News

Hundreds attend funeral ceremony for victim of Tanvald shooter

Some 200 people attended a funeral ceremony for a 22-year-old Romany man that took place in Tanvald on Saturday. The man was shot in the north Bohemian town on New Year’s Day. After an emotional service in the local church, hundreds of people, among them Romanies from across the country, accompanied the man’s coffin to the cemetery, where a minute of silence in honor of the murder victim was held. Police presence in Tanvald was heightened during the funeral and local police forces were monitoring the situation closely. The funeral ended without any clashes between Roma and right-wing extremists, who some feared would travel to the town. Tensions between Czechs and Romanies have been building in Tanvald in recent years.

On New Year’s Day, a 63-year-old man shot the 22-year-old Romany man and his 24-year old brother, killing one and wounding the other. Police are investigating the case and have stated that there is no evidence of racial motives for the murder.

Former prime minister Jan Fischer confirms presidential candidacy

Former prime minister Jan Fischer has confirmed that he is planning to run for the office of president if the Senate approves a proposal for direct presidential elections. In an interview in the Saturday edition of the Czech daily Mladá front dnes, Mr. Fischer said that he would most likely be submitting his candidacy as an independent candidate, but was also open to the possibility of teaming up with a political party. The proposal for direct presidential elections is pending a February vote in the upper house of Parliament. If it is approved, Czechs would be able to elect their president directly for the first time in 2013.

Mr. Fischer is currently the vice-president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. A statistician by profession, he headed the interim government which preceded Petr Nečas’s right-of-center coalition that took office in July 2010.

Forum 2000 conference to continue after late president Václav Havel’s death

The annual Forum 2000 conference, which was co-founded by the late Czech president Václav Havel, will continue taking place after Mr. Havel’s death. The director of the Forum 2000 conference, Oldřich Černý, said that the late president’s legacy will retain its importance. He added that it remains to be seen how often the conference will take place and what form it will take. Forum 2000 will also be collaborating with the Václav Havel Library, he said.

The Forum 2000 conferences have been held in Prague since 1997, bringing prominent thought leaders, Nobel laureates, and former and acting politicians to the Czech capital. Among the conference’s speakers in the past were the Dalai Lama, Shimon Peres and Bill Clinton. Its mission is to map the globalization process and to note its positive results as well as the perils encountered by an increasingly interconnected world.

Family home catches fire; possible case of arson

A family home in the village of Bohuňov in the Svitavy district caught fire in the night from Friday to Saturday. No one was injured. The fire caused damages of half a million Czech crowns. Firefighters have said that the fire may have been the result of arson. They were able to extinguish it within half an hour of arriving at the site.

Tennis: Petra Kvítova and teammate Tomáš Berdych bring home Czech victory at Hopman Cup

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvítova and teammate Tomáš Berdych had straight-set victories over their French opponents at the Hopman Cup in the Australian Perth on Saturday, giving the Czech Republic its second Hopman Cup title. Kvítova won the last three games of the first set and went on to beat the French Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-1, while Berdych beat French Richard Gasquet 7-6 (0), 6-4. This is second time the Czech Republic has won the eight-country fixed-teams title; its first victory at the Hopman Cup took place in 1994, when Jana Novotná and Petr Korda beat Germany in the final.

Speed skating: Martina Sablíková wins 1,500 meter race at European speed skating championships

Czech speed skater Martina Sablíková, world-record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters speed skating discipline, on Saturday won the 1,500 meters at the European speed skating championships in Budapest. She came in at 2 minutes and 3.64 seconds, a score that put her ahead of the Dutch Linda de Vries and the Russian Yuliya Skokova. Sablíková is the defending European champion and has won the title three times. She leads the overall standings. The title will be decided Sunday in the 5,000 meter race.

Cross-country skiing: Lukáš Bauer improves overall standing in Tour de Ski to fifth with performance in eighth pursuit

In the eighth, second-to-last pursuit at the Tour de Ski, Czech cross-country skier Lukáš Bauer collected bonus points in the sprint and managed to improve his standing in the overall race to fifth. The Czech Martin Jakš came in 14th in the 20-kilometer pursuit, which started in the Italian Val di Fiemme on Saturday. The Norwegian Eldar Roenning could celebrate his very first stage win of this Tour de Ski, finishing in front of Alex Harvey and Dario Bologna. The men will have their last stage of Tour de Ski tomorrow, with the final climb up Alpe Cermis.

Weather

The weekend brings overcast skies with rain and snow in the higher altitudes. Daytime temperatures between -1and 5 degrees Celsius.