News: Friday, November 15th, 2024

Foreign Minister Lipavský on second day of UK visit

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský is in London for the second of a two-day visit to the UK, where he will meet with the Deputy National Security Adviser Nick Catsaras in the morning, and in the afternoon will engage in a debate with students at University College London, and also present a Gratias Agit award to George Edward Scott, a historian and writer.

Lipavský on Thursday met with his UK counterpart, David Lammy, to discuss bilateral relations, the conflict in Ukraine, and current foreign policy issues.

Minister Rakušan: Czechia failing to retain foreign workers, a quarter leave within two years

Czechia is failing to retain foreign workers, especially qualified ones, with a quarter of the foreign workforce leaving the country within two years of arrival, Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan said on Thursday at the conference of the Central European branch of the Aspen Institute in Prague.

The inability to retain foreign workers affects the country's economic competitiveness. Low wages and relatively high costs play a role in the decision to stay or leave. At the end of the first half of this year, the Labour Office registered over 827,600 foreign employees. The number has doubled in the past seven years, since June 2017. Nonetheless, Czechia is one of the countries with the lowest unemployment in the European Union.

Court finds psychiatrist Cimický guilty of rape and extortion

The District Court for Prague 8 has found psychiatrist Jan Cimický guilty of rape and extortion. It remains unclear whether the verdict addresses all 39 counts in the indictment, as Judge Petr Novák is still delivering the ruling. The sentence and legal classification of the crimes have yet to be announced. The verdict is not final, as both parties can appeal to the Municipal Court in Prague.

The 76-year-old psychiatrist, absent from today’s hearing, had only attended the initial session, where he denied the charges. Prosecutor Martina Adámková requested a five-year prison sentence, while Cimický’s lawyer, Miroslav Kučerka, sought acquittal.

The prosecution alleges that between 1979 and 2019, Cimický committed nearly 40 acts, including groping and kissing, often targeting patients at the Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital and the Blue Lagoon Mental Health Center. Victims included interns, some under 18. Thirty-five acts were classified as extortion under the old Criminal Code, while the remaining four, post-2010, were defined as rape.

EC downgrades Czech GDP growth estimate for 2024 to 1 percent

The European Commission (EC) in its new forecast downgraded the estimate of this year's growth of the Czech economy to 1 percent from 1.2 percent in the spring forecast. The Czech economy will expand by 2.4 percent next year, the EC said. In the spring, it predicted a 2.8 percent expansion.

The Commission also forecast today that GDP growth would reach 2.7 percent in 2026. Household spending to be supported by real wage growth coupled with a fall in inflation should be the main driver of GDP growth, the EC said.

The Commission expects inflation to be 2.7 percent this year and to fall to 2.4 percent next year. It should drop to 2 percent, the Czech National Bank's (CNB) target, in 2026.

Number of high school students increased by eight percent to almost 485,000 in ten years

The number of secondary school students in Czechia has grown by 8% over the past decade to nearly 485,000, with the largest increases in the Central Bohemian Region and Prague.

Of the 484,758 students, 99% were Czech residents, with 5,412 registered abroad, including 3,951 from Ukraine. Over the decade, student numbers rose by 24% in the Central Bohemian Region, 20% in Prague, and declined by 4% in the Moravian-Silesian Region. Non-matriculation programs accounted for 21% of students, with the highest enrollment in regions like Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem and the lowest in Prague at 12%.

The Together Forward challenge helped 33,000 Czechs and Slovaks to take care of their mental health

In October, over 33,000 Czechs and Slovaks participated in the Together Forward challenge, a free initiative by coach Václav Tomanec to promote mental health care. The challenge provided practical tools to manage stress, build healthy habits, and enhance overall well-being.

With a study by the National Institute of Mental Health revealing that 20% of Czechs face depression or anxiety symptoms, the challenge offered timely support. Tomanec emphasized that accessible guidance and community connection are vital to addressing the growing mental health crisis.

Weather Forecast

Mostly foggy and overcast. Temperatures will be around 2 to 6 °C during the day and 2 to -4 °C during the night.