Czech, Russian envoys fly home amid depot explosion dispute

April 19, 2021

PRAGUE (AP) — The two Russian military agents believed to be behind a massive Czech depot explosion in 2014 likely targeted the ammunition, not the Czech Republic itself, the country's prime minister and prosecutor general said Monday.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis said he didn’t consider the Russian action “an act of state terrorism” but said “the presence of GRU agents is absolutely unacceptable.” “We’re a sovereign state and it’s unacceptable for foreign agents to conduct such operations here,” Babis said.

On Sunday, Russia ordered 20 Czech diplomats to leave the country within a day in response to the Czech government’s expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats it identified as spies from the GRU and the SVR, Russia’s military and foreign intelligence services. Both sides sent government planes Monday to take the envoys and their families home.

Pavel Zeman, the Czech prosecutor general, said the ammunition targeted was mostly meant to be sent to an arms dealer in Bulgaria and be intentionally exploded after delivery. The 2014 depot blast in the town of Vrbetice killed two people.

“The explosion was not supposed to occur on Czech Republic’s territory,” Zeman said. Zeman said the two Russian suspects were using false identities on passports from Tajikistan and Moldova when they booked a visit to the depot. They stayed in Prague and the eastern city of Ostrava, about two-hour drive from the depot, which is located in the eastern Czech Republic.

The suspects also used Russian passports to travel to the Czech Republic. Their names and photos matched two Russians whom British authorities charged in absentia in 2018 with trying to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with the Soviet nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury.

“The two were identified as the attackers in Salisbury in 2018,” Zeman said. Zeman said because the investigation has not been completed, authorities cannot reveal more details about the case and rejected Babis’ request to publish them. Babis said his government is consider demanding compensation for damages from the Russians.

Czech Republic’s Interior Minister Jan Hamacek, who is also the acting foreign minister, said Monday that the Russian expulsion of Czech diplomats effectively paralyzed the Czech Embassy in Moscow. “We had to expect that to happen but the Czech Republic has not done anything wrong,” Hamacek said. “It’s us who are the victims of the Russian actions.”

Babis said the Czechs will “certainly” respond to what is seen as a disproportionate Russian move. The Czech government also decided not to allow the Russian state-controlled Rosatom nuclear corporation from participating in a tender for the planned construction of a nuclear reactor at its Dukovany nuclear plant.

The Czech intelligence services have repeatedly warned against allowing Russian and Chinese companies to bid in the multibillion-dollar tender, saying they pose security risk due to links to their respective governments.

Hospitalized Czech president to return to work next week

September 16, 2021

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech President Milos Zeman who was hospitalized this week has undergone medical checks that haven't revealed any problems or disease that would threaten his life, the presidential office said on Thursday.

Zeman’s office said doctors carried out CT scans, sonography checks and blood tests at Prague’s military hospital where the president was admitted Tuesday. It said the president was only dehydrated and slightly exhausted.

During his current hospitalization, Zeman will receive unspecified infusions and will fully return to his duties next week, his office said. Zeman, 76, is a heavy smoker who has suffered from diabetes and neuropathy linked to it. He has trouble walking and has been using a wheelchair.

His predecessor, Vaclav Klaus, who was in the same hospital to undergo checks after being diagnosed with high blood pressure might be discharged this week, his spokesman said.

Czechs partially ease lockdown; kids to return to school

April 06, 2021

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government on Tuesday approved the first easing of its tight lockdown in one of the European Union's hardest-hit countries, allowing at least some children to return to school.

“It’s not a full relaxation,” Health Minister Jan Blatny said. “The situation hasn't been ideal yet." Starting Monday, people in the Czech Republic will be allowed again to travel to other counties and the night-time curfew will end. The measures took effect at the beginning of March as the Central European nation was desperate to slow down the spread of a highly contagious virus variant first found in Britain.

With numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients on the decline, the Czechs have offered to treat patients from other European countries where infections have been on the rise, Blatny said, offering up to 50 beds.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Czech hospitals dropped to 5,700 on Monday, down from 9,500 a month ago. A month ago, European countries — including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and Hungary — offered similar help to the then-struggling Czech health system.

Despite the recent decline, the Czech Republic still has the highest number of cumulative deaths (252.7) per 100,000 people in the world and the third-highest number of cumulative cases (14,509.5) again per 100,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The nation of 10.7 million has 1.56 million confirmed cases with over 27,000 deaths. Education Minister Robert Plaga said the children up to the fifth grade will be back at schools on Monday under strict conditions “to make their return safe and permanent.”

All will have to wear face masks and will be tested twice a week, Plaga said. To start, students will return on a rotating basis, in school one week and distance learning the next. Stores selling children's clothes and shoes, laundries, outdoor farmers' markets, zoos, botanical gardens and some other stores will be allowed to reopen Monday.

An advisory group of scientists at the Health Ministry cautiously agreed with the careful school reopening but said the situation still “hasn’t been good despite the gradual decline (of infections).” But it was not consulted on many other easing measures.

Epidemiologist Rastislav Madar, a member of the group, told the Czech public radio that the relaxed measures pose a risk because “the numbers (of infections) are still too high.”

Biggest Czech crematorium overwhelmed by pandemic deaths

January 08, 2021

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic (AP) — All three cremation chambers are working round the clock, while storage capacity for caskets has been repeatedly boosted. Despite all the efforts, the Czech Republic's biggest crematorium, in the northeastern city of Ostrava, has been overwhelmed by mounting numbers of pandemic victims.

