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The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will visit Prague on Tuesday 30 April, the ctk news agency reported citing a source from the European People’s Party. Von der Leyen ’s visit is part of her election campaign for the European People's Party and her own bid for a second term in office as President of the European Commission. In Prague she is to meet with representatives of parties running in the elections, especially from TOP 09 and the Christian Democrats which are in the EPP. Her agenda is still being finalized.
Western countries, including Czechia, are considering very carefully which sensitive information to share with Slovakia due to the pro-Russian stance of the Fico government, Czech daily Deník N reported on Wednesday. Several central and western European intelligence agency sources and a high-ranking NATO diplomat have confirmed this, the news site said. A high-ranking Czech official said that, unlike with previous Slovak governments, Western and central European states are already filtering which information they share with Czechia's neighbour and are not providing them with all the documents and details they have at their disposal.
The European Commission has appointed former Czech environment minister Jan Dusík as Deputy Director-General for Climate Action. The main mission of this department is to support the Commission's efforts to fight climate change both within the EU and internationally. Dusik, who has extensive professional experience in the area of climate action, is now among the highest-ranking Czech officials in the EU.
In its annual report assessing the state of human rights in 155 countries around the world, Amnesty International has criticised Czechia for the segregation of Roma children in schools, discrimination against Ukrainians, and the export of weapons to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The report said that over the last year, Ukrainian refugees had been the target of hate speech and discrimination in Czechia, and the de facto segregation of Roma children in the education system had persisted. The organisation also criticises Czechia for having an outdated law on access to abortions and for not making any progress in furthering the rights of sexual minorities.
Czechia has the ninth-highest level of social trust and solidarity in the EU, according to the latest Prosperity and Financial Health Index by Česká spořitelna and the Europe in Data portal. The analysis shows that 63 percent of Czechs helped a stranger in the past month and that nine out of ten Czechs have someone to turn to in case of an emergency.
On the other hand, Czechia lost social cohesion points due to low trust in the government and the ongoing problem of corruption. Czechia ranked 16th among the 27 European member states in managing corruption.
Andrej Babiš's ANO party would have won parliamentary elections with 32 percent of the vote if they had taken place in March, the latest Median poll indicates. Prime Minister Petr Fiala's Civic Democrat (ODS) party would have come in second with 14 percent and their government coalition partners the Pirates would have been not far behind with 10.5 percent.
The opposition Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) would have gained seven percent of the vote and government coalition partners the Mayors and Independents (STAN) six percent. The other two parties making up the five-party government coalition, TOP 09 and the Christian Democrats, would not have passed the minimum five percent threshold needed to make it into parliament, the first time in a year that TOP 09 would have found itself with no parliamentary representation.
Meanwhile, support has grown for parties that currently do not hold any seats in parliament, such as the Communist party, PRO 2022, and the Greens.
Thursday is expected to be overcast and cloudy with a chance of rain. Daytime temperatures should range between 4 and 10 degrees Celsius.
How would cities look if we designed them with children in mind? That’s the topic of an event hosted by Prague’s Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP) taking place on Wednesday evening. The lecture, titled “Start with Children”, argues for cities to put children at the centre of urban planning in order to create greener, safer places for youth to grow. Head architect at CAMP, Štěpán Bärtl, told me more.
Roma representatives, top officials and cultural figures attended the opening of a memorial to Romany and Sinti victims of the Holocaust in Lety, south Bohemia on Tuesday. Due to communist neglect, the site of a former concentration camp originally served as a pig farm and it took close to three decades for the state to buy out the property and erect a dignified memorial in its place.
Ancient towns full of life, fairy-tale castles and palaces, unique picturesque villages and hundreds of fish ponds. How well do you know the South Bohemian Region?
The South Bohemian Region boasts ancient towns full of life, fairy-tale castles and palaces, unique picturesque villages and literally thousands of fish ponds.
Art expert Nicholas Lowry has Czech heritage and lived in Prague in the early 1990s. He will soon be seen as the presenter of a documentary on classic Czech graphic design.
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