hamacek will discuss the integration of the Afghans who are being transferred from Kabul to the Czech Republic with regional governors. Meanwhile, Prague City will offer help with the integration of Afghans who have previously worked for the Czech army or diplomatic service. The Czech Republic’s first evacuation flight from Kabul landed at Kbely Airport (in the northeast of Prague) on Monday morning with 46 Czech and local embassy workers and Afghan collaborators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Department of Defense plans to relocate another twenty army interpreters to the Czech Republic. “Prague is ready to welcome Afghan interpreters and their families, who are being transferred from Kabul to the Czech Republic. Similarly, we have already found a joint solution with the government to help Belarusian dissidents,” said Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) on Twitter. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that our diplomats return home safely. As for helping the coworkers of the Czech army, we want to take care of them, we are working on it, and we have a plan for it,” said the Czech prime minister. In March this year, Prague City rented six apartments to Belarusians who have fled...
The Rolling Stones first played in Prague 32 years ago, on August 18, 1990, at Strahov Stadium. More than 100,000 people attended the show, which became a symbol of the country’s new-found freedom. It was a special moment for Czechoslovaks, who could finally see live on stage stars they had only read about and whose music they knew from bootleg cassettes. The date is no accident: it almost coincides with the twenty-second anniversary of the Soviet invasion of 1968. And everybody is in disbelief, stuck in that electric moment that always precedes the unimaginable. Arriving in Prague on a government-supplied Tupolev Tu-154 plane on August 17, band members stayed at the Hotel Palace, a stone throw away from Wenceslas Square, and later had dinner at the invitation of Havel’s wife Olga Havlová in the restaurant Na Rybárně (which doesn’t exist today). The evening continued with a visit to the renowned Jazz Club Reduta and a party in their hotel suite. When suddenly the dense darkness is pierced by a cone of light. Silence breaks down into a roar. And like a mirage personified, Keith Richards, in blue jeans and a pink jacket, begins to caress his guitar strings. The first notes...
The Czech authorities have announced that all persons who have not been vaccinated or recovered from the COVID-19 disease arriving from Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Andorra, and San Marino will be subject to stricter entry rules, as the countries have been placed in the red category. Such a decision to place the above-mentioned countries in the red category has been taken in line with the latest data provided by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and will start being effective from tomorrow, August 16, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. Except for the newly added countries, the red category already includes Ireland, Estonia, Iceland, France, the Netherlands, Malta, Greece, the Canary Islands, and Portugal. As such, according to a press release issued by the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Health, all persons arriving from a country placed on Czechia’s red category must fill in the arrival form and undergo COVID-19 testing before entry if they used public transport to reach the country. In addition, everyone is required to go in quarantine as soon as they enter Czechia and undergo a second test after the fifth day of isolation. However, it has been noted that testing and self-isolation requirements apply only to those who have...
More and more people are seriously considering insects as a source of protein. The environmental benefits are manifold, but can regional start-ups in Central and Eastern Europe overcome consumer resistance to the idea that bugs can be food? Eating insects, also known entomophagy, is part of many traditional diets across the world. Insects such as crickets and mealworms are safe for human consumption and are a great source of protein. There are environmental benefits to consider as well. Rearing insects produces less greenhouse gas and uses less land and water compared to livestock. Insects also have a higher “feed conversion” — they can convert feed to protein more efficiently than traditional food animals such as pigs. Globally, there are already many start-ups turning insects such as crickets into food and selling them, either as protein powder made from ground-up bugs or whole – sometimes flavoured, sometimes not. In Central and Eastern Europe, Czechia has emerged as a regional hub for this nascent sector, boasting several high-profile start-ups. One of these is Terraz, producing a new twist on an old favourite — pasta made from cricket flour. Another is Entoway, selling a protein supplement made from plant protein and crickets. “It all...
Named after the district that hosts it, Prague 4, Pankrác prison was built between 1885 and 1889. At the time, the primary need was to replace the by then outdated and dilapidated prison of Saint Wenceslaus, which was located between Karlovo náměstí and the Vltava. The new detention center, which was then in an open countryside area (today it has the appearance of a Prague financial district, with banks, offices and shopping centers), was part of a vast Austro-Hungarian expansion project of the city and was supposed to represent the development of new technological and infrastructural systems in the sector of atonement for sentences, up to then unseen in the Empire, so much so that, even today, the prison remains a significant institution in the penal universe of the Czech Republic. The state-of-the-art prison, at the end of the nineteenth century, was designed to accommodate about eight hundred prisoners, while today its capacity is about 1,200. In the Habsburg period it in fact represented the maximum example of modernity in terms of prison construction. The centralized water and air heating system, as well as the presence of single cells, were a real rarity in Europe at the time. It was...
The Czech Republic’s government debt relative to gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 6.3 percentage points to 44.1 percent of GDP in the first quarter of this year. It was the second-largest growth among the countries of the European Union, after Cyprus. At the same time, Czech government debt is still the sixth-lowest in the EU. This follows from current Eurostat data, which was pointed out by the consulting company Moore Czech Republic. Across the European Union, government debt rose by 2.4 percentage points to 92.9 percent of GDP, with 23 of the 27 EU member states experiencing rising debt in the first quarter. “The COVID-19 pandemic peaked in the Czech Republic in the first quarter. At one time, we were one of the most affected countries in the world. It is the increased expenses for the fight against the pandemic and especially the measures restricting the full functioning of the economy that are the main reason for the above-average growth of public debt,“ said Petr Kymlička, a partner at Moore Czech Republic. However, according to Kymlička, the expenses associated with the pandemic are not the only causes of the debt increase in the case of the Czech Republic. “The...
