Politics & Economics

Prague’s Former Imam Admits Support of Islamic Fighters

Former Prague imam Samer Shehadeh admitted on Tuesday that he had helped his brother and sister-in-law travel to Syria to join a terrorist organization, Jabhat Fatah as-Sham (Conquest of Syria). Along with his brother Omar and his sister-in-law Fátima Hudková, were all charged with supporting terrorism. For these offenses, they face up to 15 years in prison. Shehadeh said he does not consider it a criminal act because he does not recognize the Syrian government or perceive Jabhat Fatah as-Sham as terrorists. In November 2016, Shehadeh first helped his brother to travel to Syria and join the terrorist organization. Later, he arranged for Fátima Hudková to leave as well. “I raised funds to help people affected by the war in Syria – to buy food, and secondly I traveled to Istanbul with a sum of money I collected. Then, I contacted jihadists, and I wanted to join them,” Shehadeh said in court. Czech intelligence services began investigating the trio in 2016. He left his post as imam in 2014 and was eventually expelled by the Czech Muslim community, according to Radio Prague. Shehadeh is Czech-born with Palestinian roots. Having secured a degree from the Islamic University of Medina, he took a...

by Prague Morning Jan 08, 2020

Cheaper Beer, More Expensive Cigarettes: What is Changing in 2020

The upcoming year will again be marked by major changes for entrepreneurs and citizens. We summed up the list of major legislative changes: More expensive cigarettes According to the tobacco companies, for a packet of cigarettes consumers are likely to pay an extra 12 or 13 crowns. The new rates will come into effect on 1 March 2020. Starting from then, the three-month deadline for the resale of stocks will start, and from 1 June 2020 only cigarettes with the new tax rate will be available for sale. Receipts for almost… everyone At the beginning of May, all-cash payments (paid in cash, by check, promissory note or deposits) will also have to be recorded by all craftsmen and private individuals engaged in a freelance profession. The last phase of Electronic Records of Sales (EET) will start. Spirits become more expensive The government will increase the tax on tobacco and spirits. The price of a bottle for 40% alcohol will increase by 9.10 crowns (beer and wine are not affected by the price increase). Cheaper draft beer and hairdressers With the introduction of EET, VAT will be reduced for selected services and products, unless entrepreneurs decide to keep the difference. For example,...

by Prague Morning Dec 30, 2019

Zeman Slams Russia’s ‘Insolence’ Over 1968

Czech President Milos Zeman on Friday (December 27) lashed out at Russia’s “insolence” for protesting against Prague’s decision to turn the anniversary of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of then-Czechoslovakia into a memorial day. Czech lawmakers passed a bill earlier this month to designate Aug 21 as “a day commemorating the victims of the invasion and subsequent occupation by the Warsaw Pact armies”. Zeman signed the bill into law on December 13. Zeman added that he could cancel his visit to Moscow on the 75th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War. “Some time ago, I accepted the invitation of the President Putin to take part in the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Victory, and now I’m thinking about whether to go there at all or, what I’ll most likely do, go there and say to the Russians: “What if you turned the page and stopped recalling this anniversary?” Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was disappointed with the law adopted by the Czech Republic, which shows “the desire of Prague … to return to the events of half a century ago” in the modern context. Moscow noted that such a situation does not contribute to the...

by Prague Morning Dec 28, 2019

Czech President Uses Christmas Message to Criticize Slow Courts

Czech President Milos Zeman presented his Christmas message on Thursday, drawing attention to the slowness in trial proceedings, housing, and infrastructure construction in the country. “I would summarize the problem I want to talk about in one word. Slowness. The slowness of court proceedings, slowness of construction process, slowness in the construction of transport infrastructure,” he said, citing examples of trials lasting 10 to 20 years while warning against highway construction that takes 13 years. In the message, Zeman praised the low unemployment rate, stable economic growth, relatively low state debt and the growth of the average wage and old-age pensions in the country. Zeman also talked about climate change in his message. Calling himself “a heretic of the climate change debate”, the president said he was unsure whether the decisive factor of the planet’s warming was human activity. “I believe that the discussions on climate change are becoming a new religion, and therefore let me be a heretic,” he said, warning that the European Union (EU) should not become an environmental open-air museum with a lower standard of living under the influence of climate protection measures. He added that he would not like green banking in the EU to...

by Prague Morning Dec 27, 2019

Prague to Become 50th Sister City of ‘The City Of Taipei, Taiwan’

