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Czech police arrested a 29-year-old man and found bombs, bullets and explosive substances at his apartment. In a press conference on Saturday, the police say the man, who was arrested on August 10, was most likely planning a sophisticated bombing attack. During the search of the man’s apartment, they found a police uniform and car siren, which the Ostrava resident was probably planning to use for the attack. The man’s internet communication led Ostrava police to suspect him of sympathizing with the Norwegian mass murdered Anders Breivik. The suspect had been arrested in the past for setting off a bomb explosion in an unpopulated area.

The number of self-employed people in the Czech Republic grew in the first half of 2012 by 10 thousand, bringing the total number to over 1.012 million people, compared to 1.002 million last December, according to figures from the Czech Social Security Administration. However the number of the self-employed paying for social and health insurance decreased by 6 thousand and 15 thousand respectively. Most self-employed people are residing in Prague, the Central Bohemia and the Moravian-Silesian regions. Companies with one to two employees make up 95% of all business in the Czech Republic.

Czech meteorologists warn of tropical weather coming to the Czech Republic on Sunday. High temperatures, going possibly up to 40 degrees Celsius, will last into next week. Authorities are warning against possible forest fires and urging people to stay well hydrated and limit exposure to direct sunlight to avoid health problems.

Glassmakers from the Czech company Kavalierglass created the biggest whisky bottle in the world. The hand blown bottle, which can fit 228 liters of whisky, is 1.7 meters tall and weighs 50 kilograms, will be registered in the Guinness book of records. The bottle was commissioned by a Scottish whisky producer Edrington Group. The Guinness book record will be the first for Czech glassmakers.

The Czech Foreign Ministry expressed deep concern over the decision of the Moscow court on Friday to sentence three members of the punk group Pussy Riot to two years in prison. The ministry was surprised that an act that was not damaging to either health or property received such a strict punishment. In a statement, the ministry underscored not only the length of the sentence the defendants received, but also the fact that they were held in prison for over five months before sentencing.

Anti-corruption police raided the offices of Prague’s Public Transit Company, or DPP, Friday morning. The case is supervised by the Prague High State Attorney’s office, which has not yet released any information about the cause or findings of the raid. The company’s newly appointed director Magdalena Češková said the search was connected to the charges filed on Wednesday by DPP’s former director general Vladimír Lich against potentially fraudulent activities of the company’s former managers. Ms. Češková also said that members of the non-profit organization Transparency International assisted the police in the raid, and that DPP will file a complaint as a result.

Lich was unexpected sacked from his post of chairman of the board of directors on Wednesday, and from his position as director the next day on the grounds of bad management. Prague mayor Bohuslav Sobotka expressed vehement disagreement with the move.

Prime Minister Petr Nečas on Friday pledged to override the Senate’s veto of a bill that would raise the Value Added Tax rates by one percentage points to 15 and 21 percent, cancel cuts on tax insurance for employees, and raise taxes for people earning more than 100 thousand crowns a month. The tax hikes are one of the key components of the government’s consolidation package aimed at bringing the gap in public finance to under three percent of GDP in 2013. The Prime Minister is confident that the coalition parties will secure the 101 votes necessary for the lower house to overturn the Senate’s decision.

The regional court in Brno made the first ruling in a case connected to the controversial secondary school leaving exams. The case was brought by a female student against the South Moravian Regional Authority for a negligent assessment of her appeal of her exam results. The Regional Court ruled on Friday that the Regional Administration has to re-evaluate with greater care the student’s appeal against a failing score in the Czech language written exam.

This year, Czech students took the first unified state leaving exams, with a 21.2 percent rate of failure, which is an increase of 1.7 percentage points from last year’s test run. Many students have filed complaints over the grading of the test, especially the essay sections. Regional Administrations have complied with approximately a third of the complaints. Education Minister Petr Fiala recently sacked the head of the company that created the tests and ordered and audit of the exams.

The Building Authority in Ostrava has called on the owner of houses in the Přednádraží slum to make repairs in six of the buildings within the next 60 days. The authority deemed 74 apartments as uninhabitable. Residents, who are for the most part Romani, and chose to remain in the buildings were told they must vacate the premises. The owner is facing a fine of 200 thousand crowns if he does not carry out the repairs in due time.

Authorities have already issued eviction notices two weeks ago. At the time, over 100 residents had refused to leave. The Building Authority has filed a petition Friday for court-sanctioned evictions. The owner, Oldřich Roztočil, had previously expressed willingness to carry out repairs on his property but said he will not do so unless the city fixes the sewer system that is municipal property.

The number of self-employed people in the Czech Republic grew in the first half of 2012 by 10 thousand, bringing the total number to over 1.012 million people, compared to 1.002 million last December, according to figures from the Czech Social Security Administration. However the number of the self-employed paying for social and health insurance decreased by 6 thousand and 15 thousand respectively. Most self-employed people are residing in Prague, the Central Bohemia and the Moravian-Silesian regions. Companies with one to two employees make up 95% of all business in the Czech Republic.