News

The Green Party chapter in the Liberec Region has asked the outgoing education minister Dana Kuchtova to reconsider her decision to step down. The regional chapter says there are no genuine reasons for her leaving the post as neither the education ministry nor the education system are in crisis. They say the recent developments are a result of a power struggle motivated by "the dream of billions of crowns from EU funds". The Liberec Green Party chapter has also criticised party chairman Martin Bursik for not providing enough backing to Dana Kuchtova.

The Czech Police anti-organised crime squad say they have detained five people suspected of committing a series of robberies causing overall damage worth around 22 million crowns. A spokeswoman said the police unit had been monitoring the gang for more than a year and arrested three of its members in January. According to the police, the gang has been active in Central and South Bohemia since 2003. All five suspects have been remanded in custody and face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Preliminary police statistics suggest that more people have been killed on Czech roads in September than in the same month last year and two years ago. By September 29th, 112 people died in road accidents, while in 2006 the number of casualties was 94, and 103 the year before. September has been the fourth month in a row with the number of road fatalities exceeding 100, July being the worst month with 119 dead. On Friday and Saturday, police reported 795 traffic accidents resulting in 11 fatalities. Twenty-six people sustained serious injuries and 159 were slightly injured.

Meteorologists say October will be rainier than usual, with temperatures below the average. The first week of the month should be partly cloudy with daytime temperatures reaching up to 20 degrees Celsius. As of October 11th, we can expect cloudy to overcast skies, occasional rain and night time temperatures between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. Temperatures in the daytime should not exceed 15 degrees Celsius. Towards the end of the month snow can be expected in mountainous areas.