For this year’s elections to the Chamber of Deputies, 22 electoral groups submitted candidate lists. There are about a third fewer of them than in the last election four years ago. At that time, 31 parties and movements supplied candidates. The deadline for nominations ended today at 16:00. As in previous years, not all groups registered their adepts for deputies in all regions. Voters could have the largest selection in Prague and in the South Moravian Region, where 21 candidates were submitted. On the contrary, 17 candidates met in the Karlovy Vary, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec and Hradec Králové regions. As expected, the candidate lists were submitted by all parliamentary parties, which according to polls have a chance to re-occupy parliamentary seats. YES, SPD, CSSD, and KSCM run separately, ODS, KDU-CSL and TOP 09 formed a coalition Together, the coalition candidate was also formed by Pirates with Mayors. Representatives of the Tricolor joined the Private and the Free as one electoral party. He would also like to keep his Free Bloc seats in the Chamber. However, according to surveys, the new movement The Oath of Former Policeman Robert Šlachta is more favored. The New Electoral Party is also the Sources Movement, which includes, among others, the Path...
On 7-8 August, you can take part in guided tours and marvel at the palace’s interiors This weekend, residents and tourists in Czechia will have the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful buildings in Prague: the Liechtenstein Palace. Although this palace is typically off-limits, the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic will make it open to the public on 7 and 8 August. The government’s action is part of its participation in the Open House Festival which seeks to make inaccessible buildings open to citizens and tourists. According to the government’s website, the Liechtenstein Palace dates back to 1555. Although it has had several owners over the years, the palace became the property of the Municipality of Prague in 1897. Now, it is used by the government for various official purposes and events. Thus, the public will be able to see and walk through halls and rooms which are currently used for conferences, state delegations and protocol events. Expanding on this, the government disclosed that numerous influential individuals have stayed and/or visited Liechtenstein Palace. Some of these include King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sofia, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, as well as the Japanese...
Want to take your Instagram feed to new heights? Then take a seat at any one of these stunning restaurants and snap away. They are the most Instagrammable restaurants in the world, according to the 2021 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Restaurants Awards, with the 20 dining spots showcased here making up the ranking for the Picture-Perfect Restaurants category. Scroll through to see pictures of all 20 of the Picture-Perfect restaurants, presented in reverse order. 20. NEMO RESTAURANT & LOUNGE, KADRIYE, TURKEY: Tripadvisor touts this eatery as a ‘feast for the eyes and taste buds’ that offers an ‘other-worldly experience as you descend into the restaurant via a floating staircase’ to be met with ‘striking decor and an aquarium backdrop’. The site adds: ‘We know, another aquarium restaurant. Can you ever have enough aquarium restaurants?’ 19. CRAFT, BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM: Here, diners are immersed in ‘dark and sultry vibes’ and the occasional imitation cherry blossom tree. Plus, there’s a ‘striking’ glass-walled private dining room. 18. HAOMA, BANGKOK, THAILAND: Here, in what’s claimed to be Bangkok’s first urban farm dining restaurant, diners sit in a two-story glass house surrounded by lush greenery. 17. LA COLLINE RESTAURANT,...
The new Prague Integrated Transport (PID) tariff, which was approved by councilors in the spring, has a different price for the same ticket according to the way passengers buy it. SMS tickets, which are used by most people, are more expensive than buying a ticket in the Lítačka app. The city explains that this difference is due to commissions from the mobile operator. “SMS tickets are now up to two crowns more expensive than paper tickets or from the PID mobile app because they are burdened with margins for the private operator,” said Ropid spokesman Filip Drápal. A new 30-minute ticket purchased with a text message costs CZK 31, while a paper ticket purchased through the app costs CZK 30. There is a similar difference with a 90-minute ticket: instead of CZK 40, it costs CZK 42 for an SMS ticket. Commissions for the sale of individual tickets vary significantly depending on the distribution channel. “The SMS ticket has always been understood as an additional service, which is also valid only to a limited extent (it is not valid on suburban buses and trains in Prague or in any means of transport in the Central Bohemian Region). That is why...