On Thursday, cars from funeral companies delivered caskets every few minutes, some with “COVID” written on them. These days, the crematorium receives more than 100 coffins daily, about double its maximum cremation capacity.

With new confirmed COVID-19 infections around record highs, the situation looks set to worsen. Authorities in Ostrava have been speeding up plans to build a fourth furnace but, in the meantime, have sought help from the government’s central crisis committee for pandemic coordination.

“It’s an extraordinary situation,” said Katerina Sebestova, a deputy mayor in Ostrava. “Nobody here remembers anything like that.” The facility belongs to Ostrava City Hall. “It’s simply because we have 60% more deceased than we had a year ago. So, we have to deal with storage capacity and the capacity to cremate," she said.

Up to 1,000 bodies a month were cremated in Ostrava before the pandemic struck. The number rose to 1,550 in November and 1,570 in December after a surge at the end of October, crematorium director Ivo Furmancik said.

The Czech Republic was spared the worst of the pandemic in the spring only to see its health care system approach collapse in the fall, about the time the spike began. It has been hard-hit again with new infections reaching a record high of 17,668 on Wednesday, a record set for the second straight day.

The surge in infections is likely again to be followed by a surge in deaths. “To tell the truth, I expect that the situation won’t get any better but unfortunately will likely get worse,” Furmancik said.

The crematorium has built an overflow cold storage container to double its storage capacity by 60 coffins, and further boosted it by adding a couple of movable freezers for another 100. But the cremation chambers can’t take any more.

“For two-and-a-half months we have been working nonstop with no pause for maintenance,” Furmancik said. “So, this really is not an optimal situation. How long can this last? I am worried that because of this intensive use the crematories could get seriously damaged at any moment.”

The country of 10.7 million has registered 794,740 confirmed cases and 12,621 deaths. November was the deadliest month with 4,937 deceased. Ostrava is the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region, which, together with another region, tops the country's virus death toll with some 1,500 deaths.

Interior Minister Jan Hamacek, who heads the central crisis committee, has promised to create a system to distribute bodies to other crematoriums across the country but some have already indicated they are reaching their own limits.

“Another, tougher option, is that we’ll take only the number of the deceased we are capable of cremating,” Furmancik said.

German, Czech, Italian virus records deepen Europe worries

October 15, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — Record daily infection figures in Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and elsewhere added to fears on Thursday that Europe is running out of chances to control its latest coronavirus outbreak. France has set a 9 p.m. curfew for many of its biggest cities as governments across the continent take increasingly tough action.

New infections have surged across Europe over recent weeks as the fall kicks in, prompting authorities in many places to start reimposing restrictions that were relaxed over the summer. The Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Britain are among the countries causing particular concern.

While Germany, the European Union's most populous nation, is still in comparatively good shape, alarm bells have started ringing there too. On Thursday, the country's national disease control center reported 6,638 cases over 24 hours — exceeding the previous record of nearly 6,300 set in late March, although testing in the country of 83 million has expanded greatly since then.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany's 16 state governors agreed Wednesday night to tighten mask-wearing rules, make bars close early and limit the number of people who can gather in areas where coronavirus infection rates are high. Merkel, who stressed the importance of keeping contact-tracing efforts on track, said “we must stop this exponential rise, the quicker the better.”

Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's national disease control center, said "we can still repress the spread, the exponential growth” of the virus. But officials made clear that more efforts may be necessary.

“Yesterday's decisions are an important step, but they probably won't be enough,” Merkel's chief of staff, Helge Braun, told ARD television. “So now it is up to the population that we don't just look at ‘what am I allowed to do now,’ but basically we must do more and be more cautious than what the governors decided yesterday.”

Merkel noted that neighboring countries are having to take “very drastic measures.” This week has seen the Netherlands close bars and restaurants and the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland close down schools. The Czech Health Ministry said the country, with a population of over 10 million, confirmed 9,544 new cases on Wednesday — over 900 more than the previous record, set less than a week ago.

The government says hospitals could reach full capacity by the end of October, and announced Thursday that the military will set up a hospital at Prague's exhibition center to treat COVID-19 patients.

“We have to build extra capacity as soon as possible,” Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said. “We have no time. The prognosis is not good.” In France, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday night that 18 million residents in nine regions, including Paris, will have a 9 p.m. curfew starting Saturday until Dec. 1.

Aurelien Rousseau, director of the Paris region’s public health agency, said that nearly half of intensive care beds are now occupied by coronavirus patients, with other hospital beds filling rapidly too.

“It’s a kind of spring tide that affects everybody simultaneously,” Rousseau said. “We had a blind spot in our tracking policies. It was the private sphere, festive events.” Paris restaurant, cinema and theater owners are fuming at the new curfew rules. Tighter local restrictions in northern England and Northern Ireland have prompted the same emotions from business owners there. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he expects the British government to announce Thursday that the capital is moving to a higher level of restrictions.

Health authorities across Europe are urging people to obey the new restrictions. The head of the World Health Organization’s Europe office, Dr. Hans Kluge, urged countries to be “uncompromising” in attempts to control the virus and said most of the spread is happening in homes, indoor spaces and communities not complying with protection measures.

“These measures are meant to keep us all ahead of the curve and to flatten its course,” Kluge said. “It is therefore up to us to accept them while they are still relatively easy to follow instead of following the path of severity.”

