News

The Czech Journalists' Syndicate has condemned the Foreign Ministry's treatment of Deník N reporter Zdislava Pokorná as discriminatory after she was barred from attending Foreign Minister Petr Macinka's press conference for the second time on Friday.

The union said the ministry should apologise and ensure equal access for all media. Otherwise, it called on Czech media to boycott the ministry's press events in solidarity.

During the briefing, Macinka said the ministry would also hold press conferences for “alternative” media and conspiracy blogs, inviting Deník N to those instead.

The union's chairwoman, Ivana Šuláková, said the ministry had discriminated against the reporter and the news outlet, arguing that by law public institutions must provide equal access to information to all legally operating media.

Naturalists have confirmed the presence of more than 2,200 butterfly species in the České středohoří, with monitoring showing that some areas are home to as many as 1,000 species.

Many of the recorded butterflies are classified as threatened and are included on the Czech Red List, said František Budský, head of the Protected Landscape Area administration at the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic.

The monitoring programme is organised by the agency. According to Budský, the Bohemian highlands are exceptionally rich in plant and animal life thanks to their varied landscape, complex geological history, numerous relatively undisturbed habitats and diverse cultural landscape.

Demand for holiday cottages and country homes has picked up again this year after two weaker years, with some real estate portals reporting year-on-year sales growth of up to 40%.

While the Krkonoše and Šumava remain the most sought-after destinations, buyers are increasingly purchasing recreational properties in the Jeseníky, Beskydy, the Křivoklát and Kokořín regions, and southern Bohemia.

Around 1,700 cottages and holiday homes were sold in the Czech Republic during the first half of the year, with a combined value exceeding five billion crowns. The average sale price approached three million crowns per property.

An employee of the Czech National Bank (ČNB) accused of theft has been remanded in custody. He was detained by police on Thursday.

Police said the suspect worked at the central bank's Brno branch and allegedly stole cash from the institution, causing damages amounting to tens of millions of crowns.

In response, the Czech National Bank's board has ordered an extraordinary audit, the bank's communications director Jakub Holas told reporters.