Tram traffic returns to Prague's Opetalova street after 44 years

After more than 44 years, tram traffic has returning to Opletalova Street in Prague 1, but only temporarily. The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) restored the tram line that was left from the past at the intersection with Bolzanova Street, and built new stops at Hlavní nádraží. The line will be used primarily for alternative tram transport during the replacement of ceiling plates and the modernization of the Florenc C station vestibule. During that time, DPP will introduce an alternative tram service XC Hlavní nádraží - Výstaviště and line no. 36 on Zvonařka to Sídliště Ďáblice. The metro on line C will run again without restrictions from Monday, May 23, 2022.

Czech industrial real estate group Accolade has signed loan agreements for EUR 137.5 million, financial magazine Forbes reported. The loans will be provided by Komerční banka, Česká spořitelna, and Raiffeisenbank. This is the largest loan in history for a single industrial real estate group in Central and Eastern Europe. The money will support the construction and long-term holding of a hall in Kojetín in the Olomouc region, where a new Amazon distribution center is planned.

Top elected officials will be obliged to share details about their salary and bonuses under an amendment to the law on free access to information approved by the Czech government, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said. The amendment should also provide better access to data related to companies in which the state holds a share, including energy firm ČEZ. So far, this information is only released after long court hearings. The amendment also includes changes related to the implementation of EU directives concerning open data. The amendment will be sent to the lower house.

Czech Police are investigating the discovery of a dead newborn in a plastic bag in Husovy sady in Prague 5. Investigators who deal with violent crimes are dealing with the matter. Due to the case, the police closed Na Popelce Street on the border of Košíře and Smíchov, which is adjacent to Husovy sady. Police said on Twitter they would provide more details when they became available.

The personal weapon of paratrooper Josef Gabčík, a member of the Anthropoid unit that assassinated Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, has been found during the preparation of the documentary film “Anthropoid – zatáčka.” The Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless caliber 7.65 mm, serial number 539 370, was turned over in a recent weapon’s amnesty by an anonymous owner.

After the Anthropoid unit members were killed in the Church of Cyril and Methodius in Prague, their weapons ended up in the Prague Gestapo, and then vanished after the war. The new documentary will be available on social media as of May 26.  

Czech tennis greats are featured in Vogue Czechoslovakia’s special edition on leaders. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová is on the cover. Kvitová on Twitter said she was honored to be featured alongside some amazing women from Czech tennis “and of course the one and only Martina Navratilova." 

Filming was wrapped on the second season of the Amazon Prime series “Wheel of Time.” The series uses Czech locations and a studio; some scenes were filmed in Morocco, the Canary Islands, Croatia, and Spain. Filming in Prague finished in late March, and the production then moved to other locations. Season one of the series, based on fantasy novels by Robert Jordan, is available for streaming now. The release date for the second season has not been announced.

The Czech government approved Swedish and Finnish requests for NATO membership as the militaries of both Scandinavian countries meet all acceptance criteria, PM Petr Fiala tweeted today. The decision is yet to be approved by both houses of the Czech parliament.

The state of the environment in the Czech Republic is the fifth-worst in the European Union, according to the Czech Prosperity Index. Although the country invests the most in the environment the Czech Republic is still facing drought and high greenhouse gas emissions. The Czech Republic invests 2.7 percent of GDP is invested in its protection, while the EU average is 1.8 percent. Sweden is in the lead, while the worst is the state of the environment in Cyprus.

The Czech government today approved a bill under which some debtors may pay off their distraints without interest. This repetition of the Merciful Summer project from last year will last three months, starting in Sept. 1, 2022, the Justice Ministry said.

The bill concerns the money people owe to self-rule authorities; offices; state funds; schools; municipal, state-run, and state-controlled firms; health insurance companies; Czech Radio, and Czech Television.

Reaction to the Covid pandemic – which hit different states each to a different extent – posed an unprecedented challenge to most governments with its impact on health as well as the economy and people's welfare, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said at the Czech-African Health Forum today.

At the two-day Prague forum opened by Lipavský, representatives of eight African countries and six African health ministers are negotiating with Czech partners about tackling the epidemic as well as financing and reinforcing the healthcare sector.

Germany will donate 15 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Czechia. Both countries will launch discussions about a purchase of up to 50 modern Leopard 2A7+ tanks in various modifications, Defence Minister Jana Černochová told the government today. The gift is a sign of German appreciation for the extensive aid in the form of military equipment that the Czech Republic has been providing to Ukraine.

Šimon Pánek, the director and founder of the nongovernmental organization People in Need, received the Arnost Lustig Prize for civil courage, humanity, and justice from Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The Arnost Lustig Award, bearing the name of Czech-Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor who died in 2011, is annually bestowed on a living Czech citizen who, like Lustig, contributed to the preservation and development of the values important to the entire society.