Just as Macron's government tackles the resurgence of infections, French police on Thursday searched the homes of the former prime minister, the current and former health ministers and other top officials in an investigation into the government's pandemic response. It was triggered by dozens of complaints over recent months, particularly over shortages of masks and other equipment.

One of Belgium’s main universities said it is moving to online education whenever possible. Ghent University said the measure will begin Oct. 26 and the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels said it already prepared its staff and facilities to do likewise if necessary.

Italy, which so far has been spared the worst of the second wave, on Wednesday also recorded its biggest single-day jump in infections since the start of the pandemic. It added another 7,332 cases amid a resurgence that is straining the country’s contact-tracing system.

Poland registered a record of nearly 9,000 new cases on Thursday. Masks have been required outdoors since Saturday and strict limits imposed on the size of gatherings. Slovakia and Croatia also announced record daily case numbers. Slovakia was imposing new restrictions Thursday, once again making it mandatory to wear masks outdoors and shutting fitness centers, public swimming pools, theaters and cinemas.

Associated Press writers around Europe contributed to this report.

Prague, Taipei deepen ties as controversial Czech visit ends

September 04, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The mayors of Prague and Taipei announced new areas of cooperation for the two sister cities, including orchestra tours, on Friday as a Czech delegation concluded a weeklong visit to Taiwan that was bitterly criticized by China.

Taipei also donated 100,800 face masks and will share its experiences in controlling the coronavirus, Mayor Ko Wen-je said. The head of the 80-plus member delegation, Czech Senate leader Milos Vystrcil, is the highest-ranking Czech official to visit the democratically ruled island since 1989, according to Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

Since the delegation's arrival on Sunday, it has met with Taiwanese counterparts to develop cooperation in a range of areas including trade, cybersecurity and the coronavirus pandemic. Vystrcil also met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

Wu said Taiwan is looking into starting direct flights between Taipei and Prague using its flagship airline, China Airlines. Vystrcil has faced strong anger from China, which issued multiple warnings over the week about the visit, as well as criticism from the pro-China Czech president.

China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and objects to any official contacts between other countries and the island. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Monday that China will “definitely make them pay a heavy price” for the visit, which Beijing sees as support for Taiwanese independence.

Throughout the visit, Vystrcil and others have emphasized the shared democratic values of Taiwan and the Czech Republic. Relations have soured between part of the Czech government and China in the past year.

Prague canceled a sister cities agreement with Beijing last year after the Chinese side insisted on adding a clause to the deal stating that Prague supports the “one-China principle,” which says Taiwan is part of China.

In reaction to Prague’s decision to sign a new sister cities' agreement with Taipei, China canceled the tours of several Prague classical music ensembles and orchestras. Part of the dispute is over trade.

“There were a lot of promises of China investment roughly around the year 2013, 2014. However, all those promises turned out to not be fulfilled,” Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib said Friday.

Czech Senate president meets Taiwan leader; Beijing protests

September 03, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The Czech Senate president met with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen and other top government officials Thursday during a rare trip by a foreign dignitary to the self-ruled democratic island that rival China called an “open provocation.”

Tsai presented a medal for Jaroslav Kubera, the late predecessor of Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil. Kubera died in January before making the trip, and Vystrcil said China’s pressure, including a warning from the Chinese Embassy against congratulating Tsai on her reelection, contributed to his decision to travel to the island.

Tsai called Kubera a “great friend" and gave a nod to Vystrcil's speech Tuesday, saying his words “I'm a Taiwanese” had touched many hearts. “Our actions are telling friends in Europe and all over the world, whether Taiwanese or Czechs, we will not succumb to oppression, will bravely speak up, actively participate in international affairs, and contribute our capabilities,” she said.

Beijing is furious about the Czech delegation’s visit, with the foreign ministry summoning the Czech Republic’s ambassador to lodge stern representations and saying the trip amounted to “flagrant support of Taiwan independence.” China claims Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to any official contact between other countries and the self-governing island.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that Vystrcil's visit is an “open provocation.” “China must tell the Czech Senate leader: You've crossed the line!” Wang said. Vystrcil and Taiwan's foreign minister also refuted China's warnings.

“I do not feel I have crossed any red line whatsoever,” Vystrcil said in response to reporters' questions on Thursday. “We did not do anything that would be an infringement of the One China policy.” He added, “every country has the right to interpret the One China principle in their own way."

“We are here to stay and Taiwan is not going anywhere," Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said. ”Taiwan is trying to maintain the status quo and the status quo is that Taiwan does not belong to China. Taiwan is governed by its own people."

Vystrcil and Wu announced further cooperation in business, scientific research and democratic exchange. Vystrcil announced the formation of a working group from the Czech side dedicated to cooperation on the economy and cybersecurity.

Tensions between the Czech Republic and China have simmered since a dispute between their capitals last year. They ended a sister-cities agreement because Beijing had wanted Prague to agree to the “One China” principle, which says Taiwan is part of China.

In his address Tuesday, Vystrcil directly referenced former President John F. Kennedy’s famed 1963 anti-communist speech in then-divided Berlin, and emphasized democratic freedoms embraced since the Czech Republic threw off communist rule at the end of the Cold War and Taiwan emerged from martial law at the end of the 1980s.

“In 1963, the American president JFK, in his famous speech ‘I’m a Berliner,’ clearly opposed communism and political oppression and supported the people of West Berlin,” Vystrcil said. “He said ‘Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.’”

