News

A group of Czech veterans who fought on the Eastern Front during WWII have had a meeting in Moscow with more than 50 Russian soldiers who fought alongside them and took part in the liberation of Czechoslovakia. The eight Czech veterans have accompanied Czech President Miloš Zeman to the Russian capital for events celebrating the end of the conflict. Speaking in Russian, Mr. Zeman said shortly after arriving in the city on Friday evening that he had come to pay respect not only to those who had fallen in the liberation of Czechoslovakia but to all Soviet citizens, soldiers and civilians, who had lost their lives during the war.

In the ice hockey world championships, the Czech team beat France 5:1 to record its second win in the group so far. The Czechs now lie in fourth place, trailing group leader Canada, second placed Sweden and third placed Switzerland. The Czech team had to wait until the 22nd minute to open the scoring with the first of Němec’s two goals on the night. France later pulled back to 1:2 with Hercquefeuille finding the net. Other Czech scorers were Sobotka, Červenka, and Jágr.

A march through the centre of Prague started Friday midday in favour of the legalisation of marihuana in the Czech Republic. Organisers of the ‘Million Marihuana March’ were hoping for around 8,000 to participate in the event, around the same attendance as last year. The final estimate of participants was around 5,000. Streets were closed and dozens of police drafted in to accompany the event. Marihuana is legal for the treatment of certain medical conditions but possession of more than a small amount is still an offence. Studies suggest that marihuana is the most popular drug in the |Czech Republic with more than half those aged between 15 and 34 saying they have tried it.

President Miloš Zeman congratulated British Conservative leader David Cameron on his party’s election success Friday. The Czech president’s comments came as the Conservatives were clearly heading to be the largest party but before their absolute majority in the lower house had become apparent. ANO’s Minister of Defence, Martin Stropnický, who like Zeman reacted to the ongoing results at the Vítkov commemoration of the end of WWII, said he was surprised by the victory when everything had suggested a close result. Civic Democrat (ODS) leader, Petr Fiala, said the Conservatives had won without cheap promises and thanks to turning the economy around. The party’s deputy chairman Petr Zahradil said the victory was good news for those who wanted to reform Europe and prevent it becoming a federal and centralist state. The ODS are ideologically and politically close to the British Conservatives. The Conservatives have promised a referendum on whether to stay in the EU by the end of 2017.