• Coalition chooses Jourová to be next Czech EU commissioner
    07/21/2014

    The ANO movement's Minister for Regional Development, Věra Jourová, has been nominated by the ruling coalition for the post of Czech EU commissioner. The coalition, led by the Social Democrats, made the announcement before Monday’s cabinet meeting. Ms Jourová’s nomination received a boost last week after it became apparent that a female nominee to the new commission headed by new head Jean-Claude Juncker was preferred. For weeks, parties in the coalition had pushed their own candidates, with the the Social Democrats, for example, originally getting behind former finance minister Pavel Mertlík.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech men's softball team wins championship title
    07/20/2014

    The national men's softball team on Saturday crushed Denmark 8:0 to defend their European Championship title from the Netherlands two years ago. The Czechs have now won the European title eight times but no team had won the championship on home soil in 15 years. The competition this year took place in Havlíčkův Brod.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Lansfeld to pay 16,000 crown fine
    07/20/2014

    The head of the police in Usti, Tomáš Lansfeld, has been given a 16,000 crown fine and six-month ban from driving by the country's police president Tomáš Tuhý. His subordinate was caught in May behind the wheel with a low amount of alcohol in his blood while on vacation. The Czech Republic has a zero tolerance policy. Police President Tuhý said in this case the punishment was stricter than it would have been for a regular citizen.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Construction of final stretch of D11 to begin
    07/20/2014

    After an eight year delay, road construction crews will begin work to complete the D11 highway to Hradec Králové. In 2006, a 2.5 kilometre stretch of highway remained unfinished due to the state failing to agree with landowners on a price for owned property. A deal was later reached. The project was also delayed by the construction firm so additional contractual issues could be resolved. Construction is set to begin on Tuesday and is expected to wrap up in August of 2017.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Police president says he will come forward with plans for new cybernetic crime unit
    07/20/2014

    Czech Police President Tomáš Tuhý has said he will present plans for a new cybernetic police unit by the end of the year. He made the statement on a Sunday TV debate programme. According to the police president, while police specialists were currently successfully combatting internet crime, in the future they required their own crime unit or risk falling behind hackers. It is unknown what the new unit could cost. Police President Tuhý repeated that he would be asking for a budget increase of three billion crowns for next year. The new unit could become operational by 2016.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Six hurt as vehicle strikes parked car
    07/20/2014

    Six pedestrians were injured in Prague in the early hours of Sunday when a driver lost control of his vehicle at he sped on a city street, striking a parked car which hit them. The accident took place at around 7:30 AM. The driver fled the scene. The police found ID belonging to the car's owner, a 26-year-old foreign national, and are investigating whether he was the person behind the wheel. They caught up with him later on Sunday. Those injured in the accident were two women and four men, between the ages of 22 and 48.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Sixteen-year-old patient given artificial heart, reports TV Nova
    07/20/2014

    A 16-year-old boy has become the first minor in the Czech Republic to be given an artificial heart, commercial broadcaster TV Nova reported on Saturday. The youth, who comes from the Hodonin area in South Moravia, had suffered from a serious heart defect since he was a baby. He is among dozens in the Czech Republic who have received an artificial heart while waiting for a biological donor. The chief physician at the children's cardiac centre at Motol Hospital in Prague, where the procedure took place, said it was unique that the device was wholly implanted in the patient's body and that the patient had been able to return home and was allowed, for example, to walk.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Heavy thunderstorms to snap heat wave
    07/20/2014

    The heat wave that has lasted over the last several days in the Czech Republic will be snapped on Monday with the coming of heavy thunderstorms across the country, meteorologists have warned. Bohemia is expected to be hit by storms on Monday morning, with Moravia and Silesia being affected later in the day and Tuesday. Warnings for Prague and elsewhere are in place between 9 AM and 8 PM; in Moravia, until the next day. Public pools and swimming areas saw major interest this weekend as temperatures rose well above 30 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Sparta Prague win Czech Supercup
    07/19/2014

    Czech football club Sparta Prague downed Viktoria Plzeň in the Czech Supercup by a score of 3:0. Sparta got goals from Lafata, Krejčí and Breznaník. The Supercup pits the winners of the Czech top league and the Czech Cup against each other.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Over 25 years almost half million Czechs experienced the drunk tank
    07/19/2014

    Over the last 25 years, just under 475,000 Czechs ended up at some point in the drunk tank, under the heavy influence of alcohol or drugs, according to new health care statistics. Some 84 percent of those to held overnight over the 25 years were men. Last year, some 23,000 spent the night in one of 17 facilities, a drop of around 5,500 year-on-year. Last year, the number of minors detained was only two percent, down from nine percent in 2006.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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