“Please let me use the same manner to express my support to the people of Taiwan: ‘I’m a Taiwanese,’” he said, speaking the last phrase in Mandarin Chinese.

Defying China's wrath, Czech senator delivers Taiwan speech

September 01, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Defying anger from China, the president of the Czech Republic’s Senate addressed Taiwan’s legislature on Tuesday, offering a strong rebuke of authoritarian politics and Beijing’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy.

Milos Vystrcil concluded a speech that underscored shared democratic values by proclaiming in Mandarin that “I am Taiwanese,” a throwback to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s famed 1963 anti-communist speech in a then-divided Berlin in which he declared he was a Berliner.

Beijing is furious about the Czech delegation’s visit, with the foreign ministry summoning the Czech Republic’s ambassador to lodge stern representations on Monday and saying the visit amounted to “flagrant support of Taiwan independence.”

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to any official contact between other countries and the self-governing island. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying condemned Vystrcil's visit, saying, "he is openly supporting the separatist forces and separatist activities in Taiwan that seriously violate China’s sovereignty and China’s internal affairs.”

She echoed a warning from Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said in Europe on Monday that “the Chinese government and people will not sit by and let this go unchecked, and will definitely make them pay a heavy price for their short-sighted behavior and political opportunism.”

Following meetings in Berlin with Wang, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency, said he had been in touch with his Czech colleague about the Senate president’s visit.

“Europeans operate in foreign and security policy very closely with one another and we treat our international partners with respect, and we expect that from them as well,” Maas said. “Threats are not a part of that.”

Wang defended China’s response, saying that the Czech delegation was “mixing in China’s internal affairs.” “China must react adequately,” he said through a translator. “There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of China.”

In his address, Vystrcil directly referenced Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, and emphasized democratic freedoms embraced since the Czech Republic threw off communist rule at the end of the Cold War and Taiwan emerged from martial law at the end of the 1980s.

“In 1963, the American president JFK, in his famous speech ‘I’m a Berliner,’ clearly opposed communism and political oppression and supported the people of West Berlin,” Vystrcil said. “He said ‘Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.'"

“Please let me use the same manner to express my support to the people of Taiwan: I’m a Taiwanese,” he said, speaking the last phrase in Mandarin Chinese. Vystrcil's visit follows a spat last year between Beijing and Prague, the Czech Republic's capital. The two cities ended a sister-cities agreement because Beijing had wanted Prague to agree to the “one-China” principle, which is China’s stance that Taiwan is a part of its territory.

The visit is also in direct opposition to Czech President Milos Zeman, who has taken strongly pro-China views. Vystrcil is to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen later in the week. Amid China's campaign of diplomatic isolation and military threats, Taiwan has been blocked from participating in major international forums and now has just 15 formal allies. Despite the lack of official ties, the U.S. remains Taiwan's closest partner and source of weaponry to counter China's threat to bring the island under its control by military means.

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. “And something I wish to emphasize is that we are in no way opposing mutual benefits and equal relations with the People’s Republic of China as much as we want to have mutual benefits and equal relations with Taiwan,” Vystrcil said.

Taiwanese parliamentary Speaker Yu Shyi-kun said the Czech delegation's visit was an affirmation of Taiwan's continued presence on the world stage as well as a repudiation of authoritarianism. “On one hand, (Vystrcil's) visit is proof of the existence of Taiwan. Proof to the world that Taiwan exists," Yu said.

“At the same time, the visit makes me feel that, no matter whether it be the governments and peoples of the Czech Republic or Taiwan, we all have one thing in common, we both fight against an authoritarian regime and mutually create a future.”

In Prague, Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek told Czech public television Tuesday the government informed China that no change had been made in national policy regarding its relationship with Taiwan. Petricek however, did take note of China's comments on Vystrcil's visit.

“I believe that the trip of Mr. Vystrcil will not harm our relations with China. We want to continue to work on our strategic dialogue but we cannot agree and have to protest at a moment when we can hear such strong statements,” Petricek said.

Associated Press journalists Johnson Lai in Taipei, Taiwan, and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report.

Defying China, Czech delegation arrives in Taiwan

August 30, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The president of the Czech Senate arrived in Taiwan on Sunday on a visit that has drawn sharp criticism from China. Milos Vystrcil was accompanied by Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib and more than 80 representatives from government, business and academia, lending Taiwan a boost in its efforts to resist the diplomatic isolation imposed by Beijing.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu greeted the delegation at Taiwan's main Taoyuan International Airport after their arrival on a flight chartered from Taiwanese flag carrier China Airlines. China last week denounced Vystrcil’s visit as “undermining the political foundation of China-Czech relations” and said participants were acting out of “their own interests.”

“China condemns this despicable act and urges the Czech side to abide by the one-China principle and handle Taiwan-related issues in a prudent and appropriate manner,” foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters on Thursday.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and its increasing diplomatic pressure has reduced the number of the self-governing island’s formal allies to just 15, most of them small countries in the Pacific, Central America and the Caribbean.

Taiwan’s robust democracy and strong defense of civil liberties mark a stark contrast to China’s one-party authoritarian political system, making it a draw for some European politicians who recall Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

Vystrcil’s six-day visit follows complaints from the Czech side that China was introducing unwanted political elements into their relations, part and parcel of China's more aggressive foreign policy under Communist Party leader Xi Jinping that is centered on asserting the country's territorial claims and shielding the regime from criticism.

