Daily news summary
One Czech missing after attack in Libya
A Czech citizen is among several people who have been missing since the attack on an oil field in Libya on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Michaela Lagronová told the Czech News Agency, adding that the cabinet will discuss the situation on Monday. According to the AFP agency, supporters of the Islamic State attacked the Ghani oil field in southern Libya, killing 11 local guards. The government forces eventually regained control of the area. Mrs Lagronová also said the Czech authorities have been in contact with the missing Czech´s family. Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek on Saturday convoked the government emergency team, which was also attended by PM Bohuslav Sobotka and representatives of secret services.
Police close down investigation of international child pornography ring
The Czech police, in cooperation with their colleagues from Spain and Sweden, have finished investigating a large-scale case of production and distribution of child pornography, a police spokeswoman told the ctk news agency on Saturday. The investigation has been going on since April 2013. Three Czech and one Ukrainian nationals, who were arrested in March last year, allegedly abused nearly 100 children and minors aged between seven and 18, under the guise of shooting commercials; they then sold the material to paid online sites and private clients abroad. The police have also tracked down transactions amounting to 15 million crowns. If convicted, three of the men face up to 10 years in jail while the main organizer could land a 15-year term.
Hundreds of people gather in Prague to support president Zeman
Several hundred people gathered at Hradčasnké náměstí in the centre of Prague on Sunday afternoon to express their support for President Miloš Zeman. The event was organised by the extra-parliamentary party Citizens' Rights, lead by Jan Veleba. Miloš Zeman attended the gathering after he laid a wreath at the statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, to mark the 165th anniversary of his birth. The Czech head of state thanked his supporters and expressed his respect for the first Czechoslovak president.
First convoy with munition from damaged depot sets off to Květná
The first convoy transporting munition from a damaged munitions depot in Vrbětice to another storage site in Květná in the Svitavy area, some 178 km away, departed on Saturday at around noon. The convoy of five lorries, escorted by the police, is carrying propellant belonging to a private company Bochemie. The original depot was damaged by a massive explosion last October, which killed two people and led to dozens of uncontrolled blasts in the weeks to follow. According to the Interior Ministry, there were some 7,000 tonnes of ammunition at the site at the time of the blast. The ministry expects it will take between 350 to 400 lorries to remove all the material. Interior Minister Milan Chovanec and Finance Minister Andrej Babiš visited the site on Saturday.
Czechs reduce Australia's lead in Davis Cup to 2-1
Czech tennis players Jiří Veselý and Adam Pavlásek won the doubles in the first round of the Davis Cup and reduced Australia's lead over the Czech Republic to 2:1. Veselý and Pavlásek beat Australia's Lleyton Hewitt and Samuel Groth 1:6, 7:6, 3:6, 7:6 and 6:2 on the indoor hard court at Ostrava's CEZ Arena on Saturday. In Sunday's reverse singles, Veselý is due to take on Kokkinakis, while Rosol will face Tomic.
Czechs clinch three medals at Indoor Athletic Championships
Czechs clinched three medals during the first day of the European Indoor Athletic Championships at Prague's O2 Arena on Friday. Twenty-one-year old Radek Juška took the silver in the men's long jump with a personal record of 810 cm, 20 cm short of the winning jump by Norway's Michael Tornéus. Ladislav Prášil took the bronze in the shot put with a throw of 20,66 metres. The gold went to Germany's David Storl and the silver to Serbia's Asmir Kolasinac. Another Czech to take the bronze was Eliška Klučinová in women's pentathlon.
Air quality worsens in Moravia-Silesia
Air-pollution in some parts of the Czech Republic, namely the Moravia-Silesia region, has worsened, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said on Saturday. Emissions limits were exceeded at 11 out of 13 measuring stations in the area and meteorologists do not expect the situation to change in the coming hours. The Moravia-Silesia region in one of the most polluted in Europe due to heavy industry on both sides of the Czech-Polish border, as well as heavy traffic and the fact that many homes use low-quality coal for heating.
Davis Cup: Czech Republic loses 0:2 to Australia
The Czech men's team lose 0:2 to Australia in the first round tie of the Davis Cup after both Lukáš Rosol and Jiří Veselý lost the opening singles matches in Ostrava on Friday. Australian teenager Thanasi Kokkinakis, world number 133, stunned the Czech Republic's 31st-ranked Lukáš Rosol, beating him 4:6, 2:6, 7:5, 7:5 and 6:3 in three-and-a-half hours. Australian number one Bernard Tomic then backed up Autralia's lead by dispatching Jiří Veselý 6-4, 6-3 and 7-6.
