Stores larger than 200 square meters will close at noon on December 24 and remain closed for two days after that. The law which came into effect last year, aims to make the Christmas period less about commerce and more about the holiday spirit, allowing people to slow down and spend time with their families. Not all stores are affected by the bill, of course. Pharmacies, gas stations, airport shops do not come under the legislation. Hamley’s toy store on Na Příkopě will be closed all day December 24. Furniture stores IKEA and Kika will also be closed that day. Electronics e-shop Alza.cz will open its main Prague shop in Holešovice December 26 for pickups and returns of items. The store maintains that since the sales take place online that opening the store for pickups does not violate the law. The law also includes New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, Liberation Day, the day of Czech Statehood Day on Sept. 28 and Independent Czechoslovak State Day on October 28. As for those, who open their doors in violation of the law? Fines can go up to one million crowns, while repeat offenders risk paying five times that amount. Author: red
Czech Airlines (ČSA) will terminate flights on their regular routes between Prague and Ostrava, Prague and Bratislava, and Bratislava and Košice, its spokesperson Daniel Šabík confirmed. “The main reason for the end of the operation on regular lines is the lack of capacity of the corresponding type of aircraft,” said Šabík, adding that it makes no economic sense to operate larger aircraft. However, the flights between Prague and Košice remain unchanged, Šabík said. The last flights on the soon-to-be canceled routes are scheduled for January 11, 2019. Passengers who bought tickets may request ticket reimbursement through the ČSA’s website. Author: red
A baby hippo was born last Wednesday in the Dvur Kralove zoo, the first one born in the zoo since 1989. Another one is expected in the coming weeks, said zoo spokeswoman Andrea Jirousova on Tuesday. The mother hippo is a seven-year-old Hula who came to the zoo in spring 2016 from Belgium together with another female hippo Mona. After their arrival, the zoo resumes hippo breeding after 14 years. The father hippo is Mike who came to the Dvur Kralove zoo in autumn 2017 from the Stuttgart zoo. Mike replaced two-year-old Karl Wilhelm, who also came from Germany and died in the zoo in August 2017. Zoo director Premysl Rabas said the birth of the baby hippo after almost 30 years is one of the most beautiful gifts the Dvur Kralove safari park has received for the Christmas this year. The baby hippo weights between 25 and 30 kilograms, its gender is not yet known. According to zoologist Jiri Hruby, hippos are usually born in the water where they also spend most of their time. However, the delivery in the Dvur Kralove zoo was carried out on dry land and at night when females tend to be out of...
The Czech cyber watchdog warned network operators on Monday against using software or hardware made by Chinese telecom equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE, saying they pose a security threat. “We are making this announcement based on our investigation and an information provided by our partners in the security area, as well as the results received by our allies,” said Dusan Navratil, director of the Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) Huawei is the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment but faces intense scrutiny in the West over ties to the Chinese government and concerns its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying. The company has repeatedly denied the allegations. “China’s laws, among other things, require private companies residing in China to cooperate with intelligence services, therefore introducing them into the key state systems might present a threat,” Navrátil added. Huawei is the largest telecom infrastructure supplier in the Czech Republic for local mobile operators. The company’s revenue in the country amounted to 6.55 billion Czech crowns (about $300 million) in 2017. Until 2022, Huawei plans to invest about $360 million in the Czech Republic and create a total of more than 4,000 new jobs. The United States and several other countries have also raised security questions with regard to the Chinese telecommunications giant. Author:...
The “Short Trousers For Václav Havel” initiative marks the anniversary of the death of Václav Havel (December 18, 2011), the country’s first post-communist President. Participants roll up their pants to remember Václav Havel’s first inauguration to the Presidency in December 1989, when he wore visibly short trousers. The goal is a “gesture that is humorous, non-violent but significant and perhaps even very Czech like.” The “trousers” reference dates back to Havel’s inauguration as Czechoslovak president on December 29, 1989, when cameras caught the almost painfully reticent champion of the Velvet Revolution in pants that barely reached his ankles. Years later, in a 2006 interview, Havel tried to dispel what he called a “national myth” by saying he’d simply adjusted his pants during the ceremony and they hadn’t settled in time for the cameras, which had turned on him earlier than scheduled. “Every man knows that we pull our trousers up from time to time and then it takes some time before they get back into the original position. That’s what happened that time at the castle. And because the military parade took place in the fourth minute instead of the fifth, since then it has become a national myth that...
