News

Six Czechs are in action on the first day of the World Athletics Championships in Berlin on Saturday. Shot-putter Antonín Žalský is hoping to throw at least 20 metres in the championship’s opening discipline, while pole-jumpers Jiřina Ptačníková and Romana Maláčová are both hoping to succeed in qualifying heats. Triple-jumper Martina Šestáková and hammer-thrower Lukáš Melich will also be taking part in qualifying, while pentathlete Eliška Klučinová’s competition gets underway.

The police have charged four men with racially-motivated attempted murder in connection with an arson attack against a Romany family in Vítkov, north Moravia. Officials announced the developments on Friday, having arrested and questioned a total of 12 individuals (nine men and three women) earlier this week. Only the four, who are in their twenties, are being held in custody. The suspects have connections to right-wing extremism and are believed to have thrown Molotov cocktails at the Romany family’s home in April – an attack which shocked the country. Three people were injured in the ensuing blaze, most seriously a two-year-old girl, who suffered severe burns to 80 percent of her body. She remains in hospital. The police on Friday said the attack was planned over a number of weeks. If found guilty of the crime the four could face up to 15 years in prison; they could also receive exemplary sentences, longer in length.

Official data has shown that the Czech economy emerged from recession in the second quarter, growing by 0.3 percent. A strong influence has been the auto industry picking up, with increased sales in export markets. On a 12-month comparison, the Czech economy still plummeted by a record 4.9 percent. Analysts confirmed that the data had been expected, saying that the Czech economy had hit “rock bottom” in the first quarter and could now begin to bounce back. But others have cautioned against overly-optimistic scenarios. Just last week, the Czech central bank forecast a sharper full-year slump and slower recovery than expected previously. The bank now expects the economy to shrink 3.8 percent, compared to the earlier 2.4 percent predicted in May.

Canada has issued 2,503 visas to Czechs in the first month of renewed visa requirements and only rejected three applicants, the Canadian embassy in Prague told the Czech news agency, ČTK, on Friday. Canada reimposed visas on Czechs on July 14th in response to the high number of asylum applicants from the Czech Republic – mostly from within the Roma community. The reinstatement came less than two years after visa requirements were dropped.