• 03/29/2024

    Nine coalitions and 17 political parties have to date registered their electoral accounts for June’s European Parliament elections with the relevant official body in Czechia, the Czech News Agency reported on Friday. Parties must submit their lists of candidates for the elections by next Tuesday.

    During the last European Parliament elections five year ago 40 different groups took part.

    The Together coalition, which includes government parties the Civic Democrats, TOP 09 and the Christian Democrats, will run as an alliance again in the elections. The Pirates and the Mayors, who stood in the last general elections in a coalition, will stand separately this time. The main opposition party ANO will also campaign independently, while Freedom and Direct Democracy will run with Tricolour, another anti-EU party.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/29/2024

    The speaker of the Czech lower house, Markéta Pekarová Adamová of TOP 09, says it would be irresponsible to hold a vote on ratifying the Istanbul Convention at present, given the unclear level of support for it among MPs.

    She said that this risked a definitive Czech rejection of the accord, which is designed to protect women.

    Pirate Party leader Ivan Bartoš has called for a vote on the matter in the Chamber of Deputies. The Czech Senate in January voted against ratifying the convention, which the country has already signed up to.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/29/2024

    Interest in special Easter beers and green beer continues to grow in Czechia, the Czech News Agency reported on Saturday. Some breweries have made more such brews for Easter this year than last year, though due to inflation and rising costs drinkers can expect to pay more than at this time 12 months previouslyl.

    Some people in Czechia consume green beer on Maundy Thursday, which is called Green Thursday in Czech. One brewery, Bohemia Regent, said it had prepared 117 hectolitres more of the beverage than in 2023.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/29/2024

    Poland’s ABW counter-intelligence service is investigating the activities of a Russian network targeting EU member states and institutions, a government official said on Friday, the new site onet.pl reported.

    The Polish government is cooperating with the Czech secret service, BIS, after the latter uncovered a Russian-financed influence network in Czechia that was reportedly seeking to undermine political processes in six EU states. The implicated subjects were placed on the country’s own sanctions list.

    Meanwhile Politico reported that the Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, referred to the case in his country’s parliament on Friday.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/29/2024

    A woman without any health difficulties suffered a miscarriage following a mix-up at Prague’s Bulovka University Hospital this week. The woman had visited the hospital for a regular check-up. She and the other patient whose identity was confused were both foreign citizens.

    The Ministry of Health said that the case had come about due to inexcusable human error. The hospital has offered an apology to the family and said it would provide financial compensation to them. The staff involved have been suspended. The police said on Saturday that they were treating the matter as a case of bodily harm.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/29/2024

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Saturday, with an average high temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. Similar weather is expected on the following days.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/29/2024

    Czech-born German politician Petr Bystroň from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party received money from a Russian influence network in Prague, the Czech news outlet Denik N and Germany’s Der Spiegel reported.

    The information came from the Czech counterintelligence service, known by the acronym BIS, which said on Wednesday that it had broken up a Russian group seeking to influence European elections and spread anti-Ukraine propaganda.

    Two individuals, including pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, were placed on Czechia’s sanctions list, meaning their assets were frozen.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 03/28/2024

    Firefighters were called to a fire at the lower end of Prague’s Wenceslas Square on around midday on Thursday. The fire originated on the roof of a construction site where work was underway at the time. The building was evacuated and the fire was quickly contained. No one was reported injured. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

  • 03/28/2024

    President Petr Pavel on Thursday mediated talks between the ruling parties and the opposition on the government’s pension reform plans so as to try to pave the ground for a broad consensus. He said the talks had been constructive and the two sides were in agreement that a pension reform is inevitable and that the retirement age will have to be gradually increased. The debate on how pensions should be calculated and the possibility of early retirement for people working in hazardous professions remains open. President Pavel entered the dispute as a mediator after the opposition slammed the government’s proposals as asocial and said they would cancel some of the measures if they win the 2025 elections.

  • 03/28/2024

    Friday should be clear to partly cloudy and mostly dry with day temperatures between 17 and 22 degrees Celsius.

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