INSIDER
Populist billionaire vies with ex-general for top Czech post
Read full article: Populist billionaire vies with ex-general for top Czech postRetired army Gen. Petr Pavel is challenging populist billionaire Andrej Babis in the Czech presidential runoff vote for the largely ceremonial post that pits the political newcomer against the former prime minister.
Babis, Pavel neck and neck in Czech presidential election
Read full article: Babis, Pavel neck and neck in Czech presidential electionAlmost fult results show that populist billionaire Andrej Babis and main challenger retired army Gen. Petr Pavel are running neck and neck in the Czech presidential election.
Czech ex-PM Babis favorite in presidential vote's 1st round
Read full article: Czech ex-PM Babis favorite in presidential vote's 1st roundPopulist billionaire Andrej Babis is leading a field of eight candidates hoping to succeed Milos Zeman in the largely ceremonial but prestigious post of the Czech president.
Czech president Milos Zeman vows to block same-sex marriages
Read full article: Czech president Milos Zeman vows to block same-sex marriagesCzech President Milos Zeman says he is ready to veto, if it’s approved by parliament, proposed legislation that would give same-sex couples in the country the right to hold civil weddings.
By invading Ukraine, Putin loses allies in eastern Europe
Read full article: By invading Ukraine, Putin loses allies in eastern EuropeRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has shocked the former Soviet satellite states of Central and Eastern Europe, drawing strong condemnation even from the region’s most pro-Kremlin politicians.
Czech infections hit new record high, president going home
Read full article: Czech infections hit new record high, president going homeCoronavirus infections in the Czech Republic have jumped to a new record high in a surge that hit the country’s president and has delayed the appointment of the new prime minister.
Czech President Zeman back in hospital, now with COVID-19
Read full article: Czech President Zeman back in hospital, now with COVID-19Czech President Milos Zeman has been readmitted to hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19, just hours after he had been discharged following more than a month’s treatment for an unspecified illness.
Czech PM Babis heading for opposition after losing election
Read full article: Czech PM Babis heading for opposition after losing electionCzech Prime Minister Andrej Babis says he wouldn't accept an offer to try to create a new government after his centrist ANO political movement narrowly lost in the parliamentary election last week and is ready to end up in opposition.
Allies embraced Biden. Did Kabul lay bare "great illusion"?
Read full article: Allies embraced Biden. Did Kabul lay bare "great illusion"?When U.S. President Joe Biden took office early this year, Western allies were falling over themselves to welcome and praise him, and hail a new era in trans-Atlantic cooperation.
Belarus opposition leader urges international probe of govt
Read full article: Belarus opposition leader urges international probe of govtA Belarusian opposition leader has called for the creation of an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute the reported crimes of her country's government and its authoritarian leader of nearly 27 years.
Czech minority coalition government faces no-confidence vote
Read full article: Czech minority coalition government faces no-confidence voteThe Czech coalition government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis is facing a parliamentary no-confidence vote over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Czechs protest pro-Russian president, accuse him of treason
Read full article: Czechs protest pro-Russian president, accuse him of treasonThousands of Czechs have rallied in the capital against President Milos Zeman, accusing him of treason for his pro-Russian stance over the alleged participation of Russian spies in a huge 2014 ammunition explosion.
Czech lawmakers change electoral law to help small parties
Read full article: Czech lawmakers change electoral law to help small partiesThe Czech Parliament has approved the changes in the electoral law requested by the country’s highest court that ruled the previous legislation discriminated against small political parties.
Czechs to Russia: Let our diplomats back or more of yours go
Read full article: Czechs to Russia: Let our diplomats back or more of yours goThe Czech Republic has demanded that Russia should allow its expelled diplomats to return to Moscow, threatening that otherwise more Russian diplomats would be asked to leave Prague.
Czechs send 30,000 police, soldiers to enforce travel limits
Read full article: Czechs send 30,000 police, soldiers to enforce travel limitsPolice officers check cars on a road between the towns, Ceske Budejovice and Cesky Krumlov, near Kosov, Czech Republic, Monday, March 1, 2021. Limits for free movement of people are set in place in the Czech Republic. As of Monday, people in the Czech Republic who go out for exercise should not leave their municipality. Babis said 1 million vaccine shots were expected to arrive through an EU program in March and another 2.6 million in April. In a sign of solidarity, three states in neighboring Germany have sent the Czech Republic 15,000 dozes of the AstraZeneca vaccine to try to control contagion at the border.