Prague and Beijing severed sister city relations after China refused to remove language from the agreement dictating that the city’s government endorse the “one-China principle” that defines Taiwan as part of China.

Shanghai then also ended its sister city relationship with Prague, and China reportedly threatened to cut all such ties to cities that maintained their relations with Prague. During his visit, Vystrcil is due to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who is detested by Beijing for her assertions of the island’s independence.

Vystrcil’s predecessor, Jaroslav Kubera, had planned to travel to Taiwan, angering pro-China Czech President Milos Zeman. Kubera died in January before making the trip and Vystrcil said China’s pressure, including a warning from the Chinese Embassy against congratulating Tsai on her reelection, contributed to his decision to travel to the island.

Taiwan’s high-tech companies are also major investors in the Czech Republic, somewhat reducing China’s economic leverage over the country.

Pompeo opens anti-China, anti-Russia tour in Czech Republic

August 11, 2020

PRAGUE (AP) — 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.

Amid post-election violence and concerns about significant democratic backsliding in nearby Belarus, Pompeo plans to use his visit to push his hosts to counter Russian and Chinese influence. Russia and China are active and seeking greater roles throughout the continent in the energy, infrastructure and telecommunications sectors, a trend the United States is keen to reverse.

Pompeo on Tuesday was opening his visit in the Czech city of Pilsen, where he was to visit the Patton Museum and memorial to the World War II liberation of western Czechoslovakia by U.S. troops. In his talks, Pompeo will likely face questions about the Trump administration’s decision to reduce the U.S. military presence in Germany. President Donald Trump wants to withdraw thousands of American troops from bases in Germany and redeploy some of them eastward, including to neighboring Poland, the last stop on Pompeo’s week-long trip.

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. Germany is pointedly not on Pompeo's itinerary.

In Prague on Wednesday, Pompeo will meet Czech President Milos Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babis to discuss nuclear energy cooperation and “efforts to counter malign actions of Russia and communist China,” the State Department said.

Energy and the tenuous political situation in the Balkans will top Pompeo’s agenda with Slovenian officials in Ljubljana, where he is expected to deliver a statement with the foreign minister about the security of 5G networks, the department said.

In Vienna, Pompeo will meet Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to review trade relations and regional security. Pompeo will also hold talks with the head of the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is charged with monitoring Iran’s adherence to the 2015 nuclear deal from which the U.S. has withdrawn.

The Trump administration is trying to convince other members of the U.N. Security Council to indefinitely extend an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October, under terms of the nuclear deal.

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 stud farm makes UNESCO's World Heritage list

July 16, 2019

KLADRUBY NAD LABEM, Czech Republic (AP) — A Czech stud farm founded 440 years ago to breed and train ceremonial horses to serve at the Habsburg emperor's court has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list, acknowledging the significance of a tradition that has survived for centuries.

The National stud farm, located in the town of Kladruby nad Labem 90 kilometers (56 miles) east of Prague, is the first stud farm on the UNESCO's list.

Here's a look at it:

A ROYAL HISTORY

The farm officially started in 1579, when Emperor Rudolf II of the House of Habsburg gave an imperial status to an original stud established by his father, Emperor Maximilian II. The famed regular visitors to the site, which also has a small chateau and a church, included Emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria.

The stud farm survived wars and a devastating 18th-century fire until the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, when the newly established Czechoslovak state took over. That threatened its existence, since anything linked to the former empire was unpopular in Czechoslovakia. Yet somehow the horse breeding tradition weathered both that shift and 40 later years of communist rule.

In 2015, the whole site underwent a major renovation with European Union funds.

MAKING THE UNESCO LIST

The Kladruby site occupies 1,310 hectares (3,240 acres), about the same size since the 16th century. Located on flat, sandy land near the Elbe River, it contains fields and forests along with its classic stables, indoor and outdoor training grounds and a symmetrical network of roads.

UNESCO describes it as "one of Europe's leading horse-breeding institutions, developed at a time when horses played vital roles in transport, agriculture, military support and aristocratic representation."

Kladruby director Jiri Machek said UNESCO's recognition is the confirmation of "the global uniqueness of this place." "There are three unique aspects about it," Machek told The Associated Press. "It's not only about a tangible heritage, it is also the breeding of unique Kladruber horses, which means the landscape still serves its original purpose. And the third, unique thing — which is not mentioned so often — is the intangible heritage, the traditional way of doing things, that is we have been trying to operate the stud in a traditional way."

ONE OF THE OLDEST HORSE BREEDS IN THE WORLD

Kladruby is the home of the Kladruber horse, a rare breed that is one of the oldest in the world with a population of only 1,200. Kladrubers were bred to serve as ceremonial carriage horses at the Habsburg courts in Vienna and Prague. A warm-blooded breed based on Spanish and Italian horses, a convex head with a Roman nose is among their significant features.

Since the late 18th century, the Kladrubers have come in two colors, grey and black. The grey ones were used for royal ceremonies while the black ones served high-ranked clergy. Today, they still do the same at the Danish court, while others are used by the trumpeters from the Swedish Royal Mounted Guard. Some carry police officers in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

The breed's peaceful nature also makes them a popular riding horse among private owners around the globe, and some compete in international carriage driving events...

