Czech information for March 9: Czechia bids farewell to Zeman, Czech Article faces insolvency

Reps of the Catholic and Protestant church buildings in Czechia, as well as the country’s chief rabbi, Thursday evening blessed President Petr Pavel at St. Vitus Cathedral. Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner famous that the worldwide condition is at the moment “complicated” and the duties in Czech society are demanding. Pavel and his wife Eva also paid out tribute to the patron saint of Czechia, St. Wenceslas, by bowing their heads to his cranium at the cathedral.

President Petr Pavel introduced this afternoon that he will before long launch a prepare of specific ambitions for his initially 100 days in electrical power. He also reported he would keep on to go to diverse regions across Czechia to “listen to all those who felt unheard.” Pavel believes that reducing inflation and the condition spending budget deficit is significant, and he affirmed that he would help measures that enable this. He considers solidarity the sign of a made culture.

The presidential flag, which the Ztohoven guerilla artistic group eradicated from Prague Castle in 2015 and replaced with crimson boxer shorts, has been returned subsequent the inauguration of Petr Pavel. The new president unfolded the flag all through a speech he shipped from the balcony of the castle. Because 2015, the red boxer shorts have been a symbol of disapproval of the policies pursued by Pavel’s predecessor Miloš Zeman, of his professional-Russian and professional-Chinese stances.

Before right now, British King Charles III in a letter congratulated Pavel on his inauguration. Charles III reported the near partnership in between the Czech Republic and Britain is rooted in a shared historical past and widespread perseverance to defend liberty and democracy.

“Our mutual relations remain pretty important to Britain. I really considerably glance ahead to their deepening during your presidency,” Charles III wrote.

The Czech men’s handball team claimed a surprise victory about Iceland in a qualifying match for the European Handball Championship, successful 22:17. The team now is on best of the qualifying desk, which also attributes Estonia and Israel. Iceland came 12th in the latest 2023 Earth Men’s Handball Championship, with the Czechs not competing. The two teams will engage in every other when additional on Sunday. Czechia is practically particular to qualify for the European tournament, which is thanks to just take location in January 2024.

To mark former President Miloš Zeman’s closing working day as head of point out Wednesday, several dozen individuals fulfilled outside Prague Castle in the night and walked towards Charles Bridge, wherever they carried a straw effigy of Zeman. This mimicked a pagan personalized finished at the beginning of just about every spring, which symbolizes loss of life and rebirth. When they attained the bridge, they burned it and threw it into the Vltava river.

The reducing of the presidential typical and the closure of the Gate of Giants at Prague Castle symbolically ended President Miloš Zeman’s 10-12 months tenure at midnight last night time. Through a ceremony that lasted several minutes, the Prague Castle Guard performed the national anthem. Nowadays Zeman’s successor Petr Pavel will be sworn in. Some 100 men and women collected at Hradčanské náměstí in the rain, some ingesting champagne and chanting “At final” at midnight.

Zeman was the very first instantly elected Czech president. He was elected 2 times. The Czech Republic will be without having a president right until Pavel is inaugurated now at about 14:15. In the meantime the powers of the head of point out will be executed by Key Minister Petr Fiala, Chamber of Deputies chairwoman Marketa Pekarova Adamova, and Senate chairman Milos Vystrcil.

Czech Air Force Commander Peter Cepelka declared these days that Czechia aims to modernize helicopters donated by the U.S. just before 2026. The contribution from the U.S. was in return for Czechia providing its possess material to war-afflicted Ukraine. The U.S. announced previously this year that it would donate eight helicopters to Czechia collectively well worth about CZK 4 billion. The choppers are because of to arrive in the up coming two several years. Their modernization is believed to value Czechia billions of crowns.

In accordance to a study produced by pollster Ipsos, 3 in 10 Czechs are thinking about the purchase of a household or apartment in the upcoming 5 years. These who are aged underneath 34 a long time have been the most most likely to convey a desire to do so. About 70 % of all respondents mentioned that hypothetically they would desire a spouse and children property, with the remainder expressing an fascination in a housing cooperative. The study also confirmed that two-thirds of Czechs wanting to obtain genuine estate truly feel that mortgages are now unaffordable for them.

President of Czechia’s Supreme Courtroom Petr Angyalossy claimed these days that he would like Petr Pavel, who is later on on inaugurated as president, to meticulously communicate with and listen to the judiciary in the extensive term. Seven senior Supreme Court docket judges are retiring this yr, and Pavel faces the problem of overseeing their replacements. Angyalossy also expressed his perspective that Pavel should really propose candidates with several qualified experience, these as occupation judges, lecturers, attorneys, and even former politicians.

Point out postal operator Česká pošta could very well turn into insolvent future calendar year if it fails to get “transformational actions,” Inside Minister Vít Rakušan advised journalists at a press meeting earlier these days. The Interior Ministry is now scheduling a undertaking that will see the business divided into a condition-owned business, which is because of to get underway in the autumn. The corporation has been operating at a reduction in latest a long time, submitting a deficit of CZK 681 million in 2022.

Unfastened boulders have induced the closure of a road in between the northern villages of Hřensko and Mezní Louka in the Ústí nad Labem region. The road is at present partly blocked by the boulders, the removal of which is set to price tag about CZK 1.4 million. Logging is also presently ongoing in the place, which was badly impacted by a popular fireplace final summer. Community authorities also say they want to equip the area adequately in case of a further forest fire in the several years ahead.