Government to ask lower house to extend state of emergency

The government will ask the lower house of Parliament to extend the state of emergency in the country in connection with the refugee crisis, Interior Minister Vit Rakušan said on Sunday. Speaking in a debate on Czech Television, Mr. Rakušan said state of emergency is essential in helping to secure the needs of the close to 300,000 refugees now on Czech territory. The cabinet declared a state of emergency on March 4, for a period of 30 days, and a further extension needs to be sanctioned by Parliament.