Prague Zoo sends 3 pelicans to London's St. James's Park

May 30, 2019

PRAGUE (AP) — Three great white pelicans are on their way from Prague Zoo to Britain to join a famed flock that has made London's St. James's Park home since the 17th century. Keepers were carefully carrying the birds one by one Thursday morning to transport cages on of a van will take them on the 17-hour drive to the British capital.

It is for the third time the zoo has sent its pelicans to the park. It started with four birds in 1995 when the zoo was one of the few in Europe capable of breeding them. Three others followed in 2013.

Two males, Sun and Moon, and a female, Star, who were born in February, will join the current colony of three in London. The pelicans were first introduced to the park near the Buckingham Palace in 1664 as a gift to king Charles II from a Russian ambassador.

Death toll in Czech mine explosion increases to 13

December 21, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — The death toll in a methane explosion at a black coal mine in northeastern Czech Republic has increased to 13, a mining company said Friday. OKD mining company spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said that 12 of the dead were Polish nationals while one was Czech, correcting information given earlier that said there were 11 Poles and two Czechs.

A further 10 miners were injured in the explosion Thursday afternoon at the CSM mine near the town of Karvina. Polish President Andrzej Duda declared Sunday a day of national mourning for the victims of the tragedy. Flags in Poland will be lowered to half-staff on public buildings and large sporting and entertainment events will be canceled.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis have offered their condolences to the families of the victims. The two leaders visited the mine on Friday. "To our knowledge ... there is a fire underground, very high temperature, very high risk of subsequent explosions," Morawiecki said.

The Polish leader visited two injured miners at the University Hospital in the nearby city of Ostrava. One of them was in critical condition with burns over 50 percent of his body, hospital spokeswoman Nada Chattova said.

Another miner was release after being treated in Karvina. "I wish to express words of deepest sympathy to all the close victims of the mining disaster in Karvina," Morawiecki said. "This is a huge tragedy for all Poles and Czechs. On this difficult day, we strongly show our solidarity and sense of national community."

The explosion occurred about 800 meters (2,600 feet) underground. OKD executive director Boleslav Kowalczyk said efforts to recover the bodies were continuing on Friday despite a fire in the mine. Authorities have been investigating the accident.

Bohuslav Machek, spokesman for the Czech mining authority said the level of methane in the mine was at least 4.5 times the allowed level at the time of the explosion. Easily ignitable methane is naturally present at black coal mines, posing a threat for miners.

A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the mine is called CSM, not CSA.

Vanessa Gera in Warsaw contributed to this report.

Man-made Czech waterways help save carp, a Christmas treat

November 17, 2018

KRCIN, Czech Republic (AP) — Czechs will have to pay more for their traditional Christmas delicacy this year after a serious drought devastated the carp population this year. The drought overheated and dried out ponds, sucking oxygen from them and drastically reducing numbers of the fish in most parts of the Czech Republic.

But the situation was different in the southern Bohemia region near the border with Austria, which is considered a carp haven. The region also suffered from the drought, but a network of about 500 carp ponds interconnected with man-made canals ensured adequate living conditions for the fish.

As fishermen start the practice of catching carp for Christmas markets, here's a look at the annual tradition and the effects the drought has had on it.

RISING PRICES

Carp being sold this year at Christmas markets will be more expensive, by up to 10 koruna ($0.44) per kilogram.

"A lack of water in the ponds was a key factor this autumn for the (increased) price," said Josef Malecha, chief executive of Trebon Fisheries, a major fresh water fish producer in the country and the European Union.

The company estimates its fish production this year will be similar to previous years, about 3,200 metric tons (3,527 tons). Carp account for more than 90 percent of the catch. The rest include pike, catfish, pike perch, amur (grass carp) and tench. They are exported to many European countries.

The drought affected the ability of the fish to gain weight, Malecha said. "So, we had to fix it by using more food (grain)," he said. "And the food was more expensive because the farmers suffered from the drought as well."

FISH FRENZY The Czech Republic is a country of meat lovers that mostly overlook fish for the rest of the year, but nobody can imagine Christmas without carp. Live carp are sold in street markets just before the holiday and turned into fish soup and fried in bread crumbs to serve on Christmas Eve.

Some lucky ones are given to children to play with in their bathtubs and are later released back into rivers or ponds. While carp is derided in some parts of the world like Australia and the U.S. where the fish poses threats to native fish species and ecosystems.

But Czechs adore the carp, which is said to bring good fortune — but only if you keep some of their scales in your wallet.

FLINTY FISHERMEN

It was freezing after dawn on a recent day when dozens of fishermen in dark green waterproofs wade into the frigid waters, using a centuries-old technique of slowly scooping fish up from the Krcin pond with nets before sorting them manually and placing them in containers.

About 70 metric tons (77 tons) of fish were expected to be extracted from the pond, which is named after Jakub Krcin, a key fish pond builder who was instrumental in completing the southern region's waterway network during the second half of the 16th century.

"What has changed is that we are using some machines," Malecha said. "So the manual labor has decreased. But it is still hard work for the men who have to work no matter what the weather is in the open air. But often some people envy the fisherman. It's a job you can only do if you love it."

Czech Republic to stay out of UN pact on migration

November 14, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government has decided the country will stay out of a United Nations pact promoting an international approach to safe and orderly migration. Wednesday's decision comes after Prime Minister Andrej Babis vehemently opposed the document, saying it poses a threat for his country's security and sovereignty.

