Daily news summary
Hundreds gather in Prague to mourn victims of Paris shooting
Another gathering in support of the victims of this week's terrorist attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and on the Jewish supermarket in Paris takes place in Prague on Saturday. Hundreds of people have gathered outside the French Embassy at Prague's Malá Strana district, carrying flowers and signs saying „Je suis Charlie“ and lighting candles in memory of the victims.
Church representatives warn against radicalism
Church representatives have called on the Czech public not to succumb to radicalism, despite feeling anger towards the Islamist terrorists. The head of the Czech Catholic Church Dominik Duka, along with the leader of the Ecumenical Council of Churches Daniel Fejfar, and the head of the Jewish Community Petr Papoušek have expressed their solidarity with the families of the victims of this week's attacks in Paris. They say it is necessary to insist on the basic rules of open society, especially on the liberty of speech, on mutual respect of religions and cultures and on finding ways of mutual coexistence.
President Zeman will not dismiss his chancellor over suspicious villa purchase
President Miloš Zeman will not dismiss his chancellor Vratislav Mynář over his purchase of a villa in Prague for a suspiciously low price. In an interview for the news site Deník.cz, president Zeman said Mr Mynář gave him a satisfactory answer as to where the money came from. He also added that the villa was in a poor state and needed a costly reconstruction. Mr Mynář purchased the functionalist villa in Pragues's Strašnice district for CZK 5.5 million, which many real-estate experts say is far below its real market value. Several anti-corruption groups this week called on the president to dismiss his chancellor over the suspucious deal.
Escalator at Můstek metro station back in operation after November accident
The escalator at Prague's Můstek metro station, which went into reverse operation in November last year, causing a mass fall in which several people were injured, was put back in operation on Friday. The Head of the Prague Transport Authority Jaroslav Ďuriš ruled out the possibility of a similar accident happening in the future. Police is suspecting someone might have been tampering with the escalator intentionally and is currently investigating the incident as a possible case of reckless endangerment.
One men missing after raft accident on Ohře River
Firefighters and rescue workers are searching for a man who dissapeared when rafting on the Ohře River on Saturday. The raft with five men flipped over at a dam at Jakubov in the Karlovy Vary region, dumping them into the swollen river. Four of the rafters made it to the shore with no injuries. The Ohře River is currently under a flood alert due to heavy rainfall and melting snow.
Biathlete Vítková takes gold in World Cup sprint in Oberhof
The Czech biathlete Veronika Vítková won the gold medal in the 7.5 km World Cup sprint event in Germany's Oberhof on Friday. Despite having to run two penalty loops, Vítková finished nine seconds ahead of Italy's Dorothea Wierer. It is the first World Cup victory for the 26-year old athlete. Another Czech Gabriela Soukalová finished in sixth place.
Strong winds and rising river levels cause problems around the country
Strong wind has been causing problems around the Czech Republic since Friday afternoon, damaging roofs and blowing down trees. Dozens of incidents required the assistance of fire fighters. Water levels on several rivers started to rise as a result of sudden warming and heavy rainfall. The biggest threat of flooding is focused on the Šumava mountain range in the south-west of the country.
