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Eastern Europe's arms industry is churning out guns, artillery shells and other military supplies at a pace not seen since the Cold War... [N]early a dozen government and company officials and analysts who spoke to Reuters said the conflict also presented new opportunities for the region's arms industry. Poland's...State-owned PGZ controls more than 50 companies making weapons and ammunition - from armoured transporters to unmanned air systems - and holds stakes in dozens more. It now plans to invest up to 8 billion zlotys ($1.8 billion)over the next decade, more than double its pre-war target... Other manufacturers too are increasing...

The ornate object was covered in dirt but well preserved, inspiring the farmer, who wishes to remain anonymous, to send photos to archaeologists at the nearby Silesian Museum in Opava. Jiří Juchelka(opens in new tab), head of the Silesian Museum's archaeology department, told Radio Prague International(opens in new tab) (RPI) that the 20-inch-long (51 centimeters) object — made out of gold with inclusions of silver, copper and iron — was likely the front of a leather belt. "It is decorated with raised concentric circles and topped with rose-shaped clasps at the end," Based on the style of the decoration, she...

Mystery of the fat Venus The Dominion Post | Monday, 9 April 2007 WORLD OF SCIENCE - BOB BROCKIE We all know about those hand-sized Ice Age women carved in stone – those plump ladies with huge breasts and behinds, tiny heads, artful hairdos and no faces. They're known as Palaeolithic Venuses and they raise a lot of puzzling questions: How come these almost identical figurines were found all the way from France to Siberia? How come this stylised carving tradition was practised and passed down over 20,000 years? What purpose did they serve? There are as many answers to...

Don't the Czechs want an aircraft carrier? Politicians and embassies also picked up on the joke about the annexation of Královec The joke about joining Kaliningrad, or Královec, to the Czech Republic continues to be picked up by top politicians and embassies. The American Embassy in Prague offers the Czech Republic an aircraft carrier, Deputy Minister of Finance Jiří Valenta jokingly plans that it will be necessary to increase the GDP of the annexed region after taking over Královec. Senator Miroslava Němcová proposes a letter in which the Czechia would inform the Russians about the accession of Kaliningrad to the...

BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union countries agreed Wednesday to impose a price cap on Russian oil and other new sanctions after Moscow illegally annexed four regions in Ukraine amid its monthslong war, EU officials said. Diplomats struck the deal in Brussels that also includes curbs on EU exports of aircraft components to Russia and limits on steel imports from the country, according to an official statement from the Czech rotating EU presidency.

Archaeologists digging near Prague have discovered the remains of a Stone Age structure that’s older than Stonehenge and even the Egyptian pyramids: an enigmatic complex known as a roundel. Nearly 7,000 years ago during the late Neolithic, or New Stone Age, a local farming community may have gathered in this circular building, although its true purpose is unknown. The excavated roundel is large — about 180 feet (55 meters) in diameter, or about as long as the Leaning Tower of Pisa is tall, Radio Prague International reported. And while “it is too early to say anything about the people building...

Vladimir Putin has approved a 31-page "humanitarian policy" which says Russia should "protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World". The foreign policy concept of a "Russian World" is a notion that hardliners have used to justify intervening abroad to support Russian speakers, such as in parts of Ukraine. It means that the idea is now enshrined in official policy, though it was presented as a soft power strategy. The new policy stated that Moscow should further deepen its ties with the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic - two breakaway entities in...

Sweden has previously provided more than a hundred instructors to train the Ukrainian military. And now the country's Defense Minister Peter Gulqvist has not ruled out that it may join the production of weapons for the needs of Kiev. He stated this after the donors ' conference for our state in Copenhagen, which took place on August 11. During this meeting, three main areas of long-term support were identified, SVT reports. "It's not something I rule out, but it's too early to say right now. We are involved in all three dimensions of assistance to Ukraine in a positive way,...

The Czech Republic plans to purchase 24 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters to replace their current fleet of 14 Gripen fighter jets, the defense ministry announced Wednesday, in the latest move by Prague to rapidly move toward NATO-standard weapons in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Defense Minister Jana Cernochova announced that she has been authorized to negotiate the purchase of the two dozen of the Lockheed Martin-produced fifth-generation jets, which cost about $80 million apiece in the current U.S. Air Force contract, although it is not clear what unit price Prague would get. Lockheed officials directed questions about the...

