News

Škoda Auto’s plans to expand the Solnice-Kvasiny industrial zone have won government support and the car maker can count on a financial injection from the state. Prime Minister Bouslav Sobotka on Monday signed a memorandum with Škoda Auto representatives according to which the project will get about 2 billion crowns from public resources. The money will be used for infrastructure projects in the zone. Škoda itself will invest 7 billion crowns to expand the plant’s capacity. The plant’s expansion is expected create 1,300 new jobs will present more opportunities for regional suppliers.

The Czech Republic´s population increased by over 25,000 people in 2014 to 10,538,300 inhabitants, the Czech Statistics Office reported on Monday. The increase, the highest since 2010 was mainly due to the number of immigrants, which was the highest in six years. Migration raised the number of inhabitants by 21,700 people.

The past weekend was the worst in terms of road fatalities since last September, the Czech News Agency reports. Ten people, most of them between the ages of 18 and 21, lost their lives in accidents, the worst being an early-morning crash on Sunday in the region of Znojmo in which four young people died. In the accident, the driver drove into a ditch before the vehicle hit the concrete part of a small bridge. The car caught fire; witnesses were able to pull the driver from the vehicle to try first aid, but were unable to save his life. The others who perished were two young men and a young woman.

Defence Minister Martin Stropnický has echoed the sentiments of fellow members in government, the Christian Democrats, saying that a decision by the country's president to attend a military parade in Moscow on May 9 was "not the most fortunate". The event will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. The defence minister told TV Prima that it was necessary to honor those who died fighting against Nazism, but noted that Mr Zeman would be only one of a "few" heads-of-state attending. Democratic leaders are largely staying away as a result of Russia's annexation of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine. The defence minster suggested it would be better if the Czech president followed other democratic politicians' cue. Mr Zeman's spokesman responded to earlier criticism by saying the president had no intention of changing his plans.