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Czech goalkeeper Alexander Salák signed a two-year contract the Florida Panthers on Friday, becoming the 11th Czech goalkeeper to appear in the NHL. The 22-year-old goalie spent past three seasons in Finland and played two games for the Czech international team this year.

The Senate on Thursday approved a constitutional amendment opening the way to early elections in October. The bill, which was approved by 56 of the 71 senators present, will enable an early dissolution of Parliament, an act which would not be possible under the Czech Constitution. It was drafted by the two strongest parties in Parliament as a way out of the political crisis following the collapse of the centre-right government in mid-March. A similar law was approved by Parliament in late 1997 after the fall of the Klaus cabinet. The bill’s opponents want the path to early elections to be facilitated through a permanent change in the constitution, but there is not enough support for the idea in the lower house.

The police have promised to give the Social Democrats better protection at their upcoming election rallies around the country. Following Wednesday’s egg debacle in Prague the head of the Social Democrats election campaign Jaroslav Tvrdík met with deputy police president Ivan Bílek to request increased protection. Bílek promised that local police officers would be present at all the party’s remaining rallies in order to prevent such incidents.

The Czech Interior Ministry is setting up a special team to fight growing extremism in the country. Jiří Komorous, the former head of the National Anti-Drugs Squad, who is to take up the post of deputy interior minister as of next week, has been entrusted with the task. Komorous said on Thursday he was in the process of assembling the anti-extremism team which would include police officers and members of the military. More information on the team and its activities is expected within a week.