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The Czech Foreign Ministry has dismissed Russia's request for assistance in the Night Wolves' ride across the Czech territory, adding that riders must apply for a permit themselves. The ministry said on Friday that it would be difficult to settle the application in time. Meanwhile, President Miloš Zeman said that he could see nothing bad about the planned ride, describing the reactions to it as "hysterical".

The Night Wolves, a motorcycle gang with close ties to the Kremlin, want to commemorate the victory of the Soviet troops over the Nazi Germany 70 years ago by a ride across Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria, ending in Berlin on May 9. They set off from Moscow on Saturday despite Poland's announcemnt that it would refuse to let them in the country.

Police have concluded an investigation into the murder of two Czechs, a mother and daughter, who died in the Hurgada resort in summer 2013, Mladá Fronta daily wrote on Saturday. The father of the family, Petr Kramný, was charged with murdering his 36-year old wife and eight-year-old daughter by electrocution. Mr Kramný, who has been in custody since February 2014, denies any wrongdoing and insists that his wife and daughter were poisoned. If convicted of the murders Kramný faces from 15 to 20 years in jail.

The European Commission will launch an information campaign on consumer rights in the Czech Republic in order to increase people’s awareness of their rights when buying goods or taking consumer loans, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumer Issues and Gender Equality Věra Jourová told journalists on Friday. The campaign will target particularly young people aged 18-35 years who are considering taking the first consumer loan. According to a recent poll conducted by the TNS agency, 38 percent of Czechs do not feel sufficiently informed about their rights relating to consumer loans and only 30 percent of Czechs read the conditions of a loan carefully before signing the deal.

A convoy of 30 historical U.S. military vehicles rode through Prague on Friday within celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Nazi rule. According to the organizers, the ride was organized not only in remembrance of US war veterans, but also to symbolically fulfil the unfulfilled wish of General George Smith Patton to liberate Prague. Although General Patton’s army could have progressed to Prague he was bound by an agreement with Russia to stop at the demarcation line in western Bohemia. The convoy´s arrival in Prague annually opens its tour of western Bohemian towns that were liberated by the 3rd U.S. army under Patton´s command. It will culminate with a ceremonial parade in the West Bohemian town of Plzen on May 3.