Daily news summary
Fifty Czechs still unaccounted for in Nepal
The number of Czech citizens still unaccounted for in earthquake stricken Nepal has is fifty, according to the information from the Czech embassy in India. There were around 166 Czechs travelling in the area at the time of the disaster, the ambassador to India, Miloslav Stašek, said on Sunday. No Czech national has been reported dead. Foreign ministry officials believe that those unaccounted for are unable to reach due to damaged telephone lines and infrastructure. The ministry has set up a special hotline for tourists who are in the affected areas and has advised Czechs not to travel to Nepal. The Czech ambassador also said the authorities were ready to assist the Czech tourists in their evacuation.
Government to discuss help for Nepal on Monday
The Czech government will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday to discuss the forms of relief the Czech Republic could provide to earthaquake stricken Nepal, as well as the situation of Czech tourists in the area, prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka annonced on Sunday. Meanwhile, Czech aid organisations, including Czech Red Cross, Caritas Czech Republic, Adra and People in Need have started public collections. Adra and Caritas have also released altogther 600,000 crowsn from their emergency accounts. The organisation People in Need is also sending three humanitarian workers to the affected area who will assist in coordinating the removal of the rubble.
Remains of WWII soldier laid to rest in Hlučín
The remains of a Second World War Ukrainian soldier serving in the Red Army were laid to rest on Sunday in the Russian military cemetery in the town of Hlučín, North Moravia. The 22-year old Vasily Alexeyevich Stasko was killed on April 23, 1945 during the liberation fights, when his plane was shot down at Klimkovice, near Ostrava. His remains were only found last year. The ceremony was attended by the soldier's 72-year-old niece and her family.
Drtikol photo auctioned off for 1.85 million crowns
A picture by famous Czech 20th century photographer František Drtikol was sold at an auction at Prague's Mánes on Sunday for 1.85 million crowns (approximately 74,000 US dollars). The sale makes Drtikol's "The Bow" the most expensive photography ever to be sold at a Czech auction. The starting price of the picture was 500,000 crowns. A Portrait of Marguerite Neveux by Josef Šíma also went under the hammer on Sunday. The Ministry of Culture bought it for the National Gallery for 4.45 million crowns.
Over 60 percent of police applicants fail to pass psychological tests
More than 60 percent of people applying for a job with the Czech police force fail to pass psychological tests, the Czech Radio reported on Saturday, citing the annual report released by the Police Presidium. Nearly five thousand people applied for the job in 2014, but only 39 percent of them were admitted. The test is examining the applicants' intelligence, as well as their mental stability and resistance to stress. According to the experts, most of them are turned away because they are immature and too dependant on their parents.
Thousands of fans welcome home Litvínov after Extraliga title win
Thousand of fans welcomed Litvínov's ice hockey team to the North Bohemian town on Saturday evening to celebrate their first-ever victory in the domestic Extraliga title. In the seventh, deciding match of the playoff final series on Thursday, Litvínov beat Třinec 2:0. The tight match was goalless throughout the first two periods thanks to outstanding performances by the two goaltenders. Litvínov secured the title only in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Tennis: Veselý loses to Garcia-Lopez in Bucharest final
The Czech tennis player Jiří Veselý has failed to claim the second ATP title of his career. The seventh-seeded Czech lost the men's singles final in Bucharest on Sunday to Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6:7, 6:7. The 21-year old player won the first ATP title of his carrer in January this year at the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand.
