News Vandals damage Václav Havel site in České Budějovice
Vandals damaged an unconventional memorial dedicated to the late Václav Havel located on campus at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. Unknown perpetrators broke three of four glass decorative items on two chairs at the Václav Havel "bench", a small area designed to invite discussion. The decorative elements, like the chairs in Prague’s version, were designed by architect and friend to Mr Havel, Bořek Šípek. Police are checking data from a surveillance system to try and gain information. Besides České Budějovice and Prague, three more such memorials are located in Washington D.C., Dublin and Barcelona.
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Mourinho: Čech won’t come cheap if he leaves Chelsea in summer
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says if Petr Čech does leave the soccer club it will be for a high price. The Czech goalkeeper became Chelsea’s second choice between the posts after Belgian Thibaut Courtois returned from a loan spell at the start of the current season and there has been speculation he will move on in the summer. Mourinho said on Tuesday that if Čech does want to end his 11-year association with the club, with which he has won numerous titles including the Champions League, he will not try to persuade him to stay.
Four charged with misappropriation of Ministry of Defence property
Officers from the police’s organised crime unit have charged four people over the illegal misappropriation of Ministry of Defence property. In connection with the charges the unit carried out raids at the ministry and at premises belonging to the company Excalibur Army. The supreme state attorney, Lenka Bradáčová, said the four were suspected of breath of trust and abuse of office. One of those arrested was an army officer, two were from the ministry’s now defunct department for disposal of redundant assets and one was a former manager at the company VOP CZ.
Sobotka writes to Juncker with view to CR drawing on EU funds
The Czech prime minister, Bohsulav Sobotka, has written to the president of the European Commission informing him that the Czech Republic has fulfilled a commission demand regarding the introduction of civil service legislation, the Czech News Agency reported. Prague is now waiting for confirmation from Jean-Claude Juncker that the Czech Republic has fulfilled a condition for drawing on European Union funds. Mr. Sobotka wrote that he expected the Czech Republic to be able to apply for funding from the EU’s operational programmes in the coming weeks and other programmes soon afterwards.
Regular siren tests cancelled due to tribute to shooting victims planned for Thursday
A regular test of the siren systems in Czech cities and towns will not take place on Wednesday due to plans to use the sirens the following day to signal a moment’s silence for the victims of a shooting in Uherský Brod last week. The sirens usually go off at noon on the first Wednesday of every month. A spokesperson for the fire service directorate said it had decided to cancel the March test at the proposal of the minister of the interior, Milan Chovanec. Eight people were shot dead in an apparent random shooting in a pub in Uherský Brod before the gunman turned his weapon on himself.
Mayor says designer of much-delayed Blanka tunnel must be “moron”
The mayor of Prague says the designer of the city’s Blanka tunnel must be “a moron” (debil). Adriana Krnáčová made the comment after news emerged that the tunnel would not be open until next year at the soonest as hundreds of kilometres of water-damaged cables have to be replaced. The mayor told TV Nova that moisture could be expected in a tunnel and the designers must be stupid. However, a representative of the company that planned the project, Satra, told Tuesday’s Mladá fronta Dnes that the design had fulfilled all technical and safety requirements. Originally meant to open in 2011 Blanka, which has cost Prague CZK 37 billion, was most recently scheduled to go into operation in April.
December-March period one of warmest on record but not as mild as last winter
This winter has been one of the warmest recorded in the Czech Republic, according to the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute. The average temperature from the start of December to the end of February was 0.7 degrees Celsius, which is 1.9 degrees higher than the average for the period 1971 to 2000. However, last climatological winter was even milder with an average of 1.2 degrees Celsius.
One World fest of human rights documentaries kicks off in Prague
The One World international festival of human rights documentaries got underway in Prague on Monday evening. The annual event opened with Warriors from the North, which explores how a radical Islamic group recruits volunteers in Denmark. The 17th One World will bring over 110 films from five dozen countries to audiences in Prague before moving on in reduced form to 33 other Czech cities and towns.
UK director to portray operation to assassinate Heydrich in Anthropoid
British director Sean Ellis is set to portray the 1942 assassination of the Nazi governor of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich, in Anthropoid, a movie named after the daring operation carried out by Czech and Slovak paratroopers dropped near Prague. The lead roles will be taken by actors Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy. Heydrich died days after the attack, sparking Nazi reprisals that included the destruction of two villages and the killing of thousands of civilians.
Five Czechs on Forbes list of US dollar billionaires
Five Czechs have made this year’s list of US dollar billionaires, compiled by the US business magazine Forbes. The richest Czech Petr Kellner, owner of investment group PPF, is reported to be the 160th wealthiest person in the world, with assets valued at 8.4 billion US dollars. It is the tenth time Kellner has been ranked in the Forbes’s rich list. Agrofert owner and finance minister Andrej Babiš is 732nd, followed by Radovan Vítek, Karel Komárek and Pavel Tykač.
Newborn boy left in baby box in Vyškov
A newborn boy was placed in a babybox in Vyškov in Moravia on Monday evening at around six p.m. The founder of the Czech baby box network, Ludvík Hess, said the child’s condition was stable. The baby, who was given the name Dominik, was the fourth child this year to be abandoned in this manner. There are currently a total of 63 baby boxes in the Czech Republic, and in the past nine years, 70 girls and 46 boys were left in them.
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