Daily news summary
Government outlines long-term plans to combat drought
The Czech Republic will invest billions of crowns to fight drought, as outlined in the government's long-term programme. Under the plan, the government will be able to increase water and sewage prices in times of crisis. Along with establishing new rules for water and sewage, the government is also laying the ground for new reservoirs and improved monitoring. The main aim is to prevent the permanent loss of groundwater. The prime minister said that while analysis revealed the Czech Republic had enough drinking water, one-fifth of the country was at risk when it came to drought.
Government earmarks 24 million crowns to help tighten security on Libyan coastline
Twenty-four million crowns were earmarked by the Czech government on Monday to help finance patrols by the Libyan coastguard and Navy on Libya’s coastline. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka made clear that the funds were to help Italy by trying to lower the number of refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean. The funds will largely come from the Interior ministry budget. Last week, the prime minister discussed the plan at a meeting of the Visegrad 4 countries.
Auditors uncover mistakes amounting to over CZK 40 billion in Ministry of Industry’s accounts
The Ministry of Industry and Trade had mistakes amounting to tens of billions of crown in both its accounting and budget assessment report for 2015. The discrepancies were discovered in an audit by the Supreme Audit Office cited in a report by the Czech News Agency on Monday. The ministry’s 2015 financial statement contained mistakes amounting to over CZK 25 billion, while its budget assessment report was out by CZK 15.7 billion, the Supreme Audit Office found.
Constitutional Court recognises parental rights of gay couple from California
The Czech Constitutional Court has recognised the parental rights of a gay couple and the rights of their child under California law, where the family is based, although they periodically reside in the Czech Republic. In the US,the couple orginally entered into contract with a woman who bore their child and both men were designated as the parents. Issuing the ruling, Judge Kateřina Šimáčková made clear that an earlier Czech Supreme Court decision, recognizing only one of the parents, had infringed on the rights of the other parent and the child under California law. The judge stressed that the Czech Constitutional Court ruling was specific to a particular case under international law and had no bearing on adoption or joint-parenthood by same-sex couples in the Czech Republic. The case will now return to the Supreme Court.
ÚAMK warns Czech motorists over long traffic delays at border crossings into Croatia
ÚAMK, an independent association providing services in motoring, reports the past weekend was a difficult one for Czechs (and others) travelling by car to Croatia and warned that next weekend, when the summer holidays begin in neighbouring Germany, will be worse, with heavy traffic and long delays especially at border crossings or at toll entries or exits. This past Saturday morning, traffic at the crossings at Koper, Slovenia, and Dragonja, Croatia, was delayed by around two-and-a-half hours. Croatia is a top summer destination for Czechs vacationing in Istria or further south. Other routes into the country, ÚAMK reported, saw traffic jams up to 30 kilometres long.
Panthers to face Steelers in Czech Bowl final Monday
The final of the Czech Bowl in American football is set to take place in Prague on Monday evening. The Prague Black Panthers, who have dominated the competition for the last five years, are due to face the Ostrava Steelers, who were the worst team in the league last season but are now in contention for the title, 20 years after their only Czech Bowl triumph. The game is being held at the ground of soccer club Viktoria Žižkov and will be broadcast live on Czech Television.
Weather
Tuesday should see cloudy conditions with a chance of rain. Daytime highs of around 23 degrees Celsius are expected.
