Daily news summary
Court declares OKD mining company bankrupt
The OKD mining company was declared bankrupt by the regional court in Ostrava on Monday, allowing creditors two months to file claims. The court named Lee Louda as bankruptcy manager to oversee the situation; a meeting of creditors will take place in August to decide upcoming steps. Court spokeswoman Lucie Olšarová said that these could be a restructuring of the company or a selling off of assets. The mining company filed for insolvency last week, with CEO Dale Ekmark saying the company lacked the funds to carry on and blaming the situation on historically low coal prices. The state made clear earlier that helping miners at the ailing plant was a priority.
Unemployment in April falls to 5.7 percent
Unemployment in the Czech Republic in April fell to 5.7 percent from 6.1 in March. Just under 415,000 people remain jobless – the lowest number since January 2009. Employers, meanwhile, are offering just over 124,000 jobs to be filled – the highest since April 2008. The latest statistics were confirmed by the Czech Labour Office. The drop in numbers has been influenced by the return of seasonal work in construction, agriculture, forestry, gardening, tourism and other sectors.
ČEZ to boost fuel stocks for nuclear power plants
Czech power company ČEZ announced Monday that it will increase its stocks of nuclear fuel for both its Temelín and Dukovany nucler power plants. Temelin’s spokesman said the second unit would be brought into line with the first and the fuel reserve increased to two years from the existing one. At Dukovany the target is to build up a three year reserve for the reactor this year from the current two year stock. Building up nuclear fuel reserves was one of the targets of the Czech long term energy framework adopted in June last year.
Czech president attends celebrations at Russian embassy marking anniversary of end of WWII
President Miloš Zeman attended celebrations at the Russian Embassy in Prague on Monday, marking the anniversary of the end of WWII, celebrated as Victory day in the Russian Federation and a number of post-soviet countries. Both the Czech president and Russia’s ambassador to Prague spoke at the event, with the latter outlining how states with different ideologies and political systems had overcome their differences to defeat their common adversary. Other notable guests on Monday included former Czech president Václav Klaus, ex-prime minister Petr Nečas, the speakers of both houses of Parliament and the American ambassador to Prague, Andrew Shapiro.
Fifty-eight people awarded highest defence ministry honors
Fifty-eight people, ten in memoriam, were awarded the highest honors bestowed by the Ministry of Defence at a special ceremony on Monday at the National Memorial at Vítkov Hill in the Czech capital. The event marked the end of WW II 71 years ago. During the ceremony, Defence Minister Martin Stropnický also promoted a number of war veterans to higher military rank and awarded commemorative medals to participants of the Prague Uprising in May 1945.
More than one fifth of Czech employees have experience with workplace bullying
More than one fifth of employees in the Czech Republic have some experience with mobbing, suggests a study carried out by scientists from Palacký University in Olomouc. According to the survey, the Czech Republic belongs among EU countries most threatened by workplace bullying, along with Austria and Finland. The survey also found that university educated people are more affected by mobbing than other employees. Some 42 percent of them said they had experienced mobbing in some form last year.
Pop star Gott undergoes stomach surgery
Veteran pop star Karel Gott underwent stomach surgery on Monday to conclude his treatment for cancer, his spokesperson told the Czech News Agency. The singer, who is 76, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma near the end of last year. Bild quoted the multi-million selling artist as saying his recovery was going more slowly than he had expected; he told the German newspaper that he had trouble breathing and that a return to performing was not in the cards for some time to come.
Red Hot Chili Peppers to perform in Prague
Legendary American band Red Hot Chili Peppers will play Prague on September 4 this year, Petr Novák of the agency Live Nation announced on Monday. The concert will take place at the city’s O2 arena. The Chili Peppers’ European tour coincides with the release of a new studio album – their 11th – called The Getaway. The Red Hot Chili Peppers first rose to international stardom in the early 1990s with the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
US film Anomalisa takes main prize at Anifilm
Anomalisa, a stop-motion animated film by US director Charlie Kaufman, has won the main prize at the international festival of animated films Anifilm in Třeboň, which came to a close on Saturday. French film Phantom Boy directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli picked up the Best Animated Film for Children award. More than 27,000 people saw the screenings and accompanying programmes this year, spokeswoman Gabriela Zajícová said.
Ice Hockey World Championship: Czechs face Swedes
The national hockey team faces Sweden on Monday after winning their first two games at the Ice Hockey World Championships against Russia and Latvia (on penalty shots). The team should see the return of David Pastrňák. Pavel Francouz (who helped the Czechs eke out a 4:3 victory against Latvia) is expected to start in goal.
