Daily news summary
Foreign Minister Zaorálek lightly injured in car crash
The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Lubomír Zaorálek, was slightly injured when his chauffeur-driven car was involved in a crash on Friday evening. He suffered head injuries during the incident, which occurred in the south Moravia region, but was released after being taken to hospital in Brno by helicopter.
A spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said his state was good and that he was now receiving treatment at home.
Mr. Zaorálek is the electoral leader of the Social Democrats going into general elections in the second half of October.
Taxi men clash with Uber drivers at Prague airport
Taxi drivers clashed with Uber drivers at Prague’s Václav Havel Airport on Friday afternoon, iDnes.cz reported. For the second day in a row, they attempted to prevent the Uber drivers from pulling in at the airport's terminals and placed English-language signs reading Illegal Transport on their cars. Police were called out to deal with the conflict.
An iDnes.cz reporter said the taxi men had placed Illegal Transport signs on all cars that were not taxis, including those of ordinary people stopping at the airport.
The mayor of Prague, Adriana Krnáčová, described the taxi drivers’ action as disgraceful and said it attested to their level of intelligence.
Judges worry outdated technology could fall prey to hackers
Czech judges are concerned that the computer systems used to administer judicial documents are outdated and could collapse or fall victim to hacking, iDnes.cz reported on Saturday. The technology is more than 20 years old.
The Ministry of Justice says the while the systems are unstable, they are safe. IDnes.cz reported that hackers had attempted to break into the ministry’s database of information on court proceedings and police investigations, which has been in place since 1996.
One judge said that most files were also kept in paper form so it would be possible to make comparisons if materials in the database had been tampered with. However, some judicial documents only exist in electronic form, he said.
Saturday 30th anniversary of launch of Škoda’s landmark Favorit
Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Favorit in what is described as a landmark moment in the modern history of the Czech carmaker Škoda. The hatchback was presented to the public for the first time at an engineering trade fair in Brno on 16 September 1987.
The CEO of the now German-owned Škoda Auto, Bernhard Maier, said the Favorit had begun a new era for the company and enabled it to compete with cars from the then West.
The car was remodeled twice in the early 1990s. Production ceased in 1995, after almost 800,000 Favorits had been rolled out at Škoda factories in Bohemia.
Coming month likely to be colder than average for time of year
The next four weeks should see temperatures slightly below long-term averages in the Czech Republic, according to a regular monthly forecast issued by the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute issued on Saturday.
Daytime highs in the coming week are expected to reach around 15 degrees Celsius. The following week they ought to climb to around 17 degrees Celsius before falling again to around 16 in the first week of October. The second week of next month should see temperatures of up to 14 degrees Celsius.
Šafářová wins battle of Czechs in Quebec quarter-finals
Lucie Šafářová has reached the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Quebec, Canada. The 30-year-old advanced to the last four after beating her Czech compatriot Lucie Hradecká 6-4 7-5 on Saturday.
Šafářová, who lifted the title in Quebec in 2013, will now face Timea Babos of Hungary for a place in this year’s final. The Czech is ranked 33rd in the world in singles and first in doubles.
Weather forecast
It should be rainy with temperatures of around 14 degrees Celsius in the Czech Republic on Sunday. The weather is expected to be similar over much of the next week.
