Daily news summary

Road movie Winter Flies dominates Czech Lion Awards

The road movie Winter Flies by Olmo Omerzu dominated the 26th edition of the Czech Lion Awards on Saturday picking up six Lions, among others for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Hastrman directed by Ondřej Havelka picked up four Lions, while the historic drama Toman, which had a record 13 nominations fell short in all categories.

The award for Best Documentary went to King Skate, on the phenomenon of skateboarding in communist Czechoslovakia in the 1980s.

The winners of the main Czech film awards are selected by members of the Czech Film and Television Academy.

Protest against European copyright reform in Prague

Czech critics of the European copyright reform took to the streets of Prague on Saturday to protest against proposed changes that they say will lead to censorship.

Protesters held up banners saying “Save the Internet” and brought a symbolic coffin indicating its fate if the bill is approved in its present form.

The biggest controversy is over Article 13 of the reform bill which critics say will prompt high-earning platforms such as Google's YouTube to use upload filters to block copyright-infringing texts, music and images to avoid expensive lawsuits from copyright holders.

Critics of the EU’s internet copyright reforms have rallied across Europe ahead of a crucial vote in the European Parliament next week.

Černý’s babies return to Žižkov transmitter

High rise workers have started reattaching artist David Černý’s black babies onto the Žižkov transmitter in Prague.

The ten babies which were installed in 2001 and had become one of Prague’s tourist attractions, were removed for maintenance in 2017.

Czech Radio Communications, which owns the transmitter, had ten new copies made, which will remain a permanent feature of the transmitter.

The original babies are now on an exhibition tour in the United States.

All ten babies should be installed by April 9th.

Measles expected to spread further due to low immunization

The number of people infected with measles could rise to 1,000 this year, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch said in a debate on Czech television on Sunday.

The estimate is based on the steep increase of cases since the beginning of this year. Doctors have registered 366 case of measles since the start of the year, with sixty cases in the last week alone. There were 203 cases in 2018.

The increase is attributed to the fact that many parents are refusing to get their children immunized for fear of side effects. The Czech Immunization Association has warned that immunization of the population has now dropped below the protective threshold.

Interest in rental housing grows

Interest in rental housing has seen a significant rise in recent months, in response to the central bank tightening mortgage rules, the ctk news agency reported citing real estate companies.

The interest in rental housing has driven rents higher, by an average 3 percent in Prague (to 340 crowns per square metre) but as much as 11 percent in the most lucrative areas.

The monthly rent for a medium-sized two-room flat in Prague is now between 15 to 19 thousand crowns, depending on its proximity to the city centre.

Five injured in accident on motorcycle race circuit

A biker flew out of the race track during a trial run on the circuit in Merklin, in western Bohemia, on Sunday injuring four bystanders.

All five men were taken to the Plzen faculty hospital for treatment. The accident happened ahead of the main race and the injured men were reportedly standing in an off-limits area to the public.

Weather forecast

Monday should be partly cloudy to overcast with rain in places and day temperatures between 7 and 11 degrees Celsius.