Daily news summary

Chief state attorney rejects claim it is possible to order someone’s criminal prosecution

The country’s chief state attorney, Pavel Zeman, has ruled out the possibility that in the Czech Republic it is possible to order a criminal prosecution against someone.

He said the allegations made by the newly-appointed justice minister, Marie Benešova, were untrue, saying there were no grounds for such accusations, which undermined public trust in the judiciary.

Justice Minister Benešova claims the opposite, and moreover made the allegations in a report to President Zeman at a time when she was acting as his chief legal advisor.

The document has not been made public, but the minister was called on to clarify her claims before the lower house during the ministerial question-and-answer session on Thursday.

Russian crude oil deliveries to be renewed between May 20 to 22

Crude oil deliveries from the Družba pipeline are expected to be renewed between May 20 and 22, Pavel Švagr, head of the Administration of State Material Reserves, told the Czech Television on Thursday.

Imports of Russian crude oil to the Czech Republic and several other EU member states were suspended on April 25 due to a contamination of the oil with high levels of organic chloride.

The oil-refinery in Litvínov, which is currently processing oil from the country’s reserves, will most likely ask the government for another loan.

27 percent of Czechs plan to vote in European elections

Twenty-seven percent of Czechs plan to vote in the European elections later this month, according to the results of a survey conducted by the polling agency STEM/MARK.

The agency notes however that the actual number of voters tends to lower than that declared in polls. Of those who have said they will go to the polls, the majority are people with a university education and the inhabitants of big cities. Also more men plan to cast their vote than women.

The last European elections, in 2014, had an 18 percent turnout.

Former Czech MP on the run believed to be hiding in Paraguay

Former Social Democratic Party deputy Petr Wolf, who has been on the run since 2013, when he was convicted of subsidy fraud, is hiding in Paraguay, Czech Television reported citing police sources.

The police reportedly lost trace of him in Paraguay. Although an international arrest warrant has been issued on him, Wolf has so far avoided detention.

The million crown fine meted out by the court was paid in instalments from different destinations, even while the former MP was on the run.

Unemployment down to 2.7 percent in April

Unemployment in the Czech Republic dropped to 2.7 percent in April, down from 3 percent in March, according to data released by the Czech Labour Office.

It is the lowest unemployment rate registered since 1997. According to the statistics 210,000 people are currently out of work. Technically-skilled manual workers are the most sought after.

The record low figure is ascribed to the healthy state of the Czech economy and the beginning of seasonal work.

Czech scientist proves certain breeds of fish have colour vision in deep-sea environment

Czech scientist Zuzana Musilová from Charles University has attracted international attention with the results of her research indicating that three types of sea-fish have colour-vision in a deep sea environment.

Vertebrates were previously thought to have only monochrome vision in the dark. In an article published in Science magazine the scientist says the special genes that enable this were likely developer to assist species living in greater depth in the search of food and reproduction.

Weather forecast

Saturday should be partly cloudy to overcast with rain around the country and day temperatures between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius.