News

Police conduct checks at venues in the area of Prague’s Wenceslas Square

Police on Friday night conducted checks at bars, night clubs, strip clubs, and gambling venues in the area of Prague’s Wenceslas Square. A special police unit, together with the municipal police, also patrolled all three lines of the city’s metro system; over the course of the evening sixteen people were detained – one on the suspicion of carrying false identification. Another was wanted by police state-wide, while one had illegal drugs on his person. Nine of those detained were foreign nationals. In all, officers checked the IDs of 240 people and looked into more than 30 venues.

Sobotka: ball in TOP 09’s court

The leader of the opposition Social Democrats, Bohuslav Sobotka, said on Friday that his party will not give an official recommendation on how its Prague branch should proceed following the collapse this week of the coalition at City Hall between TOP 09 and the Civic Democrats. He stressed that the next move was up to TOP 09, adding that his own party needed to act in the interest of its voters, saying that a coalition was not a priority. TOP 09 joined forces with the Social Democrats this week to oust Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda and two Civic Democrat councillors from office; negotiations on a possible coalition between TOP 09 and the Social Democrats have already begun, sources said.

Two thousand attend service held by Patriarch Bartholomew in Mikulčice

Some 2,000 worshippers attended a service held by the Orthodox Church Patriarch Bartholomew in Mikulčice, Moravia, on Saturday. The site is linked to the medieval Christian missionaries SS Cyril and Methodius. Organisers had expected up to 10,000 visitors to come but some were evidently deterred by adverse weather conditions. The liturgy, in which a dozen of Orthodox Church dignitaries took part, was held to mark the 1,150th anniversary of the arrival of SS Cyril and Methodius in Greater Moravia from Thessaloniki, then the Byzantine Empire. Pilgrimages to Mikulčice take place annually in honour of the two saints who created a special script for Slavs and translated basic Christian texts into the Slavic language.

Members of the Sokol athletics organisation meet in Roudnice

Six thousand members of the Sokol athletics organisation met in Roudnice nad Labem on Saturday to take part in calisthenics exercises at the local stadium before heading to the famous mountain in Bohemia known as Říp. The hill has a key place in Czech legend, referred to as the first place the Slavs settled. On Sunday, members of Sokol, many from chapters abroad, will hold a parade through the town to mark the 120th anniversary of the patriotic sports movement.

Two people injured in fire at recreational building

Two people had to be treated for smoke inhalation after a large fire broke out a recreational building in the area of Bruntál, in the east of the country. The incident took place on Friday at around four pm. The roof of the building and the attic caught first. Professional and voluntary fire fighters worked to stop the blaze; the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

NHL playoffs: Penguins send home Senators

The Pittsburgh Penguins, with goalie Tomáš Vokoun, have advanced to the next round of the NHL playoffs. They did so by defeating the Ottawa Senators on Friday by a score of 6:2. Ottawa managed to clinch only one win the best-of-seven series. Vokoun has been very solid in Pittsburgh’s run; on Friday he stopped 29 shots. The Pens will face the winner of the Bruins-Rangers series next; Boston has a stranglehold in that series, leading 3:1.

Czech actor to exhibit Lego collection

Josef Koller, an actor at the City theatre in Zlín will exhibit part of an extensive Lego collection during the upcoming 53rd Zlín Film Festival for Children and Youth. Koller became interested in the famous building block system as an adult, ČTK reported, adding the actor had dedicated two rooms in his home to the hobby. His collection will be exhibited at a local shopping mall; the film festival opens on Monday.

Weather

Rain is expected throughout the rest of the weekend with daytime temperatures reaching highs of only 11 degrees Celsius.