News
Romany family becomes victim of arson attack
A Molotov cocktail was thrown into the home of a Romany family in the North Moravian town of Ostrava late on Saturday night, Czech TV reported on Monday. The bottle landed in the bedroom of a 14 year old girl who was able to extinguish the burning bottle before it caused further damage. Nobody was injured in the attack. The perpetrators are yet unknown, police are investigating the case as a threat to public safety.
In April of last year, a Romany family in the Moravian town of Vítkov was victim of a racially motivated arson attack. The family’s two-year-old daughter suffered severe burns and had to undergo numerous operations before being released from the hospital in November.
Bavarian crime statistics indicate record low
The Bavarian interior minister, Joachim Hermann, said on Monday that road checks in the Czech-German border areas must continue in view of curbing crime. The minister said newly published crime statistics indicate that Bavaria last year saw the lowest number of criminal acts since 1992. Czechs were at the top of the statistics of incidents where foreigners smuggled drugs into Bavaria. At the same time, car theft along the border with the Czech Republic increased. Mr. Herrmann said the key to success was in effective cross-border cooperation.
Increased controls of Czech drivers in Bavaria had lead the former prime minister, Mírek Topolánek, to criticize the Bavarian and German governments, stating that the controls constituted harassment and should cease immediately.
Over half of all Prague restaurants are planning to ban smoking on premises
Pavel Hlinka, the president of the Czech Association of Restaurants and Hotels, said on Sunday that about fifty percent of Prague pubs and the majority of upscale restaurants are planning to change into non-smoking establishments as of July. Within a new law aiming to curb smoking in public that takes effect on July 1, restaurants and bars will be obliged to display stickers that indicate whether smoking is allowed on their premises or not. Outside of Prague, the number of establishments planning to ban smoking is significantly lower, Mr. Hlinka added. Although the respective legislation was approved by Parliament last summer, bar and restaurant owners were given a year to prepare for the introduction of the new measure.
Government approves proposal seeking to boost integration in Czech schools
On Monday, the government approved a proposal to open schools designed to integrate socially disadvantaged and disabled children. The measure is meant to address the lack of integration in the Czech school system and seeks to facilitate co-education of disabled and healthy children, as well as to include children from socially weak families, including children of Romany origin. One of the possible ways of helping to integrate these students would be to introduce a mandatory pre-school year to help bring children’s abilities to an elementary school level. The proposal also seeks to increase the number of staff trained to address the needs of disabled students and students who have a hard time keeping up with the class.
Government grants extraordinary funds to Ministry of Transport to repair roads damaged by harsh weather conditions
The government on Monday decided to grant extraordinary funds of 2.25 billion Czech crowns to the Ministry of Transport to help repair roads and railways that were badly damaged by the harsh winter. The ministry estimates damages to the tune of 6.5 billion crowns, which is about 4 billion more than the projected sum. After the Ministry of Finance had refused to cover the difference, Gustav Slamecka, the minister of transport, asked the government to cover part of the remaining funds needed to repair Czech roads.
Business Europe: Czech economy deals well with global financial crisis
According to an assessment published by Business Europe, an EU association of employers, the Czech Republic is one of the EU countries that are successful in addressing the challenges posed by the global financial crisis. Business Europe’s assessment suggests that the Czech Republic’s economy is well on the way to catching up with the more advanced EU states. In the area of export, the Czech Republic ranks fourth amongst 29 countries that include EU member states as well as Norway and Switzerland. Among the weak points of the Czech economy, the assessment cited low productivity along with the cost of labor.
Customs police uncover counterfeit goods worth 6 million Czech crowns
On Saturday, customs officers in the Moravian town of Brno uncovered counterfeit designer purses and clothes valued at about six million Czech crowns, a police spokeswoman said on Monday. Officers uncovered the fake designer goods during a routine inspection at a local market where they discovered a retail stand that was unlocked and unattended. After searching the stand, the police found a secret storage area behind a mirror where the owners had hidden the counterfeit goods. The find is one of this year’s biggest. The stand’s owners could face a fine of up to five million crowns.
Experts warn of avalanche risk in North Bohemian mountains
The rescue service in the North Bohemian Krkonoše mountains has issued a high degree avalanche alert. After heavy snowfall over the weekend, the risk was rated at level three on a five point scale. Skiers have been warned not to stray from marked trails and to exercise caution. Some skiing locations saw up to 50 centimeters of fresh snow over the weekend and heavy winds are contributing to the danger. Avalanches happen several times a year in the Krkonose mountains but rarely affect populated areas or high-traffic skiing routes. The last victim of an avalanche in the Krkonoše mountains was a 36-year-old skier who died after being buried by an avalanche in 2008.
Immigration drops significantly in 2009
Last year, the Czech Republic saw a growth in population of about 40,000, according to data published by the Czech Statistical Office on Monday. The number of immigrants was seen to have dropped significantly compared to the previous year, when 70,000 immigrants arrived in the Czech Republic. Nonetheless, immigration was the main factor in population growth in 2009. The number of births outweighed the number of deaths by about 11,000. The data also confirmed the end of the baby boom that the country saw between 1999 and 2009. Overall, more babies are born out of wedlock, with a trend of motherhood later in life. The average age at which Czech women became mothers in 2009 was 29, as opposed to 27 in the previous year.
Prague zoo sees birth of endangered tortoise
Over the weekend, an Egyptian tortoise was born in Prague Zoo. The Egyptian tortoise is among the most endangered species of tortoises world wide. Prague Zoo has been breeding the animal for two years, the newly born specimen is the zoo’s fifteenth Egyptian tortoise. Only 4700 specimen are estimated to be living in the wild. The Egyptian Tortoise is native to Libya and Israel.
Weather
The coming days will be cloudy, with snow in most places. In lower altitudes, snow will turn into sleet or rain. Highest day temperatures should range between 0 and +5 degrees Celsius.