The Czech Republic was evacuating its two diplomats from its embassy in Kabul on Saturday as the security situation in Afghanistan worsened, Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani held urgent talks with local leaders and international partners on Saturday as Taliban rebels pushed closer to Kabul, capturing a town south of the capital that is one of the gateways to the city. The United States is flying in troops to evacuate embassy staff and citizens and other countries are also moving their diplomats. “I have decided on the immediate evacuation of our diplomats to the international airport in Kabul,” Kulhanek said. Taliban take more territory The Taliban have launched an offensive that has led to the capture of major cities in the north, west and south of the country. The militant group seized its biggest prizes to date by taking Kandahar, the largest city in the south, and Herat, the main city in the West. Afghan government control is rapidly shrinking, limited mostly to Kabul and the eastern parts of the country. Many panicked Afghans are descending on the capital, fearing a renewal of the harsh Taliban rule they remember from two decades ago. The Pentagon has...
On August 18, the rock band Pražský výběr are set to perform a concert with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra to mark the 30th anniversary of the departure of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia. The concert will take place at Křižíkova Fontána – Výstaviště Holešovice. A show by the group back in 1991 symbolically confirmed the soldiers exit. Their pullout was overseen by Pražský výběr singer Michael Kocáb, who was then in politics. On February 26, 1990, Václav Havel was in Moscow meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev, and the pact on the total withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia was signed. “In my mind, the Soviet occupation of 1968 is the deepest wound,” said Havel on that day. “But it is a thing of the past, I believe, especially this evening when the treaty on troop withdrawal was signed. “Gorbachev and I agreed the best way to deal with the dark pages of our past is to look forward.” That very day, the first soldiers began pulling out, as a brass band struck up the “Internationale”, while outside the garrison gates locals bid them a less-than-fond farewell. According to historical records, the first railroad flatcars were loaded with Soviet soldiers and their...
On 14 August 1370, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor gave city privileges to the place that subsequently was named after him, according to legend after he had acclaimed the healing power of the hot springs. In the 14th century, Czech King Charles IV was often riding his horse around the Krušné (Ore) Mountains and the Slavkov Forest in Western Bohemia. Thanks to a chance his retinue one time apparently discovered the hot spring, to which the emperor soon attributed its curative power. He convinced himself about it with his own skin. Using the water from the spring he was able to heal his injured leg. According to a legend he ordered to build a town around the miraculous spring, which because of its springs still thrives and enjoys the fame far beyond the borders of our country. The hot springs were developed by Charles IV who, in August 1370, granted the mainly German-speaking spa town city privileges and named it “Carlsbad”, literally meaning “Charles’ baths”. But the spa’s great popularity dates primarily from the 19th century, when the main baths, colonnades, hotels, and sanatoria were built. The city soon became a gathering place for Europe’s wealthy invalids. The number of visitors...
The Czech Republic will continue with deportations of unsuccessful asylum seekers back to Afghanistan despite the deteriorating security situation, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek was quoted as saying on Friday. “The Czech Republic is treating each asylum application individually, it examines the reasons thoroughly to determine whether to grant (asylum) or not. We won’t make any blanket exceptions,” Hamacek told the news website www.idnes.cz. Czech officials have also been debating how to help Afghans who assisted Czech troops deployed with the NATO mission in Afghanistan, whose lives are now in danger from the advancing Taliban. Human rights organisations have urged the government to act fast. Germany and the Netherlands have suspended any deportations of migrants to Afghanistan due to the tense security situation as Taliban insurgents make sweeping gains in the Central Asian country. Some European Union countries, including Denmark and Germany, have suspended deportations as the Taliban has rapidly taken control of Afghan cities following the withdrawal of international forces. A deportation of six Afghan citizens to Kabul planned for Aug. 3 was canceled at short notice due to a bomb attack in the Afghan capital. “The security situation on the ground is changing so quickly at the moment that we...
L’Etape by Tour de France is a global series of races focused on cycling for the public attended by local enthusiasts and racers from around the world. The Czech premiere will offer a weekend cycling holiday for the whole family, which will include two racing routes for cyclists of all performance levels – the first track will offer 136 kilometers, a shorter variant will take cyclists on a 93-kilometer circuit. The cycling race for the public with the start and finish in Prague will take place on August 28, 2021. Furthermore, the routes will lead along the closed roads of the Křivoklát region, the Beroun region and the Czech Karst. The festival park with lots of stalls, attractions, a museum and the official products of Tour de France will be in the very centre of Prague. There will be much more to Tour de France than “just” racing, and L’Etape Czech Republic will be no different. You can look forward to a rich accompanying program. It is ideal for cycling fans, families with children; even lovers of French culture and gastronomy. For the fans watching the race along the sidelines, organizers will be preparing hotspots full of entertainment. This event is being held in the...
From the noisy and crowded Wenceslas Square, proceeding Northeast for a couple of stops on tram n°9, you will find yourself catapulted into another reality, where the previous streets full of tourists, give way to the typical sounds, sensations, smells and aromas of the neighbourhood. Žižkov, whose main area today lies in the Municipal District of Prague 3 – but which was actually an independent town until the 1920s – got its name from the Hussite leader Jan Žižka from Trocnov in 1877, a Czech general and hero of the civil war in Bohemia, whose historical and legendary figure is inextricably linked to Czech national consciousness. The neighbourhood stands at the foot of Vítkov hill, a place in which Žižka, loyal to the ideals of Jan Hus, achieved a major military victory over the army of Emperor Sigismund in 1420, against a bigger army, made up of thousands of more soldiers, compared to those of the Hussite rebels. On the hilltop, the stronghold of the Žižka Hussites, there is an imposing equestrian statue of the great leader (one among the biggest in the world), built by Bohumil Kafka in 1950, which represents him as a warrior. Historically, Žižkov has always...
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