• Czech Republic sees rise in interest in interim foster care
    02/15/2015

    The Czech Republic has seen a marked jump in the number of people interested in working as interim guardians or foster parents, due to changes in legislation which significantly increased financial benefits. Foster parenting is widely considered a superior option than institutional care. Last year, the Czech Republic paid benefits in 11,300 cases. According to the Czech News Agency, the majority of legal guardians are children's grandparents or other relatives; one-third have no familial connection.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Štepánek stays on as head of Prague Greens
    02/15/2015

    Politician Petr Štepánek is staying on as the head of the Prague branch of the Green Party after a regional conference on the leadership failed to elect any of the challengers. Matěj Stropnický, Jan Trnka and Ondřej Mirovský all vied for the post but came up short. According to news website novinky.cz, Mr Mirovský came closest, getting the backing of 30 out 64 delegates - three less than needed.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Some 600 demonstrators attend anti-Islam protest
    02/15/2015

    Some 600 demonstrators took part in an event in Brno on Saturday protesting against Islam, while not far away around 200 people demonstrated in favour of religious freedom and tolerance. Neither event saw any incidents requiring the police to step in. Organisers of the larger protest said they wanted to stop the spread of Islam in the Czech Republic; protestors carried placards featuring a mosque and minarets inside a ban circle. Populist politicians such as the Dawn movement's Tomio Okamura in recent weeks have stoked anti-Muslim sentiments, suggesting Czechs, for example, should boycott kebab stands.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Justice minister tells Czech Radio she did not feel she had support from colleagues within ANO
    02/15/2015

    Justice Minister Helena Válková has told Czech Radio she decided to step down because she did not feel she had support from within the ANO movement. According to the minister, colleagues did not back her work at the ministry and as minister she felt they would favour someone more forceful or direct. Válková tendered her resignation on Tuesday; President Miloš Zeman made clear later in the week he wasn't ready to accept; he aims to meet with the candidate for the post, Robert Pelikán, as well as ANO leader Andrej Babiš, first.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech hockey legend Jaromír Jágr turns 43
    02/15/2015

    Czech hockey legend Jaromír Jágr turned 43 on Sunday, joining the ranks of only sixteen other players, according to sources, who still played professionally at the same age. The veteran forward told reporters in a recent interview he had no plans to hang up his skates, saying he loved the NHL and wanted to return next season, even without a contract if need be (for a trial period). Jágr currently plays for the New Jersey Devils but still draws interest from other clubs. Devils boss Lou Lamoriello described Jágr as being in "phenomenal condition". The Czech forward has retired from international play but fans are hoping he may reconsider and play at the World Championships in Prague and Ostrava this year. Jágr has two Stanley Cup rings, an Olympic gold medal and two World Championship gold medals.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Wife of former PM in hospital in intensive care
    02/14/2015

    Petra Paroubková, the wife of former prime minister and former Social Democrat leader Jiří Paroubek, was taken to hospital mid-week after feeling unwell, according tn.cz and ČTK. After an examination, doctors learned the 41-year-old had suffered a brain hemorrhage. Her husband revealed to iDnes that she was being treated in intensive care and would, in all likelihood, be released within two to three weeks. No surgery was needed but plenty of rest was required, Mr Paroubek said.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • World War II veteran Vasil Korol dies at 92
    02/14/2015

    Decorated WWII veteran Vasil Korol, who fought in the battle of Kiev and the Carpatho-Dukla Operation, died on Saturday at the age of 92. His son confirmed that he passed away in hospital in Prague following a brief illness. Major Korol fled to the Soviet Union after the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia in 1939 but was imprisoned and sent to Siberia. After his release in 1943, he joined the Czechoslovak Army as an artilleryman. He later received Czech, Ukrainian and Russian military honours - which were stolen from his room in a home for war veterans in 2013. The thieves who took them had posed as repairmen. The war veteran received new medals from the Defence Ministry and the Association of Czechoslovak Legionnaires in the autumn of the same year.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Stropnický will not run for first deputy leader post
    02/14/2015

    Defence Minister Martin Stropnický has told Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes he will not run for the post of deputy leader in ANO unless he receives the necessary support at an upcoming party congress. The convention takes place at the end of February. So far, the head of ANO's deputies club, Jaroslav Faltýnek, has received the most nominations. for first deputy leader, while the head of ANO, Andrej Babiš, enjoys overwhelming, almost 100 percent support, and is expected to be re-elected chairman without any hurdles. Defence Minister Stropnický said the post of first deputy was a demanding one, which would be impossible to combine with his ministerial portfolio.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Tennis: Berdych reaches semifinal at Rotterdam, Plíšková & Strýcová advance in Antwerp
    02/14/2015

    Czech men's tennis No. 1 Tomáš Berdych has advanced against Frenchman Gael Monfils to reach the semifinal in Rotterdam. The Czech held serve throughout and won by a score of 6:1, 6:4. Berdych won in Rotterdam last year.

    In women's tennis, Kateřina Plíšková defeated fellow Czech Lucie Šafařová 7:6, 6:3 in Antwerp to reach the semis; another Czech, Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, has also reached the semifinal stage.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Police investigate act of vandalism at Arab shop in Teplice
    02/14/2015

    Police are investigating an act of vandalism targeting an Arab grocery store in Teplice, located near a spa and park frequented by visitors from Persian Gulf countries in the spring and summer months. The storefront was splashed in places with an as yet unknown red liquid, which the owner maintains was blood. He told the website iDnes the police had secured a bucket left at the scene. The police themselves have not revealed additional details but tests of the liquid are pending. Last month, the embattled head of the upstart Dawn party, Tomio Okamura, called on Czechs to provoke local Muslims, agreeing with a colleague's Facebook tract that they should boycott kebab shops and walk pigs and dogs outside Arab establishments and mosques. Mr Okamura saw a backlash in the social media as a result.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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