Restoration of 4000 well preserved bronze age woman from Central Europe. He DNA is closely related to modern Europeans, she likely spoke with protoeuropean language. See picture in the link. The member of the Únětice culture was buried with a unique amber necklace, but her DNA is the real treasure. The woman, estimated to have died at around age 35, came from the upper social strata. Her grave in Mikulovice in Eastern Bohemia is one of the richest in Europe from her era. She had fair skin, brown hair, widely spaced brown eyes, a prominent chin, and a petite figure...

A 1,600-year-old burial ground discovered in Eastern Bohemia is shedding new light on that era. The site was discovered in 2019 by archaeologists from archaeologists from the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové (MVČ HK), and the first findings were just made public.The site has been dated to the fifth century AD, around the time of the collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire and the start of the Dark Ages. The era was known for migration and instability...The intact grave chamber, designated grave number two, contained several items of extraordinary historical and artistic quality such as...

The member of the Únětice culture was buried with a unique amber necklace, but her DNA is the real treasure when it comes to recreating her appearance.You can now see what a woman who lived near the Czech city of Pardubice in the Bronze Age looked like.This image is not an artistic guess. New forms of DNA analysis plus unusually well-preserved personal items allow us to now make a highly accurate picture.The woman, estimated to have died at around age 35, came from the upper social strata. Her grave in Mikulovice in Eastern Bohemia is one of the richest in...

Russia has protested against the U.S. sending military aid to Ukraine, warning of “unpredictable consequences.” In a diplomatic note sent to the U.S. this week, Moscow expressed its opposition to the Biden administration assisting Ukraine, which is fiercely resisting a Russian invasion. The Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C, forwarded the document — titled “On Russia’s concerns in the context of massive supplies of weapons and military equipment to the Kiev regime” — to the U.S. State Department. The Washington Post reviewed a copy of the document, which was written in Russian and sent with an English translation. The note came...

As the Czech Republic continues to arm Ukraine, Russia has told the country that it cannot transfer Soviet-made weapons without its consent. hrough a diplomatic letter, Russia has warned the Czech Republic against supplying other countries with weapons of Soviet origin without its consent, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told journalists this afternoon. Lipavský called the Russian demand "nonsense," and said the Czech Foreign Ministry would not react to it. There is no clause banning re-export of weapons from the former Soviet Union, he added. Earlier this week, Russia officially warned the United States and other countries that supporting Ukraine...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Western weaponry pouring into Ukraine helped blunt Russia’s initial offensive and seems certain to play a central role in the approaching, potentially decisive, battle for Ukraine’s contested Donbas region. Yet the Russian military is making little headway halting what has become a historic arms express. The U.S. numbers alone are mounting: more than 12,000 weapons designed to defeat armored vehicles, some 1,400 shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to shoot down aircraft and more than 50 million rounds of ammunition, among many other things. Dozens of other nations are adding to the totals. The Biden administration is preparing yet...

The Czech Republic has been sending old Soviet-era tanks into Ukraine, providing badly needed heavy weapons to outgunned Ukrainian troops that are battling a much better-equipped Russian invasion force. The efforts, described by three Czech and Slovak officials, mark the first time a foreign country has provided tanks to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began Feb. 24. In a potentially even more important development, both the Czech Republic and neighboring Slovakia, which shares a border with Ukraine, are considering opening their military industrial installations to repair and refit damaged Ukrainian military equipment.

Together with Slovenia and the Czech Republic, Poland has prepared a list of actions the EU must enforce if it really wants to end the war. 1) Cut off all Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system. 2) Put in place a common asylum policy for Russian soldiers who refuse to serve the criminal regime in Moscow. 3) Completely stop Russian propaganda in Europe. Freedom of speech does not mean the right to lie. 4) Block Russian ships from our ports. 5) The same blockade must be put in place for road transport in and out of Russia. 6)...

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The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia are travelling to Kyiv by train, the first foreign leaders to visit the Ukrainian capital since Russia invaded its neighbour last month. “The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a Twitter post. His Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki, said on Facebook the trip was taking place on the 20th day of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “criminal aggression against Ukraine”. “At such breakthrough times for the world, it is our duty to...

"US president shelves scheme in Poland and Czech Republic, citing new intelligence on threat from Iran....Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe that had long soured relations with Russia....Obama said the new approach would offer 'stronger, swifter and smarter' defence for the US and its allies."