News

Final Czech troops back from Kosovo, ending Czech Balkan mission

The final Czech troops have returned from Kosovo. On Thursday evening, three planes of Czech soldiers touched down in the Přerov-Bochoř military base in the east of the Czech Republic. Their arrival marks the end of the Czech mission in the Balkans, a spokesman for the army said. Amongst the Czech troops’ most recent duties was the monitoring of Serb demonstrations following Kosovo’s declaration of independence in February. The Czech Republic recognized Kosovo’s independence in May and two weeks ago opened up an embassy in Pristina.

Russia renews oil deliveries to Czech Republic

Russia has renewed crude oil deliveries to the Czech Republic to their original level after a month-long drop in supplies. Russia unexpectedly cut deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline in early July by nearly 50 percent from 500,000 to less than 300,000 tons of crude. Moscow said the cut in supplies was caused by technical problems and denied that it was linked to the signing of a Czech-US treaty on the positioning of a US missile defense radar on Czech soil. The main Czech refiner Unipetrol started tapping state oil reserves and increased deliveries through the Ingolstadt pipeline to make up for the outage.

Foster parents taken into custody

Foster parents from Slavkov near Brno have been arrested for suspected maltreatment of children. Lubomír and Blažena Rosner are said to have been in custody for more than a week. The children in their care, who have allegedly complained about bad treatment to their teacher, have been taken away and placed in a social care institute. Police are refusing to comment on the case. The couple received an award from President Klaus in 2005 for their care for physically and mentally handicapped children for more than 20 years.

Green Party approves new draft party rules

The Green Party leadership on Thursday approved new draft rules of the party. Members of the Greens will have one month to discuss and modify the draft. The proposals will be discussed at the national congress of the party due to take place at the beginning of September. The party rules were proposed by a team around party leader Martin Bursík and they met with criticism from deputy chairwoman Dana Kuchtová, who wants to run for the post of party leader. Mrs Kuchtová argues that they concentrate power in the hands of the leadership at the expense of the national council and regional organisations.

Executers froze Karlovy Vary property due to unpaid debt

Court in west Bohemian town of Karlovy Vary have blocked the town’s immovable property worth six to eight billion crowns (over 500 million US dollars) due to an unpaid debt. The property was frozen after the culture department of the Town Hall had failed to pay a fee worth 130,000 crowns connected with court disputes over the reconstruction of the local theatre. Deputy Mayor Tomáš Hybner the town had already repaid the debt and that he expects the property to be unblocked within a week.

Neo-Nazi concert to be held near Brno on Saturday

Several hundred far right supporters are expected to attend a neo-Nazi concert which is to be held in Ochoz near Brno on Saturday. The event is officially announced as a rock and metal concert but specialists in extremism say the bands openly support racism and neo-Nazism. About 100 policemen will monitor the event.

Foreign gangs involved in money laundering and drug dealing

Most foreign gangs operating in the Czech Republic are involved in money laundering, drug dealing and illegal arms sales, the anti-organised crime united reported on Thursday. To a lesser extent, they are also involved in trading stolen cars, fraud and illegal immigration. According to experts from the anti-organised crime unit, violence in gangs is gradually decreasing and their interest is increasingly shifting to economic crime.

Two new ferry links launched in Prague

Two ferry links across the Vltava River were launched in Prague on Friday. One ferry will run between the National Theatre, Žofín Island and the district of Smíchov. The second ferry service will connect Prague’s Podolí and a park known as Císařská Louka on the other side of the river. The ferry is an extension of the capital’s integrated transport system, which means passengers can use CZK20 tram or metro ticket. The Czech capital is already operating several ferry links.

New post-office opens at Sněžka

A new building on the Czech Republic’s highest peak Sněžka has opened to the public, replacing a building called Česká bouda which stood there from 1868. The controversial box-shaped building with wooden slates that can open up in summer and shutter up in winter was designed by architects Martin Rajniš and Patrik Hoffmann. It houses a post-office, restaurant and a look-out terrace.

Weather

Weather forecasters say Friday could be the hottest day of the year with daytime temperatures expected to reach 34 degrees Celsius. The record of 36 degrees Celsius measured at Prague’s Clementinum weather station in 1992, is not expected to be broken. Meteorologists warn that the heat wave will be followed by storms and heavy rains across the whole country.