News

Demand for holiday cottages and country homes has picked up again this year after two weaker years, with some real estate portals reporting year-on-year sales growth of up to 40%.

While the Krkonoše and Šumava remain the most sought-after destinations, buyers are increasingly purchasing recreational properties in the Jeseníky, Beskydy, the Křivoklát and Kokořín regions, and southern Bohemia.

Around 1,700 cottages and holiday homes were sold in the Czech Republic during the first half of the year, with a combined value exceeding five billion crowns. The average sale price approached three million crowns per property.

An employee of the Czech National Bank (ČNB) accused of theft has been remanded in custody. He was detained by police on Thursday.

Police said the suspect worked at the central bank's Brno branch and allegedly stole cash from the institution, causing damages amounting to tens of millions of crowns.

In response, the Czech National Bank's board has ordered an extraordinary audit, the bank's communications director Jakub Holas told reporters.

The Czech Republic has joined a group of EU member states calling for an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers following this week's migration crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa.

The appeal, signed by the presidents and prime ministers of the 22 countries, was published by the Italian government. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also separately asked EU leaders to convene an extraordinary meeting of interior ministers.

In their joint letter, the leaders said the European Union must not allow mass illegal border crossings, the use of migration as a form of hybrid pressure, or any situation that creates the impression that illegal entry into the bloc is possible. They stressed that member states have a responsibility to combat illegal migration.

The signatories said the developments of recent days require an immediate and coordinated European response and called on Ireland, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, to organize an extraordinary online meeting of EU interior ministers.

Czech health authorities are investigating a suspected case of a highly dangerous infectious disease in a woman who recently returned from Uganda, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

Although officials consider the likelihood of infection to be very low, the patient is being transferred from a hospital in Hradec Králové to the specialized infectious diseases unit at Prague's Bulovka Hospital.

"Based on the information available so far, the probability of confirming the infection is very low and there is no risk to the public," Health Ministry spokeswoman Naďa Chattová said.

Uganda has reported cases of Ebola in areas bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Czech Foreign Ministry advises against travel to the region.

In May, Prague's Bulovka Hospital admitted an American doctor under an international cooperation programme after concerns that he may have contracted Ebola while working in Africa. Tests ultimately ruled out the infection.