News

A decision by the EU Council restricting the granting of temporary protection to Ukrainian refugees subject to military service obligations will reduce the number of newly arriving war refugees by tens of percent, according to Czech Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar (ANO). According to the Interior Ministry, 395,366 people currently hold temporary protection in the Czech Republic. Around 800 people arrived over the past week.

The new restrictions, which take effect on Wednesday, will apply only to new applicants for temporary protection. They will not affect people who have already received protection in the EU and are only extending their status. Displaced Ukrainians will have to prove that they meet military service requirements in order to obtain protection. For example, they may present a passport with an exit stamp from Ukrainian authorities showing that they left the country legally, or provide documents proving that they are fulfilling their military obligations or are exempt from them.

Farm animals in South Bohemia are seeking relief from extreme temperatures by sheltering in tree belts and stone barns. Some local farmers are letting cows, sheep, and horses graze in pastures at night and keeping them inside cooler buildings during the hottest parts of the day. The ongoing drought has reduced grass growth in meadows, forcing farmers to supplement their livestock’s diet with winter hay supplies. Water sources are also drying up, increasing costs for water transportation as well as electricity needed to cool the animals.

“We are concerned that the animals have nothing to eat because nothing is growing anywhere,” said Hana Šťastná, director of the Regional Agrarian Chamber of the South Bohemian Region.

Children’s Ombudsman Martin Beneš has, for the first time, exercised his statutory authority to intervene in court proceedings involving a child. At the request of an adolescent boy, Beneš filed an appeal against a court decision that refused to place him and his younger brother in the foster care of their grandparents, despite concerns that the children had been subjected to physical punishment and disproportionate invasions of their privacy within their family.

According to information available to Beneš, the psychological condition of both brothers gradually deteriorated. The situation culminated when the older boy ran away to live with his grandparents. His younger brother later joined him. The appeal is now being considered by the regional court.

The burned high-rise building in the former Baťa industrial complex in Zlín is scheduled to be handed over on Wednesday, August 5, by its owner, Cream, to the demolition company Build Synergy. The company is expected to demolish the remaining main structure within 25 working days. The fire-damaged and partially collapsed Building No. 34, which primarily housed warehouses and offices, was officially handed over by firefighters to Cream on Monday, July 27. Four days earlier, the local building authority had ordered the immediate demolition of the structure.

The eleven-story building caught fire on the morning of July 9. The fire most likely started on the ninth floor in a shoe warehouse leased by the company Vasky. From there, it spread to the upper floors and the roof. After the building collapsed in two sections, approximately half of the structure remained standing. Firefighters battled the blaze for nearly two weeks and officially declared it fully extinguished on Wednesday, July 22.