Babis has argued the U.N. pact that is the subject of an adoption meeting set for Dec. 11-12 in Marrakech, Morocco, is dangerous even though it's nonbinding because "it, in fact, defines migration as a basic human right."

Babis noted that the United States, Austria and Hungary also reject it. The Czech Republic previously refused a European Union plan to assign member states a required number of asylum-seekers to accept.

Prague's fabled astronomical clock returns in former beauty

September 26, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — Prague's fabled astronomical clock is returning to the Czech capital's picturesque Old Town Square after a complex repair operation restored the medieval landmark to its former glory. The 608-year-old clock, a must-see for many tourists with its hourly moving display of the 12 apostles and other figures, was removed in January for its first major repair since World War II.

With the clock set to resume operations on Friday at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), here's a look at its history and restoration:

HISTORY

The clock, believed installed in the City Hall's tower in 1410, is unique because it still has its original mechanism.

A major addition came in the 18th century, when the apostles were introduced. Clock master Petr Skala said they were believed to be installed in 1723, during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.

The latest version of the round calendar board — which includes all 365 days of the year, the zodiac signs, the symbols of the 12 months and Prague's coat of arms — was created by Czech artist Josef Manes in 1866.

REPAIR

As a center of the uprising against the Nazi occupying forces in the last days of WWII, Prague's City Hall was a site of fierce battles. Parts of it were irreparably destroyed, and the clock tower was badly damaged during a devastating fire on May 8, 1945.

Skala said the latest restoration efforts aim to comprehensively fix a series of poorly done repairs, mostly from the 20th century.

As the clock has undergone numerous changes since 1410, Skala said the point was not to give it its original, 15th-century look. He said his main task was to make sure the clock's mechanism was as reliable as possible in the future.

As part of the process, his wife Melanie cleaned every single part of it, removing old paints and rust, washing them all in citric acid five times. Metal chains installed after the war were replaced by drums with hemp ropes in the clock's drive, its former feature.

"Chances are it will be functioning for another 600 years," Skala said.

Among the more visible changes are a new version of the clock's 19th-century calendar board, and a new lick of paint for the elaborate astrolabe and the figures. Two tin windows were removed, replaced with new ones made of stained glass in place since the early 20th century.

L.Hainz, a company that has taken part in various repairs of the clock since the 1860s. was involved in the works, ensuring continuity.

LEGENDS

The clock has given rise to some legends and superstitions — including a belief that the entire nation will suffer when it stops running. Another legend might be reason for concern for Skala: anyone who changes the clock or tampers with it will go mad, or die.

Some believed that the clock foretold the record flooding that hit Prague and large parts of the Czech Republic in 2002, when it briefly stopped working shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve 2001. Officials, however, said it was due to a minor malfunction.

Czechs boo prime minister 50 years after Soviet-led invasion

August 22, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — A ceremony to honor the victims of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia on Tuesday turned into a protest against Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis. Hundreds jeered and booed Babis' arrival for a ceremony in front of the Czech public radio building in downtown Prague, a site of a fierce street battle between unarmed civilians and invading troops in the first hours of occupation where 17 people died.

"Shame, shame...," the crowd chanted while blowing horns and whistles during his speech. Babis didn't immediately react to the protest. In his speech, he said Babis, a populist billionaire, is a controversial figure because of a power-sharing deal with the maverick Communist Party and fraud charges he is facing. His position is also complicated by allegations he collaborated with the former communist-era secret police.

Troops from the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance formed in 1955 between the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European nations, invaded Czechoslovakia on Aug. 20, 1968 to crush liberal reforms enacted in the brief era known as the Prague Spring. The country was subsequently taken over by a hard-line Communist regime fully loyal to Moscow.

In 1968 alone, 137 people were killed by Warsaw Pact soldiers, and a total of more than 400 died during the occupation of Czechoslovakia that ended only after the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution.

In Brussels, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Europe isn't divided by an Iron Curtain any more. "But let us use this day of solemn commemoration to collectively remember that freedom and the respect for human rights can never be taken for granted and need to be fought for every single day," he said.

In another move related to the anniversary, which will likely anger Russia, Prague authorities unveiled a new explanatory text about the role of Soviet World War II commander Ivan Stepanovic Konev to his monument in Prague.

Marshall Konev led Red Army forces that liberated large parts of Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation in 1945. His monument was unveiled in the Prague 6 district in 1980. On Tuesday, Prague 6 mayor Ondrej Kolar said the authorities wanted to give people "full information that would not conceal what happened."

The new text describes Konev's leading role in crushing the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising in Hungary, his contribution to the construction of the Berlin Wall and the preparation of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Russia and four other former Soviet republics had officially protested that. A small group of communists condemned at the site what they called "the rewriting of history." Others demanded the monument was completely removed given what Konev had done.

AP Interview: Photographer documented 1968 Soviet invasion

August 19, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — It's been 50 years, but powerful images of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia taken by photographer Josef Koudelka still resonate among Czechs and elsewhere in the world — they've even been admired in Russia.

As the armies of the five Warsaw Pact countries invaded his country an hour before midnight on Aug. 20, 1968, Koudelka was ready. Risking his life, he took thousands of photos in the week that followed, capturing the shocking experience for his nation — and the defiance of its people.

After the negatives were smuggled out of the country, the photos that were published in the West became one of the most famed documentary series of the 20th century. Looking back at 1968 in an interview with The Associated Press, Koudelka said he seized the once-in-a-career opportunity.

