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President Miloš Zeman has said he will veto a proposal law which would, under certain circumstances, increase the speed limit on Czech motorways from 130 km/h to 150 km/h. Zeman said during an ongoing tour of the Central Bohemia region that he opposed any move that could increase road fatalities and injuries. He added that Czech motorways did simply not compare for quality with German ones The proposal to increase the speed limit, if weather and road conditions are acceptable, on certain sections of motorway has been backed by the lower house of parliament

The European Commission should resolve next week whether to push ahead with proceedings against the Czech Republic for the high proportion of Roma children in so-called practical schools, the Commissioner for human rights and consumers Věra Jourová has said. She added that her staff are currently evaluating arguments presented by the Czech Republic and other sources. The Commission started proceedings last September over alleged ongoing discrimination in schools against the Roma minority. The next stage would allow the government to take corrective action. If it failed to do so, Brussels could start proceedings against the country in the European Court of Justice. The Czech government says it has stopped sending Roma to special schools for those with learning difficulties. But critics say the practical schools are just another name for the same thing.

Around three out of 10 Czechs say they suffer from depression and around the same proportion believe they face a breakdown. The figures were released following a survey carried out by the psychiatric clinic of Charles University and the STEM opinion poll agency. It found three out of 10 Czechs between 25 and 65 said they suffered from depression. The highest risk groups were those between 35 and 44 and those over 51. Around 10 percent said they had considered ending their lives. The survey found 34 percent of respondents said they thought they faced a mental breakdown with around 20 percent saying they had seen clear signs of this. Four out of 10 Czechs saying they faced a breakdown were in jobs with heavy responsibilities.

The city of Ostrava marks the 70th anniversary of its liberation during WWII on Thursday April 30. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka will launch events with a commemoration service which will be followed by military parade by units of the Czech army and a series of cultural events in the country’s third biggest city. Ostrava was liberated after a fierce battle by Red Army units from the 4th Ukrainian Front and members of the Czechoslovak Brigade. The city was staunchly defended by Nazi units as Moravia and Silesia still accounted for around 35% of remaining Nazi industrial production. The loss of the area was seen by some Nazi leaders as the final confirmation that the war was all but over.