Daily news summary
Czech Bar Association urges its members to help migrants
The Czech Bar Association has urged its members to offer their services to the foreign migrants held in Czech detention centres. According to Stepan Holub, the lawyer coordinating the volunteer effort, the Bar Association has received signals from journalists and the Ministry of Justice that migrants are in dire need of legal aid. They are held in detention, with no money, no possibility of contacting a lawyer and no knowledge of the Czech language, frequently they are unaware of the fact that they have the right to legal services, Holub told the news site ihned.cz. Twenty lawyers have so far offered their services.
Over one hundred people join Roma Pride march in Prague
Over a hundred people joined the fourth Roma Pride march through the centre of Prague on Sunday afternoon. The event is an annual celebration of Romany culture and identity and aims to draw attention to the discrimination of Romanies in the Czech Republic, be it in the sphere of housing, education or on the job market. Similar Roma Pride marches took place in 13 European capitals. There are estimated to be around a quarter of a million Romanies living in the Czech Republic.
Sunday Independent reveals details of Krejčíř’s planned jailbreak
A staggering 246 million rands (434 million crowns) had been made available to ensure the smooth escape of Czech fugitive Radovan Krejčíř from a South African prison before the plot was thwarted last week, the Sunday Independent reported. The paper said sources close to the investigation had confirmed that three prison warders were paid R 1.5m to help expedite the prison break. Some of the money was to pay for a helicopter to spirit Krejčíř away once he had escaped. The fugitive has since been transferred to an underground isolation cell. The Sunday Independent last week reported on a dramatic raid of Krejčíř’s cell after officials received a tip-off of the escape plot.
Charity concert in aid of refugees at La Fabrika on Sunday
Allstar Refugee Band, Tonya Graves, Michael Kocáb and Monika Načeva will perform at a charity concert in aid of migrants on Sunday evening. The concert at Prague’s La Fabrika is co-organized by People in Need and United Islands. We want to make people remember what their lives were lie 30 years ago, the fact that many Czechs also fled from communism and were not welcomed with teargas in Western Europe, the head of La Fabrika Richard Balous told the ctk news agency.Well-known Czech emigres have pre-taped video messages for the audience and two short films will be screened from Syria and Turkey, documenting the plight of Syrian refugees.
Václav Havel International Airport to get facelift
Chapman Taylor, a studio of international architects and designers, is to transform Prague’s Václav Havel International Airport with the aim of giving it a strong Czech identity, the news site idnes.cz reports. According to idnes, the plan is for the airport to be decorated with images that are related to Prague and the Czech Republic- well-known sights and faces from the country’s history, culture, music, sports and other areas. The airport’s owner allegedly wants a strong statement such as visitors can see at the international airports in Vancouver, Kuala Lumpur or Amsterdam.
ANO party well ahead in popularity polls
The ANO party of the ruling coalition led by Finance Minister Andrej Babiš would presently win general elections gaining 26 percent of the vote, according to the outcome of a poll conducted by TNS Aisa for Czech Television. The Social Democrats, who won the last general elections, would get 18 percent of the vote, the Communist Party would get 10 percent, while the Christina Democrats, the junior party in the ruling coalition would get 7 percent. The position centre-right Civic Democrats would get 9.5 while TOP 09 would get 8.5 percent.
Czechs investing in modern technology
Czechs are increasingly investing in modern technology, according to the results of a survey conducted by the agency Nielsen Admosphere. The survey of technology in Czech households suggests that the number of smartphones has doubled in the past year to 39 percent. 48 percent of households have a laptop which is gradually replacing PCs now present in 39 percent of households. Ipads can be found in 17 percent of Czech households, up from 14 last year, and 11 percent of households now have a smart TV, up from 8 percent last year.