"The opportunity to take so many photos made it possible for me to do something I never thought I would be able to do," Koudelka said. "And I think that a majority of people in Czechoslovakia who knew me as a photographer didn't even think I could do anything like that."

His photos captured the mood on the streets of Prague: the public anger, frustration and massive protests against the troops that came in with tanks to crush the Prague Spring — the brief period of liberal reforms under leader Alexander Dubcek meant to lead toward democratization of communist Czechoslovakia.

"It was a tragedy. But also miracles happened at the time," Koudelka said. "One of the biggest miracles for me was — and that has happened at major events elsewhere — that people are able to completely change overnight."

He said in reaction to the attack, the whole nation became united. "No matter who you were, only one thing mattered: We were all against them," he said. One of his now-iconic photos shows a man holding his coat wide open in front of an armed soldier standing on a Soviet tank, while another one captures an elderly man trying to hit a tank with a cobblestone.

"My photos captured a moment when we behaved like a nation," Koudelka said. "And that didn't happen too often in our history." Unarmed people could not stop the armies, however, and the country was subsequently taken over by a hard-line Communist regime fully loyal to Moscow. The occupying troops stayed for over 20 years and withdrew only after the 1989 Velvet Revolution led by the late Vaclav Havel.

According to historians, 137 people were killed by Warsaw Pact soldiers in 1968 alone, and a total of over 400 died during the occupation of Czechoslovakia. Koudelka's photos were first published by media around the globe in 1969 under the attribution "P.P." (Prague photographer) to prevent his persecution by the Communists.

He left the country in 1970 to work for the Magnum Photos agency and didn't reveal until 1984 that he was the author of the 1968 pictures. Now 80, Koudelka is not ready to retire. He still keeps his camera busy every day.

Over his long career, he took many great photographs, including his Gypsy, Exile and Panoramas series that are in the collections of major museums, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

But his 1968 photos have been most known globally. This year alone, there are exhibitions of his work in Poland, Belgium and Italy, together with a retrospective, "Returning," at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague accompanied by the publication of his new book of the same name.

His photos been displayed around the world, including in China and Russia. "I never believed I would be able to take the Russian tanks to Moscow," Koudelka said.

New Czech government wins confidence vote in Parliament

July 12, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — The new Czech government won a mandatory confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament early Thursday, ending months of political instability following October's general elections and giving the far-left Communists a role in governing for the first time since the country's 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution.

The government is led by populist billionaire Andrej Babis as prime minister. His centrist ANO (YES) movement won the election, but his first minority government lost a confidence vote in January and had to resign.

The government's creation took such a long time because most other parties in Parliament have been reluctant to enter a coalition with ANO because of fraud charges facing Babis, who denies wrongdoing.

Babis' second government is made up of ANO and leftist Social Democrat deputies and it also doesn't have a parliamentary majority. It was sworn in June 27. Babis struck a controversial power-sharing deal with the Communist Party to carve out the 105-91 vote early Thursday that put through the confidence measure required to govern,

Protesting the rising influence of the Communists, hundreds protesters rallied near the parliament building during the daylong debate. Thousands recently took to the streets to protest the planned pact with them.

The governing coalition and the Communists are united in rejecting any compulsory distribution of migrants in the European Union. Babis has also agreed to meet the Communist Party's demand to tax the compensation that the country's churches receive for property seized by the former Communist regime. The Communists are vocal opponents of the payment.

The deal between Babis and the Communists ensured the government's victory in the confidence vote but it is too vague to give a clear picture of the future influence of the Communists on the government.

The hardline party is vehemently opposed to NATO and has friendly ties with the ruling communists in Cuba, China and North Korea. The Communists also oppose the deployment of Czech troops abroad, particularly to the Baltics and Poland as part of NATO missions amid the tension between Russia and the West.

Along with its anti-migrant stance, the new government opposes setting a date for the Czech Republic to adopt the EU's common euro currency. The new Cabinet has been under the strong influence of pro-Russian President Milos Zeman, who is known for an anti-migrant rhetoric. It still doesn't have a proper foreign minister after Zeman rejected a candidate for the post over his purportedly sympathetic views of migration.

Czech PM inks power-sharing deal with Communists

July 10, 2018

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis signed a power-sharing deal with the far-left Communist Party on Tuesday in a move that will give the maverick party a role in governing for the first time since the country's 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution.

The agreement is meant to ensure the Communist Party's support for the coalition government led by Babis in a key, mandatory confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday. All governments must win such a vote to stay in power.

The government of Babis' centrist ANO (YES) movement and the leftist Social Democrats that was sworn in on June 27 doesn't have a majority in the house and needs the Communists' support to survive. The cooperation with the Communists is a controversial issue that recently prompted thousands of Czechs to rally against it.

Unlike most other communist parties in central Europe that have joined the left-wing mainstream in recent decades, the Czech party has maintained a hardline stance. It is vehemently opposed to NATO and has friendly ties with the ruling communists in Cuba, China and North Korea. The Communists also oppose the deployment of Czech troops abroad, particularly to the Baltics and Poland as part of NATO's mission amid the tension between Russia and the West.

The Communists insist Russia poses no threat. To win their support, Babis agreed with their demand to tax the compensation that the country's churches receive for property seized by the former Communist regime.

The Communist Party is a vocal opponent of the payment.