Daily news summary

Fire fighters dealing with second Kokořín blaze

A second fire broke out on forested land in Kokořín, a protected wildlife zone in central Bohemia, on Sunday. Earlier 20 fire units had been called out to deal with a blaze a few kilometres away and had succeeded in bringing it under control.

In the early evening a fire service spokesperson said that a helicopter was again being deployed, this time to deal with an area of around 100 metres by 150 metres. The place where the second fire occurred is described as hard to reach.

UK gallery hangs huge red boxers in Zeman protest reference

A huge pair of red boxer shorts have been hung on the façade of the London art venue Red Gallery in support of Czech artists. The exhibit was created by the Prague art group Ztohoven, who were taken to court after placing similar outsized underwear on a flagpole at Prague Castle in protest at the policies of President Miloš Zeman.

Czech curator Jaroslav Krampol organised the outdoor exhibit in the UK capital, which Red Gallery has titled the ‘Aint No Politician Will Burn These Red Pants (sic). President Zeman recently burned a large pair of red boxers in a “happening” in Prague to which journalists had been invited.

Mr. Zeman’s spokesman said the red boxers were not a symbol of populism but a flag of spiteful “liberals” (his quotation marks).

Maláčová to become labour minister on July 30

President Miloš Zeman is due to appoint Jana Maláčová as minister of labour and social affairs on July 30. before that he will meet Ms. Maláčová, who has hitherto been a senior official at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, on Tuesday.

She will replace the Social Democrats’ Petr Krčál, who stepped down within a few weeks of taking the post after being accused of plagiarism during his student career.

Unusually the appointment ceremony will take place not at Prague Castle but at Lány, the presidential residence near the Czech capital.

Prague population growth mainly due to new arrivals

The population of Prague has increased every year but one for the last 16 years, with growth of around 14,000 people recorded in 2017, according to official figures cited by the Czech News Agency. The rise last year was mainly due to new arrivals (almost 11,000), with around half being from abroad.

Natural growth is also a factor, with the capital’s birth rate having constantly exceeded the mortality rate since 2006.

Around 900,000 Czechs believed dependent on medication

Czechs are consuming more and more medicines. According to official figures, 107 million more daily doses were taken last year than in 2016, Czech Television reported.

The state anti-drug coordinator told the station that around 900,000 people in the Czech Republic were dependent on medication. Just a fragment of that number seek help with their addictions, the official said.

Grace Jones among headliners as Colours of Ostrava concludes

The 17th edition of the Colours of Ostrava music festival came to a close on Saturday with performances by 1980s star Grace Jones, her Jamaican compatriot Ziggy Marley and US artist Seasick Steve, among others.

The organisers refuse to release attendance figures but it is believed that the event – which takes place in a former ironworks in Ostrava’s Vítkovice district – draws around 50,000 people every year.

Weather forecast

It should be quite sunny in the Czech Republic on Monday, with temperatures of up to 27 degrees Celsius expected. Daytime highs will then climb to reach around 30 degrees Celsius by the end of the week.