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In September, a massive contamination of Bečva River was discovered to have killed over 40 tonnes of fish, prompting an investigation by Czech police. The exact cause of the poisoned water has yet to be found, but speculation is mainly focused on a nearby chemical plant whose officials deny any wrong doing. “The poisoning of Bečva River has become not just an ecological catastrophe in central Moravia, but a case in point for the complete disfunction of our political instutions in our democratic state,” said Petr Gazdík, chairman of the Mayors and Independents (STAN). Gazdík called for the resignation of ANO’s Minister of the Environment Richard Brabec, stating: “Either he and his ministry failed, or he’s part of a cover-upContinue Reading

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For over 17 years, fugitive oligarch Viktor Kožený has been evading Czech and American authorities in the Bahamas for allegedly defrauding investors of billions of crowns. During the massive transfers of Czech wealth in the early 90s following the collapse of communism, Kožený and his company Harvard Capital and Consulting ensnared many people wanting to get in on the emerging markets of the Czech Republic. In 1990, Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed a new law that opened up previously state-owned companies to the public, allowing anyone to buy shares. This caused a frenzy of new capital flows which were then taken advantage of Viktor Kožený, offering to manage money for people who wanted to invest in the new market. It’sContinue Reading

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While thousands of independent businesses in Prague allowed themselves to be crushed by the COVID-19 restrictions, Daruma Coffee & Tea on Dittrichova street has never closed, never enforced masks, and continued on as normal the entire time. The owner, David Tesař, says that shutting down businesses has neither hygienic logic nor legal justification, citing his protected rights on the Czech Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. Of the restrictions, Tesař said the government was “chrlí jako chrliči”, or “spewing them like gargoyles”, a Czech phrase that references the gothic gargoyles on cathedrals and fountains that shoot water out of their mouth. “The only time we ever closed was for three Sundays in the spring… We realised thenContinue Reading

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President Miloš Zeman asked the Security Information Service (BIS) for the names of Russian spies, got turned down, and was then criticised by opposition party members. According to STAN chairman Vít Rakušan, Zeman has been at war with the BIS for some time, endangering the integrity of Czech national security by making it vulnerable to informational leaks. Though others have commented on Zeman’s request, Jiří Ovčáček, spokesman for the president, told iDnes.cz that he couldn’t confirm that it happened, saying: “I follow the law, so I’m not familiar with classified information.” Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also declined to comment for the same reasons. “For me, the BIS works well in the Czech Republic, it is able, willing and courageous toContinue Reading

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The Czech koruna is rallying against the euro at a rate not seen since June 2008, just in the nick of time for Christmas. From the start of November, the Czech Republic’s currency went from 27.18 to 26.16 CZK per euro, or a gain of about 4%. Štěpán Hájek, an analyst from Purple Trading, told iDnes.cz that if the koruna can hold its pace till the end of November, this will be the biggest monthly gain against the euro in 12 and a half years. The analyst cites positive vaccine news, as well as a shift out of safe havens like the USD and euro as driving up the koruna. “The markets have so far experienced the largest rotation fromContinue Reading

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In 1952, Jaromír Vytopil of Pelhřimov got his start in the book industry when he was 15 years old, where one of his first jobs was frantically revaluing books after the sudden currency reform imposed by the Soviet Union in June of 1953. Except for 2 years of military service, Vytopil spent the rest of his life immersed in the world of books, starting his own bookstore in Pelhřimov nearly 30 years ago and becoming a well known staple of the community. 5 years ago he gained his title of “longest serving book seller” and entered the Czech Book Of Records. In an interview with iDnes.cz in 2015, he said “I have always had a lot of fun with books,Continue Reading

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Jan Blatný, the Health Minister for the Czech Republic, said on Wednesday that the country plans on purchasing at least two million doses of COVID-19 vaccines developed through the Pfizer/BioNtech joined efforts. The country has joined a European Union initiative to buy the vaccines in bulk and distribute them to various countries, and hopefully to the Czech Republic by the first quarter of the next year. The Czech government has already ordered three million doses of a slightly different vaccine from a British-Swedish company called AstraZeneca, so combined with the doses from Pfizer/BioNtech, the country should have roughly 5 million doses. “We believe that, as it stands now, we should have around five million doses when the vaccine is available,”Continue Reading

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The body of 24-year old Nina H. was found in Hvězda park Monday morning, after being missing since Friday. It is believed that 34-year old Jan P., who committed suicide via jumping in front of a metro train on Friday, is connected to the woman’s death. Police spokeswoman Eva Kropáčová said: “Late last night, we confirmed that the body found in Hvězda Park was that of the missing 24-year old woman who unfortunately suffered a traumatic death.” According to idnes.cz, the identity of the body was also confirmed by the woman’s sister who made a Facebook post about it. The post has since been deleted but messages of condolence have poured in. Confirmed by camera surveillance footage, Nina was lastContinue Reading

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Amidst heavy scepticism of the long term health effects of 5G radiation, an experiment here in the Czech Republic was done to get to the bottom of it. The Association of Mobile Network Operators (APMS), in collaboration with professor Jan Vrba, of Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT), did a thorough analysis of radiation levels emitted from a 5G tower on Bělehradská street in Prague. Health regulations state 10W/m² for regular citizens and 50 W/m² for technicians and operators working on transmitters. After their experiment on Bělehradská Street, they found that the radiation levels coming from 5G transmitters were well below safe levels. Even standing right next to the 5G antennae on the roof, the radiation levels were still withinContinue Reading

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In an effort to stem economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, the Czech government has spent more than 100 billion Kč on various forms of stimulus, with at least 170 billion Kč more to come. Alena Schillerová, minister of finance for ANO, said on Sunday: “Just in direct support alone, we’ve taken 270 billion Kč worth of stimulus measures, which is already being distributed. Our goal is to implement all our relief programs in the shortest possible time.” The anti-covid-19 measures come amid a massive drop in tax revenues, causing a widening of budget deficits across the board. The government has paid at least 13.3 billion Kč in compensation to self-employed people, additional 6.8 billion Kč was paid from localContinue Reading