News

US experts conclude inspection of planned radar site

US missile defence experts have finished examining the location of a planned US radar site in the Brdy military zone southwest of Prague. According to the Czech Defence Ministry, the 38-member team focused mainly on the hydrological and geological conditions in the area and the local transport infrastructure. The chief-of-staff of the Czech armed forces, Vlastimil Picek, said the exact location of the planned radar installation is still unknown but he said it will be built at a minimum distance of five kilometres from the nearest house.

Education Minister plans to toughen terms for home schooling

Education Minister Dana Kuchtova says the case of eight-year old Ondrej who was severely abused by his mother has highlighted loopholes in the law on home schooling. In a live TV debate on Sunday, the minister said she plans to tighten the terms under which parents are allowed to teach their own children. Under current legislation, these children are examined once every term; Minister Kuchtova would like to make the examinations more frequent. She pointed out the Education Ministry was not able to prevent what happened to Ondrej. He did not go to school, allegedly due to his hearing impairment. Another child living in the family, a 13-year old girl with no legal identity who is now missing, did not attend school either.

Ceremony at Terezin commemorates former inmates and victims

Around 2,000 people including President Vaclav Klaus gathered at the National Cemetery in Terezin on Sunday to commemorate all those imprisoned at the local Nazi concentration camp and the Gestapo prison during WWII. Between 1941 and 1945, some 155,000 Jews from all over Europe were imprisoned at Terezin; 117,000 of them did not live to see the end of the war.

Prague mayor descends to base camp after climbing Mt Everest

The mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, has descended to his base camp after reaching the top of Mount Everest on Friday, his assistant said on Sunday, adding that he has completed the most demanding part of the climb. Mr Bem, a senior figure in the Civic Democratic Party, became the tenth Czech to reach the world's highest peak. He was criticised both inside and outside his party for taking two months leave from his post as mayor of Prague.

Earlier this week, a Czech mountaineer, whose name remains unknown, died during the ascent of Mount Everest. According to the Foreign Ministry, the time and circumstances of the death of the 47-year-old Czech man are unclear. According to available information, he was the sole Czech in an international expedition and he died at a camp at 8,300 metres above sea level.

Over 127,000 citizens of other EU countries work in CR

According to data released by the Labour Ministry, over 127,000 citizens of other EU countries are currently working in the Czech Republic, which is a 23-percent increase compared to last year. Most of them work in healthcare and education as well as industry. The largest groups are the citizens of Slovakia, Poland and Germany. In April, close to 200,000 foreigners worked legally in the Czech Republic. According to estimates, another tens of thousands are employed illegally.

Czech police detain four right-wing extremists in Most

Police detained four right-wing radicals while trying to prevent a clash between left-wing and right-wing extremists in the northern towns of Most and Litvinov on Saturday. One of the detained people is a driver who rode into a group of leftist radicals. Two young women were taken to hospital; one of them suffered a broken leg. Some 400 neo-Nazis arrived in Most on Saturday to pay tribute to the memory of a member of their movement who was stabbed to death outside the Litvinov railway station eight years ago.

Kupka painting sold at record price

A painting by the abstract artist Frantisek Kupka broke the local auction record for a work by a Czech painter when it was sold for 13.4 million crowns (around 643,000 dollars) at a Prague auction on Sunday. The starting price for the work, "Abstract Composition," was 8.5 million crowns. The previous record for a Czech painting auctioned locally was set last December when a collector paid 9.3 million crowns for a work by Josef Capek, who was a cubist before developing his own primitive style in the 1920's and 1930's.

Three killed in traffic accident in North Bohemia

Three people were killed in a traffic accident involving a passenger car and a van between the towns of Teplice and Usti nad Labem on Sunday morning. The highway has been closed for traffic and police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Juventus star Nedved mulls future

Juventus's Czech midfield star Pavel Nedved will decide by the end of June whether to end his top flight football career, the CTK news agency reported on Sunday. The former Czech captain's contract runs out next year. The 34-year-old Czech added that he felt he owed Junventus a debt this season to get them back into Italy's top flight after the famous Turin club was demoted to the second division following a match fixing scandal. Nedved moved to Italy from Sparta Prague in 1996, playing for Lazio Rome before his move to Juventus.

Weather

The coming days are expected to be sunny with daytime temperatures reaching highs of 30 degrees Celsius.