Two people have been killed and up to 50 injured after two trains smashed into each other in the Czech Republic. Police said the crash occurred shortly after 8 am outside the village of Milavce in the rural southwest around 15 km from the German border. According to local media, the trains that collided were the EX 351 train and the OS 7406 train between the Domazlice and Blizejov stations. According to the Czech Railways website, the EX 351 is an express service from Munich to Prague. The local CTK news agency said up to 50 passengers could have been injured, citing firefighters. TV footage on Czech Television showed the driver’s damaged cabin of the fast train’s locomotive, as well as the front part of the local train. Both trains remained upright on or close to the tracks. Czech transport minister Karel Havlicek said human error likely caused the crash. He said the driver of the high-speed train had failed to stop at a designated location. ‘The situation is serious,’ said Havlicek, who was heading to the site. Seven people were in critical condition and rescue teams, including ambulances from neighbouring Germany, have been rushing people to hospitals in nearby...
Shareholders of Moneta Money Bank last month decided the acquisition of Airbank won’t happen this year. It was the second attempt to merge those two banks, however, the general meeting failed to reach a majority to support it. Even though more than half of the present shareholders agreed with the acquisition of Airbank, they failed to reach the necessary 75% of votes in favor of the issuance of new shares. Issuance of new shares is necessary for the deal to happen in order to raise more capital for the new entity. The acquisition was anticipated by experts, many of whom argued the new bank would increase competition in the market. While in general, decreasing the number of market players tends to worsen competition, Vladimír Staňura, adviser to the Czech Banking Association, argued in an interview for penize.cz that the new entity may put competitive pressure on the three banks that dominate the Czech market. Indeed, the three largest commercial banks in the Czech Republic, Česká Spořitelna, ČSOB, and Komerční Banka have remained in their dominant positions since their establishment in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Many new players have since them attempted to challenge those three banks but none...
One central facet of the pandemic still dominating lives all over the planet is the collapse of numerous industries once taken for granted. Live music is no exception. From the first lockdown, all forms of live music completely vanished. Its return to a recognizable form is occurring only gradually. This is the opening installment – focusing on club culture – of a three-part series that examines COVID’s impact on live music in the Czech Republic. The second part will focus on smaller, indoor concerts, while the final piece of this series will examine festivals. Prague Morning recently caught up with local DJs/producers DJ Tuco (Radio 1’s The Work Out, Footclan, Meanbucket), Z-Kat (Masquerave) and Eva Porating (Ankali) to discuss, among other things, the possibility of a longstanding culture permanently altered, the prevalence of outdoor events, and what the clubgoer could possibly expect both now and in the near future. Did you think electronic and/or club music could be permanently altered by a pandemic that forced people to stay home? DJ Tuco: No, I don’t think so. People will forget about it [the pandemic] fairly quick. Z-Kat: Not in the grand scheme of things unless the clubs remain closed for a...
Czech President Miloš Zeman officially signed a new addition to the country’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms which makes it legal to protect oneself or others by the use of firearms if legally stipulated conditions are met. The Constitutional right will become valid from September 1, the Czech News Agency reports. On July 13, the Czech government announced that it endorsed a plan to enshrine the right of individuals to use a firearm to defend themselves and others in the central European nation’s constitution. The move comes three years after another pro-gun constitutional amendment passed the Czech Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the Czech Parliament) but failed to receive final approval. Last September, 35 members of the Czech Senate introduced legislation to amend the Czech Constitution’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. The proposal would alter the charter to include language that roughly translates to the following, “The right to defend one’s life or another’s life and weapons is guaranteed under the conditions laid down by law.” In a document explaining the forwarded change, the senators noted, “The current proposal… strengthens the fundamental rights of individuals. The proposal itself introduces a constitutional enshrinement of the right to defense with arms.” The item goes on...