The Taipei City Council on Tuesday, December 24, passed the sister city agreement drafted between Prague and Taipei in which “The City Of Taipei, Taiwan” will be used as the latter’s official name. Chou Tai-chu, a spokesperson for the Taipei City Government, told CNA on Tuesday that the council passed the agreement without further amendment and that the mayor could sign it with his Czech counterpart during his study tour in Europe next January at the earliest. Ying Hsiao-wei, chief secretary of the council’s Kuomintang (KMT) caucus, said she wholeheartedly agreed that Taipei should establish sister-city relations with Prague but using a mutually equal national title. In her opinion, “The City of Taipei, Republic of China” is the correct name to use. Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib, who has been seen as a staunch supporter of Taiwan, has openly called Beijing “an unreliable business partner” and called on the international community to be cautious about the Chinese Communist Party’s influence across the globe. In the article, “Why we fly the Tibetan flag over Prague City Hall,” published by the Washington Post on Monday, December 23, Hrib declared China as “an unreliable business partner” which would breach deals already made with other countries for...

by Prague Morning Dec 26, 2019

ICON Communication Centres Wins Gold Award at the ECCCSA 2019

ICON Communication Centres s.r.o. (ICON), a leading supplier of business process outsourcing (BPO) services, proudly won the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSA) coveted Gold Award for the ‘Best Implementation of Technology’. The award recognised ICON’s success in devising and deploying a technology solution that unified the disparate systems of its client, a leading supplier of global payment solutions for car parks around the world. This is the second year in a row that ICON has won the Gold award in this category, the first announced of the evening. “It was tough winning an ECCCSA this year. Organisations across Europe are doing outstanding things to improve the employee experience, and the ramping up of technology focused on progressing the customer experience in line with customer demand is incredible. Winners this year are fine examples of how the customer contact industry is pushing boundaries and delivering excellence.” Ann-Marie Stagg, Chair of the Judges, ECCCSA Judges recognised how ICON streamlined the management of incoming customer inquiries across thousands of parking sites worldwide to positively impact the customer experience of car park users in Europe, South America, and the United States. ICON effected significant improvement to the client’s customer experience and return on...

by Cara McErlean Dec 16, 2019

EU Audit Confirm Czech PM Babiš in Conflict of Interest

A European Commission audit confirmed the billionaire Czech prime minister has a conflict of interest over alleged ties to his business empire. The European Commission said on Friday it had sent the audit results to the Czech authorities but said the contents were confidential as the audit procedure was ongoing. Companies in the Agrofert group, the core of Babiš’s assets estimated at $3.5 billion by Forbes, are some of the largest recipients of EU subsidies, both for farming and for investment projects, in the central European country. They are run by two trust funds since 2017, an arrangement Babis made to meet local law on conflict of interest. The final version of the report confirmed preliminary findings disclosed in May, in which the European Union‘s executive arm declared that Andrej Babis has maintained ties to businesses he founded while influencing decisions that could have affected EU subsidies they would have received. Babiš has repeatedly rejected conflict-of-interest allegations, saying he complied with the law by placing his chemical, agriculture and media conglomerate Agrofert in trusts before taking power in 2017. The Czech Ministry of Local Development said Sunday the report is classified and the process isn’t finished. Czech authorities will...

by Prague Morning Dec 02, 2019

The Czech Economy Slows to 2.5% in 3Q

Growth in the Czech economy slowed to 2.5% in the third quarter, according to refined estimates. Household consumption remains the main growth driver GDP structure reveals that growth was driven mainly by household consumption similarly as in previous quarters. However, annual growth slowed further from 2.9% in 2Q to 2.3%. Compared to 3-4% growth in 2015-2018, household consumption started to slow down and 3Q growth fell also below the CNB’s expectation of 2.9%. Investment, which saw a surprise and noticeable decline last quarter, remained subdued in Q3. In fact, it’s falling slightly year-on-year, driven mainly by a 2.6% YoY decline in ICT and machinery investment. However, real estate investment accelerated to 7% YoY. Government consumption saw a solid growth of 3.3% in the third quarter, which is above our and the CNB’s expectations. Net exports contribute to growth due to import slowdown Due to a slowdown in investments, which are very import-intensive, we also see an import slowdown (1% YoY in 3Q vs. 2% in the previous two quarters), which in turn increases the contribution of net exports to GDP. The same effect was observed in the last quarter when net exports contributed 0.7 percentage to YoY growth as in...

