News

The Czech Environmental Inspectorate and officials from Povodí Labe are working to try and discover the source of unusually high levels of PCB in the river's alluvial plain near Germany, new website iDnes reports. According to the site, levels are considerably higher than normal although water in the river has remained largely unaffected. Across the border, German authorities have also registered a high presence of the substance in the sediment. Polychlorinated biphenyl was used in the past as a coolant but also had many other industrial applications. It is now banned or restricted in many countries.

Uherské Hradiště Summer Film School kicked-off on Friday and will be screening dozens of films to the public until August 1. The event, now in its 41st year, boasts a number of special guests including Czech director Juraj Herz, German director Christoph Hochhäusler, and Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki. On the itinerary is an overview of Finnish cinema; screenings of Alfred Hitchcock's early silent films accompanied by live music; and some lesser-known films featuring Czech actor Rudolf Hrušínský. A special "Visegrad Horizon" section will also screen films from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. Last year's festival was attended by a reported 6,247 people; organisers say more than 3,000 visitors have already been accredited for this year's event.

Czech foreign minister Lubomír Zaorálek announced Friday that he was considering making a personal trip to Beirut, capital of Lebanon, in light of new unspecified information regarding the hunt for five Czechs who went missing in the country last Saturday. The announcement came following a Friday meeting of a government crisis team tasked with coordinating the case. Zaorálek, who said he first needed to verify the new information, also announced that the identities of the missing Czechs would be made public in the next few days, thus enabling police to undertake formal missing persons procedures. The foreign minister also confirmed he had held talks with his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil. Investigators in Lebanon reportedly believe the presumed abduction, which occurred in Kefraya in the Beqaa Valley area of the country near the Syrian border, has a criminal component. Two Czech representatives are already in Lebanon assisting with the investigation, Zaorálek also confirmed.

The State Veterinary Administration (SVS), which is tasked with ensuring the safety of animal products in the Czech Republic, found oversights at 15 percent of restaurants, according to its latest interim report. Prague was found to have the greatest number of problem restaurants, with 34 percent of checks revealing shortcomings. The SVS says it has carried out 6,243 inspections of restaurants and diners so far this year. Of the 15 percent of facilities found wanting, the most common problems were lack of proper documentation regarding meat origins, and also shortcomings regarding hygiene - including insufficient monitoring of expiration dates. The SVS is newly empowered to carry out such inspections as of 2015; it has so far issued 3 million crowns worth of fines.