Daily news summary

Unannounced meeting of National Security Council board held on Friday

An extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council board took place on Friday, the spokesman for the government, Martin Ayrer, told the Czech News Agency on Saturday, adding that the Office of the Government would not provide any further details. The unannounced meeting took place on Friday evening, less than a week after the council's last session. The National Security Council, which comprises the Prime Minister and other government members, coordinates steps in the event of a natural disaster or state of emergency.

Czech general among leading candidates for post of NATO Defense College dean

Franišek Mičánek, the head of the Centre for Security and Military Strategic Studies at the University of Defence​ in Brno and former director of the Force Planning Division at the defence Ministry, is among the leading candidates for the post of the dean of the NATO Defense College in Rome, the daily Právo wrote on Saturday. The new dean will be elected by NATO officials in Brussels on Monday. The chairman of NATO's Military Committe, General Petr Pavel, told the daily that he would support Mr Mičánek's election.

Government to debate introduction of security threat scale on Monday

The government on Monday is scheduled to debate the introduction of a security threat scale, which would enable a fast and coordinated response by the country’s security forces in the event of a terrorist threat, the Czech News Agency reported on Saturday. The three point scale, which would define the potential degree of danger, would be annouced by the government based on the proposal of the Interior Minister. The introduction of the security threat scale comes in reaction to the heightened threat of international terrorism after a series of attacks in Paris in November last year.

Embassies launch anti-corruption campaign on social media

Embassies of the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, Norway and South Korea in the Czech Republic have launched a six-week anti-corruption campaign on social media with the aim to share their experiences with fighting corruption. Each week, the embassies will release information regarding one specific topic, including law on civil servants, state attorneys or public orders. The first week will be dedicated to the financing of political parties. The campaign will be running on Facebook and Twitter until March 7.

Strýcová advances to fourth round at Australian Open

Czech tennis player Barbora Strýcová has advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career, after beating third-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6:3, 6:2 on Saturday. The 29-year-old Czech will next face the two-time Australian Open Champion Viktoria Azarenka of Belarus. Other Czech female players, Karolína Plíšková and Denisa Allertová,were knocked out of the tournament in the third round.

Heavy snowfall disrupts traffic in parts of Czech Republic

Heavy snowfall has disrupted traffic in most parts of the Czech Republic, mainly in western, northern and central Bohemia. Several centimetres of snow have fallen there during the morning hours of Saturday. While most of the major roads have been chemically treated, drivers have been warned to drive with caution in areas where snow remains has not yet been cleared. In Prague, a number of international flights have been delayed at the Václav Havel Airport as a result of the snowfall.

Czech snowboarders triumph in snowboard cross and paralell giant slalom events

Czech Eva Samková has won the women's World Cup event in snowboard cross in Germany's Feldberg. It was the fourth World Cup win for the 21-year-old Olympic Champion. Another Czech snowboarder, Ester Ledecká, has won the finals of the ladies paralell giant slalom World Cup event in Slovenian Rogla, reaching a second World Cup win of the season. Ledecká came ahead of the former World Champion Marion Kreiner of Austria.