Daily news summary

PM Sobotka: Czech Republic ready to offer financial help to Jordan

The Czech Republic is ready to offer over 100 million crowns to Jordan to assist the country in dealing with the current migration crisis, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Saturday before leaving for Jordan's capital Amman on Saturday. He also said the Czech Republic can provide medical assistance and military training. During his two-day visit to Jordan, Mr Sobotka is set to visit a refugee camp housing 80,000 people in the Middle East state that the Czech Republic has helped equip and finance. He will also hold meetings with King Abdullah II and PM Abdullah Ensour. There are currently over 600,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Social Democrats insist on Olomouc governor's resignation

The Social Democrats insist on the resignation of the Olomouc regional governor Jiří Rozbořil, who faces charges of corruption. The party's broad leadership on Saturday called on Mr Rozbořil to resign. After meeting of the party's central executive committe on Saturday, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said that the appeal expressed the stance of the party as a whole. He has also recommended the regional Social Democratic Party branch to start looking for a new leader for the upcoming regional elections. Jiří Rozbořil, who is suspected of having solicited a bribe, has denied any wrongdoing but said he would no seek re-election.

Some 400 students protest against closure of study programme

Around 400 people protested in the centre of Prague against a decision by the university Accreditation Committee to close down the advanced pedagogical studies offered by the Jan Amos Komenský University. The committee has reach the decision after finding failings with the course offered. The students, many of whom are teachers with only a few months to complete the obligatory course, were offered a place with other education facilities, but most of them rejected this option. The Minister of Education Kateřina Valachová has said in the past that there was no way to go back on the committee decision.

Czechs to spend over 80 billion crowns on online purchases this year

Czech consumers are expected to spend some 81 billion crowns on online purchases in 2015, a year-on-year increase by 21 percent. The number of domestic e-shops, however, has started falling for the first time this year, according to estimates by the Electronic Commerce Association and the Czech online shopping search engine Heureka.cz. The number of internet stores has decreased by some one percent to 36,800 this year. Czechs are spending the highest amounts of money in e-shops on electronics in the long term, but a significant growth this year was seen by goods like over-the-counter medicines, house and garden equipment and fashion and clothing.

Foreign minister rejects UN criticism of human rights violation

Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek has dismissed the UN Human Rights Commissioner's criticism of the Czech government for systematically violating the human rights of migrants, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed in a press release on Friday. Mr Zaorálek invited the UN official to visit Czech facilities for refugees and judge teh situation for himself. In a statement released on Thursday, the UN official listed practices that he said violated international conventions, such as lengthy detentions and strip-searches of refugees. The accusations have already been rejected by President Miloš Zeman, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Interior Minister Milan Chovanec.

Three fifths of Czechs against EU membership

Three-fifths of Czechs are dissatisfied with the country’s EU membership and would vote against it in a possible referendum, suggests a poll conducted by the STEM agency, which was released on Friday. It is the lowest public support for the EU that STEM has registered since the Czech Republic’s EU entry in May 2004. According to sociologists, the rising discontent is connected with the current migrant crisis and with Czechs' fear of refugees. At present, a mere 38 percent of people would vote for the EU entry, which is the lowest share so far. Satisfaction with the EU has considerably decreased even among secondary-school and university graduates, who have traditionally been in favour of EU membership.

Czech beach volleyball couple wins Antalya Open women's final

Czech beach volleyball players Markéta Sluková and Barbora Hermannová claimed the gold medal at the World Tour Antalya Open on Saturday. In their fifth event and first final together, the Czech couple defeated Italy's Marta Menegatti and Viktoria Orsi Toth, 21-15 and 21-17. The Czechs teamed up only in August, after Markéta Sluková broke up with her partner of ten years, Kristýna Kolocová.

Nedvěd appointed vice preseident of Juventus

The former Czech football international Pavel Nedvěd has been appointed vice president of the Italian club Juventus.The 43-year-old former midfielder was on the board of directors in Turin, having retired from playing for the club in 2009. The news were announced after Friday's shareholders'meeting at Juventus Stadium. Pavel Nedvěd spent eight years as a player in Turin and was named European player of the year in 2003. He made 91 appearances for the Czech Republic and was part of the Czech team which reached the final of the 1996 European Championships.