News

The coalition Social Democrats have launched a first ever referendum on changes to the inner workings of the party. Ballots were sent to some 22.500 party members on Friday, asking them whether election candidates should be approved by all party members in their voting district, whether to introduce a 40-percent quota for women on Social Democrat ballots, and whether the party should spearhead legislative efforts to limit the number of paid public offices held by one person. Social Democrat party members have until August 3 to return the ballots. Prime Minister and party chair Bohuslav Sobotka said he hoped the vote would revive the party and attract new members.

Apolinář hospital in Prague has opened a special ward for minors suffering from alcohol, drug or gambling addictions. A survey among doctors revealed a growing need for such a facility with 5,000 potential underage patients in Prague and central Bohemia alone. Children sample their first alcoholic beverages at around 11 years and come into contact with drugs at around 13 years of age on average. 60 percent of Czech teenagers reportedly drink alcohol on a regular basis.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka will visit the United States in November where he will attend the unveiling of a bust of the late president Vaclav Havel in the U.S. Congress, the ctk news agency reports. The unveiling ceremony has been scheduled to take place on the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. In 1990, the late Czech president delivered one of his most famous speeches before the U.S. Congress.

Czech entomologist Milan Řezáč has discovered an unknown spider species in the Macocha abyss in south Moravia, the ctk news agency reports. The spider is from the Harpactea family and has been given the working name “six-eyed-spider”. Řezáč, who earlier discovered a new spider species in Israel, will publish a description of his latest find in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.