Central Europe presidents mark 30 years of Visegrad Group
Read full article: Central Europe presidents mark 30 years of Visegrad GroupThe group, also known as V4, often works out joint positions in international ties, especially within the European Union. Opening the ceremonial meeting, Duda said the V4 group has had a positive role in European and trans-Atlantic ties. “The group is an important, if not the key catalyst of the regional cooperation in all of Central Europe and contributes significantly to the cooperation and political processes regarding the EU and NATO," Duda said. Poland currently holds the group's 12-month rotating presidency, which it will hand over to Hungary on July 1. ___A previous version of this story corrected the spelling of the Slovakia president’s name to Zuzana Caputova, not Zuzanna Czaputova.
Czechs replace health minister amid record infection surge
Read full article: Czechs replace health minister amid record infection surgePrymula will be the new Czech Health Minister, replacing Adam Vojtech (for ANO), who announced his resignation on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020. (AP Photo via CTK/Ondrej Deml)PRAGUE – The Czech government moved Monday to appoint an epidemiologist as the new health minister as the country struggles with a surge of new coronavirus infections. The outgoing minister, Adam Vojtech, resigned from his post on Monday, saying his departure was meant to create space for a possible different approach to the pandemic. As deputy health minister, Prymula led the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic for a time in the spring. Babis said he was sorry about Vojtech's resignation, calling the outgoing minister “the best” the country ever had.
Defying China's wrath, Czech senator delivers Taiwan speech
Read full article: Defying China's wrath, Czech senator delivers Taiwan speechThe Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil cheers before delivering a speech at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Sept. 1. Threats are not a part of that.Wang defended Chinas response, saying that the Czech delegation was mixing in Chinas internal affairs.China must react adequately, he said through a translator. Vystrcil's visit follows a spat last year between Beijing and Prague, the Czech Republic's capital. The visit is also in direct opposition to Czech President Milos Zeman, who has taken strongly pro-China views. Following his speech, Vystrcil told reporters that his visit was consistent with Prague's interpretation of the one-China policy" and wasn't intended as an affront to Beijing.
Pompeo opens anti-China, anti-Russia tour in Czech Republic
Read full article: Pompeo opens anti-China, anti-Russia tour in Czech RepublicU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives at the airport in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, Pool)PRAGUE U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of central and eastern Europe expected to focus on threats to the region posed by Russia and China. Two of Pompeo's other three destinations the Czech Republic and Austria also share a border with Germany, while Slovakia borders Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. In Warsaw, Poland, Pompeo plans talks with President Andrzej Duda, who recently won a narrow reelection after a bitter campaign that concerned human rights advocates and others.
Central, Eastern Europe on Pompeo's itinerary for next trip
Read full article: Central, Eastern Europe on Pompeo's itinerary for next tripWASHINGTON Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to central and Eastern Europe next week to discuss efforts to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the region and talk about U.S. troop deployments on the continent. The State Department said Thursday that Pompeo will visit the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Austria and Poland on a weeklong trip that is only his third overseas since the coronavirus outbreak. The shift has raised significant concerns in Europe and elsewhere as the Trump administration has given conflicting reasons for it, ranging from antipathy toward Germany's leadership to strategic planning. In Vienna, Pompeo will meet Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to review trade relations and regional security. In Warsaw, Poland, Pompeo plans talks with President Andrzej Duda, who recently won a narrow reelection after a bitter campaign that concerned human rights advocates and others.
Czech Senate speaker plans to visit Taiwan, angering China
Read full article: Czech Senate speaker plans to visit Taiwan, angering ChinaPRAGUE The speaker of the Czech Republic's Senate announced Tuesday he will visit Taiwan despite warnings from China and a recommendation from his own government that he not take the trip. Vystrcils predecessor in the post, Jaroslav Kubera, was planning to travel to Taiwan before he died in January. The Czech Republic has established informal relations with Taiwan but recognizes the one-China principle the notion that Taiwan belongs to Communist Party-ruled China. He said the Czech Republic will benefit from his trip. Taiwan is an important business partner for the Czech Republic and has invested more in the Czech economy than mainland China.