News

Politicians, cultural figures and members of the public attended a ceremony commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the razing of Lidice by the Nazis on Saturday. Cardinal Dominik Duka celebrated a mass for the victims of one of the worst Nazi punitive actions undertaken during the Second World War and led prayers at a mass grave in the Lidice cemetery.

The cardinal reflected on the plight of people in war-ravaged Ukraine, the hostages kidnapped by Hamas in Israel and all the places in the world where there is no peace and where freedom, human dignity and the fundamental right to life are trampled upon. He spoke of the children who had lost their parents and expressed his admiration for those who, even in the face of death, did not stop defending their rights and values.

The old Lidice, a village north-west of Prague was one of two villages which were completely destroyed by German forces in a punitive action for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the highest ranking Nazi official in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. On June 10th of 1942, all 192 men over 15 years of age were rounded up and shot, the women were sent to concentration camps and the children to be re-educated.

Representatives of 90 or so states are due to take part in a two-day conference in Bürgenstock, Switzerland over the weekend aimed at charting the way to sustainable peace in Ukraine. The event, to which Moscow has not been ivited, will focus on issues such as nuclear safety and security, food safety and prisoner exchanges and the protection of civilians. Czechia will be represented at the summit by President Petr Pavel, Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian and head of the Office for Nuclear Safety Dana Drábová. Czech will co-chair a working group on nuclear and radiation safety in Ukraine.

The Regional Court in Ostrava has opened insolvency proceedings with the Liberty Ostrava Steelworks, the largest steel producer in Czechia. The insolvency petition was filed by the company itself which said it was unable to meet overdue liabilities exceeding CZK 5 billion. Liberty has been struggling with severe financial problems since last autumn. Most of its operations have been closed since December of last year. The company employs 5,000 people.

The Czech Army is offering 130 secondary students aged over 18 the chance to undergo a basic military training course. The Chief of the General Staff Karel Řehka said the aim was to attract future recruits and at the same time increase the resilience of the society by expanding the army’s reserves. The four-week summer course will be held at the Rapid Deployment Brigade in Žatec and the Mechanized Brigade in Hranice and students who complete it will be paid 30,000 crowns.