The second covid summer hit the short-term housing market even stronger than last year. The latest statistics on the use of the Airbnb rental platform show that the number of accommodation offers remains the same as during the winter lockdowns, and is thus several times lower than last summer. Many companies that managed short-term rentals had to quit due to a great decline in tourism. In Prague, around 13,500 flats are intended for short-term accommodation, but only a fraction of them is active rentals. In the last six months, according to new data, only 1,215 flats were actually used, i.e. had visitors at least once a month. During the whole of 2020, there were 8,796 offers, in previous years the annual values exceeded 12,000 flats. “For tourists that have already visited Prague, the idea of returning to the city during pandemic times is impossible. Thanks to the unified European strategy on the use of covid passports, some foreign tourists are visiting the city, but they are still a minority,” observes the chairman of the Czech Association of Private Landlords and Residents Matěj Koutný. A year ago in June, 1,183 flats were rented for short term, this year only 145. Prague City Councillor Hana Kordová...
The Czech Republic has left many Indian students confused with their new announcement regarding travel restrictions for those travelling from India. If you have a visa that was issued before August 2, you will not be able to enter the Czech Republic. Several students, researchers, and even families have been waiting for the Czech Republic to open its doors for Indians again, which have been shut since April this year due to the pandemic. The most recent announcement that came out on August 2 read, “It is not possible to travel to the Czech Republic on the basis of a short-term or long-stay visa issued before 2 August 2021.” This has further led to more confusion amongst students. Shubhra Sau (30) is all set to go to the Czech Republic for his PhD. studies. His visa got approved but the new announcement has just led to more angst. “What is the point of this announcement? What will happen to those who have valid student visas?” he wondered. There are many like Shubra, at least 200 more, who are now left in the lurch. Saunak Sinha Ray, for instance, was awarded an early-stage researchers’ grant by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, a...
There were not enough skilled workers in the Czech Republic before the coronavirus crisis hit the country. Now that the nation is in the process of reopening its economy, the problem is coming back. Many businesses report that the labour shortages that blighted the Czech economy before the pandemic are already an issue amid the very earliest stages of reopening. “Companies were already expecting in January that recruitment would be the biggest obstacle to the development of their businesses this year,” said Karina Kubelkova at the Czech Chamber of Commerce, “and they’re confirming that now.” Analysts note that while Czech unemployment expanded over the last year, it wasn’t by much. Joblessness at the end of the first quarter stood at just 3.2%, the second-lowest in the EU after neighbouring Poland. The tight market means that the cost of labour continues to rise. In May, the average monthly wage rose by 3.2% compared with a year earlier to 35,285 Czech crowns, and analysts expect it to accelerate sharply. It’s taken little time for these abstract macroeconomic data to become a very real headache for companies eager to make up for lost time. In the years ahead of 2020, the difficulties of...
Effective the upcoming winter season, Ryanair will launch a new direct route to Naples, Italy. Flights from Prague will be available up to four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. At the same time, the carrier plans to resume flights to additional destinations, such as Barcelona, Billund, Paris Beauvais Airport and Manchester. In winter, the airline will thus offer connections to a total of 28 destinations from Václav Havel Airport Prague. Tickets for all flights are already available for purchase via the carrier’s website. In addition to the newly announced destination, Ryanair prepared one more pleasant surprise for its passengers. The carrier used a brand-new aircraft to service its morning direct flight from London Stansted Airport to Prague, namely an aircraft called Boeing 737-8200 ‘Gamechanger’. This version of Boeing 737 MAX, with the EI-HEZ registration mark in the colors of the Irish carrier, appeared in Prague for the first time. Ryanair has ordered more than 200 of these aircraft, each of which offers 197 seats, reduces fuel consumption by 16% per seat and lowers noise and CO2 emissions by 40%.
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