News

Prices of most food products in Czech supermarkets and grocery stores are lower than a year ago, with potatoes recording the biggest year-on-year price fall of almost 40 percent, according to data released by the Czech Statistical Office. The average price of apples fell by almost 20 percent lower compared with February 2014 while the average price of a kilo of potatoes dropped from 17.55 crowns in February last year to the current to 10.41 crowns. The spokeswoman for the Czech Chamber of Agriculture, Dana Večeřová, told the Czech News Agency that commodity prices had been heavily affected by imports, themselves influenced by the situation on the European market where strong agricultural producing countries were trying to sell their produce and food products - which they could no longer sell on the Russian market and elsewhere - at any cost. This has resulted into massive imports of Italian apples and imports of cheap but also "poor quality" potatoes from France, Večěrová said. By contrast, tomato prices increased by 10 percent and the prices of white wine have risen by 25 percent.

A Czech-Polish yacht expedition has set a naval record by reaching the Bay of Whales near Antarctica, the southernmost place ever reached by a yacht, after an almost month-long sail. According to Jan Žák from the Czech Antarctic Polar Fund the expedition reached a latitude of 78 degrees 43 minutes south in Antarctica´s Ross Sea. The southernmost latitude a yacht ever reached before was the 77 degrees 51 minutes. The expedition set off for Antarctica from the port of Hobart, the Tasmanian capital, on January 15 and arrived at its destination on February 12th. It covered over 4,000 kms before reaching the Ross Sea.

The lower house of Parliament has approved an amendment to the school law opening the way for an inclusive education system. The amendment should introduce broad measures that will make it easier for handicapped children to attend regular classes, among them personal assistants, special textbooks, and special curricula tailored to a child’s needs. The bill also restricts the sale of unhealthy snacks on school premises.

A police investigation into an accident on an escalator in the Prague metro last year has ruled out foul play. The police who investigated the matter as a possible endangerment of public safety, have concluded that the accident happened due to a technical error, and have closed the case without filing charges. The accident happened on November 27th of last year when one of the escalators on Jungmanova metro station unexpectedly went into reverse operation causing a human pile-up. Three women ended up in hospital.