Political leaders in the Czech Republic have previously condemned Islam in strong terms. Now, Jiří Kobza and his party Freedom and Direct Democracy, which is one of the larger in parliament, believe Islam is not just a religion but also a violent ideology that should be banned. “We have suggested that all ideologies that promote hatred and violence should be banned. One of the ideologies is Islam. And then we have fascism and Nazism”, he says. He points out that Muslims neither want nor will integrate into non-Muslim societies. “It is not migration – it’s colonization”, he added A strong mistrust of Islam exists throughout the political spectrum in the Czech Republic, where only 0.5 percent of the population are Muslim. “We do not want more Muslims in the Czech Republic”, the Social Democratic then Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka noted in an interview last year. Even Czech President Milos Zeman, who is also a Social Democrat, has strongly condemned the Middle Eastern religion. Among other things, he has said that Islam simply does not belong in Europe. Author: red
Billa Czech Republic has announced that it will cease the sale of plastic bags at the end of 2018, replacing them with recycled paper bags and degradable polypropylene bags. The retailer, which is part of Rewe Group, added that in the spring of next year, it will also expand its assortment of jute and textile bags. Two heavy duty paper bag sizes will be available, with a load of 10kg (for CZK 3.90) and 15kg (CZK 6.90) respectively, while customers will also be able to purchase bags made of degradable polypropylene for 29.90 CZK. “This is the next landmark in our sustainability strategy,” commented Jaroslaw Szczypka, managing director for Billa CR. “We believe that customers will welcome this step towards even greater environmental protection and get used to new alternatives such as paper bags made of recycled paper and other more environmentally friendly options.” The group made the move as part of its long-term environmental strategy, it said, noting that plastic bags will remain on sale in its stores until the end of 2018 or when supplies run out. Author: red
Morcheeba returns to the Czech Republic after 6 long years, and their Metronome Festival set is going to include songs from the new album, as well as time-tested fan favourites. The British band was founded by Godfrey brothers – Ross (guitar) and Paul (electronics) – and singer Skye Edwards in 1995. They took the global music scene by storm with the successful debut album Who Can You Trust? (1996) and followed up with the albums Big Calm (1998) and Fragments of Freedom (2000). Morcheeba has sold more than 10 million CDs and has performed on main stages all over the world. Metronome Festival Prague is a two-day music festival whose stellar lineup combines major international performers with a “best of” from the local scene. The headliner of this edition are the pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerks who promised to prepare a unique 3-D show. They will be joined by KAMP! from Poland and other stars like the Czech indie pop band Khoiba, and the Slovak instrumental group The Ills, whose music is based on the massive sound of guitars and mesmerizing rhythm. The Metronome festival was launched in 2016, the first year attracted 7,500 people, the last one saw 18,000 people. Author: red
As of Tuesday (December 11), 16 million passengers have been cleared in the Václav Havel Prague Airport this year. It is estimated that 16.8 million passengers will be cleared by the end December. This is a 9 percent year-on-year growth of passengers at the airport and exceeds previous records of annual foot traffic in the airport. The airport plans to expand through several new investments within the next year. This year, the airport accommodated approximately 46,000 passengers a day. Václav Havel Airport has long been the fastest growing airport in Europe in the category of 10 million to 25 million passengers and is growing faster than the European average of similar-sized airports, airports experts noted. Just within the third quarter, the number of passengers increased by 9.3 percent compared to the other similar-sized airports who saw 5 percent growth. “For the third consecutive year, Prague Airport records a record of the number of checked-in passengers and we expect approximately 1.4 million passengers to travel by 2018 than we did in the previous year, and we expect growth in 2019, both in the number of checked- which can reach three to five per cent, as well as the number of direct...
Winter is coming—err, liquor is coming, too. A new Game of Thrones’ pop-up bar opened up in the Karlin district. White Walker Bar has a very limited run: now until Dec. 23. And, it’s only open Wednesday through Sunday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m on Sokolovská across the street from Karlínské náměstí. Everything is Game-of-Thrones themed, as the bar is named after the zombie antagonists from the HBO show. A giant icy blue gar and frosted Johnnie Walker figure dressed up as the Night King from the show greet customers when they enter. The bar transformed itself into the North-of-the-Wall sets. Top bartenders, on-brand decorations and high-quality drinks are promised, as they have five special themed cocktails. Each drink uses the limited-edition Johnnie Walker White Walker whisky which is a scotch that has nods of caramel and vanilla. The special batch is brewed in Cardhu and Clynelish (two of Scotland’s northernmost distilleries). Looks like they’re King of the North. The whiskey is sold locally for 999 crowns, so drink it up in this. The alcohol makes the time speed up for the series final season this April. Author: Meredith Hessel
Prague City has unveiled its selection a new design of the transport shelters and railings. The designers of the winning design are Michal Froněk, Jan Němeček, Aleš Kachlík and Martin Klanica. The first test prototypes will be installed in October 2019. “We want a modern metropolis. Ordinary, but very visible items such as waste bins, benches and transport shelters are an integral part of a modern metropolis,” commented Jan Chabr, City Councilor for Asset Management. “Prague has historically spent a disproportionate amount of money on maintaining such items, and the winning design of the transit stop was also able to take this into account. I am pleased that these things are now really being handled professionally.” The task of the negotiation was to design a shelter that is functional, high quality and attractive, with a universal and timeless design. The jury also considered the ease of maintenance and susceptibility to vandalism. The new shelters will not only be an esthetic improvement but will also significantly reduce operating and maintenance costs. The winning shelter is made of a dark grey powdered cast aluminum and apart from a single side intended for advertising all other walls are transparent. Inside the shelter is...
LG’s latest venture is well outside the company’s usual repertoire of phones, TVs, large appliances and the like. The electronics giant is stepping into the world of automated beer brewing with the LG HomeBrew. LG HomeBrew is set to make its debut at CES 2019 in early January. It’s the lazy person’s solution to creating your very own beer at home because it automates every single step of the process. A free companion app (for Android and iOS devices) lets users check HomeBrew’s status at anytime, anywhere. The HomeBrew relies on single-use capsules which contain malt, yeast, hop oil, and flavoring. Once the capsules are inserted into the machines, simply press a button and the fermentation, carbonation, and aging process happens automatically. Once it’s done and you’re enjoying your beer, the HomeBrew will clean itself ready for the next round of brewing. LG will offer capsules for five beer styles at launch: American IPA American Pale Ale English Stout Belgian Witbier Czech Pilsner LG hasn’t announced prices for the capsules yet either. However, unlike those capsule coffee machines, the process isn’t near-instant. Producing the beer takes approximately two weeks, but at the end of that period you’ll have up to five liters to drink. “LG HomeBrew is...
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