by Prague Morning Nov 29, 2019

Czech Government Decides to Raise Minimum Wage

Representatives of the Czech coalition government agreed on Wednesday to raise the country’s minimum wage by CZK 1,250 to CZK 14,600 per month as of next January, according to local media reports. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis later confirmed the agreement, calling it a “good compromise,” according to Czech TV. The minimum wage, which currently stands at CZK 13,350, was last increased in January this year. Trade unions demanded for the minimum wage to be increased by CZK 1,640 while employers suggested an increase of CZK 700. The negotiations resulted in a pragmatic settlement which should see a modest minimum wage increase of 1,250 crowns per month. The formal text of the new regulation will be prepared by the Ministry of Labor and then be submitted to the Cabinet for approval. With a minimum wage of CZK 12,200 in 2018 and CZK 11,000 the previous year, the Czech Republic has been among the EU countries with the lowest minimum monthly wage. Labour Minister Maláčová has been pushing for an automatic year-on-year increase in minimum wages. xosotin chelseathông tin chuyển nhượngcâu lạc bộ bóng đá arsenalbóng đá atalantabundesligacầu thủ haalandUEFAevertonfutebol ao vivofutemaxmulticanaisonbetbóng đá world cupbóng đá inter milantin juventusbenzemala ligaclb leicester...

by Prague Morning Staff Nov 28, 2019

Russia, China Behind ‘Most Aggressive’ Spying in Czech Republic

The Czech Republic’s top intelligence agency warned that China increased its efforts to recruit agents and destabilize state institutions last year as it and Russia continued to threaten the nation’s security, the counterintelligence agency said Tuesday in a report for 2018. The countries’ activities were connected to politics, diplomacy, espionage, economy and information warfare, the Czech counterintelligence agency BIS said. It said Russia’s foreign, military and domestic intelligence agencies — the SVR, GRU and FSB — were all active in the Czech Republic last year. “The key Russian goal is to manipulate decision-making processes and the individuals responsible for the decision-making in order to force the counterparty to conduct activities to weaken itself,” BIS said. Russia’s hybrid operations against perceived NATO and EU enemies — “not elements of intelligence or para-intelligence activities” — posed the main threat to the Czech Republic, the agency said in the 2018 report. It added that Russia’s intelligence and non-intelligence entities can swap roles and functions, allowing any authority or agency to perform intelligence operations. Russia has previously denied assertions that it operates a spy network in the Czech Republic. BIS also highlighted the role of Czech activists across a wide ideological range who — “whether...

by Prague Morning Nov 27, 2019

Czech Republic to Impose 7% Tax on Global Internet Giants

The Czech government has approved a plan to adopt a tax on internet giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. Joining France and some other countries, the measure would impose a 7% annual tax on companies’ digital business revenues in the Czech Republic. It would apply to companies with global sales worth more than 750 million euros and Czech revenue exceeding 100 million Czech crowns. The proposed tax covers revenue gained from targeted advertising, providing digital market places, and user data sales. The finance ministry has estimated the tax could bring in some 5 billion crowns ($216 million) a year, starting in 2020. “Internet giants do not pay taxes in our country to an extent that would match their profits, which is unfair to other companies in the Czech Republic that pay taxes,” said Finance Minister Alena Schillerová. “We have long supported the search for a common international solution, but unfortunately negotiations at EU and OECD levels will take some time. And because we can no longer wait and see the unequal competition of global giants with other entrepreneurs, we come up with our own temporary digital tax adjustment until an international compromise will be found.” The Czech Republic is following the...

by Petr B. Nov 19, 2019

Prague’s Charles University is Being Shaken by a Scandal

Prague’s Charles University is being shaken by a scandal over secret Chinese payments to four of its faculty members, amid concerns that Beijing could use its ties with some Czech politicians to build influence in academia. The university, one of the world’s oldest academic institutions, fired Milos Balaban, until recently head of the university’s Centre for Security Policy (SBP), and two other members of the social sciences faculty last week. The move came after the school discovered they had set up a private company under the name of SBP which was paid by the Chinese embassy for conferences co-organised by the university centre. The payments, first revealed by Czech news outlet Aktualne, have triggered a university probe of several companies owned by Mr Balaban, Mirka Kortusová, a financial and project manager at the CSP, and Libor Stejskal and Jan Ludvík, two research fellows at the centre. Continue to read the article here xosotin chelseathông tin chuyển nhượngcâu lạc bộ bóng đá arsenalbóng đá atalantabundesligacầu thủ haalandUEFAevertonfutebol ao vivofutemaxmulticanaisonbetbóng đá world cupbóng đá inter milantin juventusbenzemala ligaclb leicester cityMUman citymessi lionelsalahnapolineymarpsgronaldoserie atottenhamvalenciaAS ROMALeverkusenac milanmbappenapolinewcastleaston villaliverpoolfa cupreal madridpremier leagueAjaxbao bong da247EPLbarcelonabournemouthaff cupasean footballbên lề sân cỏbáo bóng đá mớibóng đá cúp thế...

by Prague Morning Nov 11, 2019

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