Daily news summary

Zaorálek commends Ukraine’s reform efforts after Kiev meeting

The Czech foreign minister, Lubomír Zaorálek, has held talks in Kiev with his counterparts from Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. Speaking in in the Ukrainian capital, Mr. Zaorálek said the Czech government appreciated Ukraine’s reform efforts, adding that their implementation was the only way positive changes could be achieved. The Czech foreign policy chief said that Ukraine was in a difficult situation and needed to combat Russian aggression.

Trucks used in simulated terror attacks on Temelín nuclear power station

Exercises simulating terrorist truck and airplane attacks on the Temelín nuclear power station in South Bohemia reached a climax on Tuesday. Over 200 soldiers, police officers and specialists from operators CEZ have been taking part in the four-day Safeguard Temelín 2017. The scenario of one of the simulated attacks has involved a truck trying to smash through barriers at the nuclear station and was based on an incident in Berlin in December when a man drove a truck into a crowd. The exercises will conclude on Wednesday.

Zimola to stand down as governor of South Bohemia

The governor of the South Bohemia Region, Jiří Zimola of the Social Democrats, has announced that he is to stand down. The move comes after the collapse of a regional government coalition comprised of the Social Democrats and two other parties on Monday. Mr. Zimola, who has been governor for nearly nine years, said his party would attempt to forge a new coalition.

Stretch of Prague metro’s C-line out of operation throughout Easter

A stretch of the C-line of Prague’s metro will be out of operation throughout the Easter holidays due to scheduled repair work on the tracks, the Prague Transport authority reported. Trains will not run between the stations Nádraží Holešovice and Pražského povstání from early Friday morning until late Monday night. A substitute bus service and special tram line will be in place.

School leaving exams get underway with written Czech test

This year’s state maturita school leaving exams got underway on Tuesday with the written part of the Czech test. All of the other exams involved will take place in early May. Just under 70,000 students are doing the maturita this year, a lower figure than in 2016. Czech is a compulsory subject in the tests.

First of five new plaques linked to Operation Anthropoid unveiled in Prague

Five new plaques are being installed in Prague’s Vinohrady district in connection with this year’s 75th anniversary of Operation Anthropoid, a daring mission in which Czechoslovak soldiers were dropped into occupied territory to assassinate Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich. The first two plaques, dedicated to two married couples who helped the parachutists, have been unveiled on the district’s Italská St.

Weather forecast

There should be spells of sunshine and rain in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, with temperatures of up to 14 degrees Celsius. Daytime highs should decline slightly in the following days while the weather will remain changeable.