News
Jan Hus - commemorative ceremonies
Protestant churches in the Czech Republic are commemorating the legacy of reformer priest Jan Hus who was burnt at the stake in 1415. In his memory July 6th is a national holiday in the Czech Republic. Services dedicated to him have been held in Hussite, Evangelical and other Protestant churches around the country. Jan Hus was born around 1370 and after studying in Prague was made parish priest at the city's Bethlehem chapel. He was strongly influenced by the English reformer priest John Wycliffe, whose writings he translated into Czech. Hus refused to renounce his faith and was declared a heretic and excommunicated by a Catholic tribunal, before being burnt at the stake.
Czech PM supports his Slovak counterpart
The outgoing Czech prime minister and Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek has said that he supports Slovakia's new leftist prime minister Robert Fico despite the fact that he has formed a coalition with a far right nationalist party. Mr. Paroubek told reporters he thought the new Slovak government was being unnecessarily demonized and that he planned to write an open letter to the party of European Socialists to try and persuade them not to isolate Slovakia's new prime minister. The Strasbourg-based assembly's Socialist caucus is demanding that Fico's Smer party be excluded from the Party of European Socialists, an umbrella organization for left wing parties in the 25-nation European Union, which Slovakia joined in 2004.
Czech environmentalists say planned rave will threaten protected species
Czech environmentalists are warning that a planned techno party would threaten the breeding ground of a protected bird species. The techno party in question is to be held at the end of July at a military training ground in the vicinity of Karlovy Vary. The Czech Environmentalists Association says that the land which the Czech military has offered the organizers as a potential site for the rave is a breading ground for corncrakes - a rare and protected bird species. Since the military has allegedly refused to respond to its warnings, the Czech Environmentalists Association is planning to send a complaint to the European Commission.
Sport - tennis -Wimbledon
Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman reached his second grand slam singles semi-final on Wednesday after winning a grueling five-set battle against Czech 14th seed Radek Stepanek. Stepanek described his 7-6, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 defeat as " a match of missed opportunities and disrupted concentration". I have only myself to blame, he told reporters later. Meanwhile, the 34 year old Bjorkman was in a state of disbelief, telling reporters he did not think this would happen at this stage of his career. He will face Roger Federer in the semi-final of the men's singles on Friday.
Weather:
The coming days should bring rain showers a slight drop in temperatures to between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius.
