News

Police search for kidnapped baby

Police search is underway for an 19-day-old baby girl who was kidnapped in the northern city of Ústí nad Labem on Wednesday. The police said a man who spoke with a thick German accent took the baby out of the pram in front of her mother, ran with her to his car and drove off in a car with false number plates. The police believe he might have escaped to Germany and on Wednesday night, border checks were re-introduced at border crossings with that country. A police spokeswoman said on Saturday said the police would ask German media for cooperation.

President Klaus in row with EU ambassador to Malaysia

On the first day of his state visit to Malaysia, Czech President Václav Klaus on Thursday instigated a row with the EU ambassador to that country, the news website novinky.cz reported. At a lecture hosted by a local institute, Mr Klaus told the ambassador, Alessandro Paolicchi, that he did not represent him, and that he did not approve of the EU having an ambassador to Malaysia. The Czech president later told reporters he expressed his opinion in a “friendly” way. Ambassador Paolicchi said the Czech president should realize his country was a member of the EU. President Klaus is on a six-day trip to the region which includes official visits to Malaysia and Indonesia.

Thousands commemorate legacy of missionaries Cyril and Methodius

Dozens of thousands of Czechs Thursday commemorate the 1149th anniversary of the arrival of Christian missionaries Cyril and Methodius. The celebrations are held in Velehrad, in southern Moravia where the missionaries first arrived from Byzantium. A mass was celebrated by Prague Archbishop, Cardinal Dominik Duka while his predecessor Miloslav Vlk delivered the sermon; the former head of the Catholic Church said the anniversary was a good opportunity for Czechs to explore their roots. Thursday is a national holiday in the Czech Republic.

Sokol festival continues in Prague

The 15th international festival of the Sokol athletic movement continues in Prague on Thursday with mass exercises at the Eden stadium. Some 14,000 members of the Sokol organization take part in the exercises. Around 2,000 Czech expats arrived in Prague for festival, held every six years. The week-long event will conclude on Friday. The Sokol movement, which was founded in he 1860s, has today some 180,000 members in the Czech Republic and other countries of the world.

Susan Sarandon arrives at Karlovy Vary film festival

US actress Susan Sarandon on Saturday arrived at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where she is set to receive the festival’s Crystal Globe award for her contribution to world cinema. On Friday, Ms Sarandon will attend the screening of the movie Jeff Who Lives at Home in which she played one of the main characters. Susan Sarandon is the second international film star, after the English actress Helen Mirren, to attend the 47th edition of the festival.

Part of Prague metro Line A out of service

Part of Line A of Prague metro went temporarily out of service on Thursday due to maintenance and construction work. Service has been suspended between the stations Můstek and Dejvická and only limited service is available between Můstek and Náměstí Míru. The interruption also affects travelers to Prague’s Ruzyně international airport as they cannot reach the airport-bound bus line at Dejvická by metro. Passengers are instead advised to use the special X-A tram line running between the centre of the city and Dejvická. Full service on the green-marked Line A will resume on Sunday.

Skiing champion Šárka Záhrobská hospitalized

Czech skiing champion Šárka Záhrobská is in hospital with severe neurological problems, her agent told the news website lidovky.cz on Thursday. The 2007 slalom world champion and 2010 Olympic bronze medalist was admitted to hospital on Friday and induced into sleep but was awake again now, her agent said. The tabloid outlet blesk.cz reported a growth has been discovered on her brain, possibly a cyst or a tumor. Her team said it was unclear when the 27-year-old skier could return to training for the new season.

Weather

The coming days will be partially sunny with rain showers and storms which will hit mainly the south-western part of the country. Daytime highs should reach 32 degrees Celsius.