News

The beginning of February was the warmest in Czechia in more than 100 years, with an average temperature of 6.7 degrees Celsius, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute reported. Temperatures of over 15 degrees Celsius in places broke records at monitoring stations around the country in the past week. Meteorologists said the average temperature of 6.7 degrees does not apply to the entire country since data is only collected from monitoring stations that have been in operation for at least 100 years. Most of them are located at lower altitudes.

Education Minister Mikuláš Bek on Monday met with representatives of school unions to discuss funding issues which they claim will threaten the basic operation of schools in many areas. According to the unions, the funds earmarked for schools for this year do not respect previous agreements and in many cases would necessitate laying off essential non-teaching staff such as janitors, cleaners, cooks and IT workers. Minister Bek said that he believed the government would top-up the missing finances in schools where the situation was critical and where local finances were unavailable. School unions are to attend a meeting with Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Tuesday. Some school unions have threatened strike action if the situation is not resolved.

The police have charged a 24-year-old foreign student with attempted murder for stabbing another foreign student, on the grounds of a student dormitory in Ostrava. The accused confessed to the crime, saying he had acted out of jealousy. The injured student suffered stab wounds to the abdomen and is in  serious condition. The nationality of the foreign students was not disclosed.

Victims of sexual abuse by priests in Czechia have called for the establishment of an independent commission to map cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. In a petition sent to the Czech Press Agency they also demand the resignation of Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner, claiming that as Archbishop of Olomouc he had failed to act against these practices. According to the authors of the petition, addressed to the Czech Bishops' Conference and the Commission of European Bishops' Conferences, there are hundreds, possibly thousands of victims of abuse by priests in the Czech Republic and the Church remains silent on the matter. The authors of the appeal, have asked for an independent institution to study the archives of bishoprics, religious orders and monastic communities in order to map the real state of affairs.