News

The leading Czech women’s competitor in the biathlon, Gabriela Soukalová, came fourth in the 10km pursuit event at the Winter Olympics in Russia’s Sochi on Tuesday. Soukalová narrowly missed out on bronze and fourth place is regarded as quite an achievement for the athlete, with no Czech woman having ever taken an Olympic medal in biathlon. The country’s men had not done so until Sochi, where Jaroslav Soukup has taken bronze in the sprint and Ondřej Moravec silver in the pursuit. The only other Czech to win a medal so far in Sochi has been speed skater Martina Sáblíková, who took silver in the 3000m.

Czech Foreign MInister Lubomír Zaorálek likewise expressed concern over the outcome of the Swiss referendum on curbing migration in which a narrow majority of participants backed a proposal to impose quotas on newcomers to the country. Mr. Zaorálek said this was in violation of the principles of the Schengen travel-free space and not a good development for Europe. While Switzerland is not an EU member, it is closely integrated with the union and is a part of the Schengen space. The European Commission has said it regrets the outcome of the Swiss vote and would need to review the impact on overall relations between Switzerland and the EU.

The Czech Republic presently has the worst record in drawing of EU funds of the entire 27-member block, the Czech Minister for Regional Development Věra Jourová told journalists following Monday’s cabinet meeting. Ms. Jourová said that in the period between 2007 and 2013 the Czech Republic had placed bottom of the EU list due to a lack of know-how in securing grants and a reputation of abusing funds. Last year alone the country failed to draw the equivalent of 10 billion crowns of potentially available money, out of an overall 16 billion left untapped. The minister said that this year the Czech Republic could fail to draw as much as 24 billion crowns, with the biggest problems at the environment and education ministries.

A 52-year-old priest from Havlickuv Brod has been arrested and charged with rape, child abuse and pornography. He remains in detention at the Hradec Kralove jailhouse. The priest is suspected of having raped a 37-year-old woman and sexually abused a 13 year old girl whom he also used to make child porn photos. The woman who reported the case said she had been raped on several occasions and had been under severe psychological pressure from the priest. If convicted the man could face up to ten years in jail.