News

Klaus: Election results clear and comprehensible

The Czech president, Václav Klaus, has described the outcome of regional and Senate elections as clear, unequivocal and comprehensible, and said that everybody should draw their own conclusions from them. The right-of-centre Civic Democrats, who lead the Czech coalition government, suffered a drubbing in the polls. The Social Democrats came first in nine out of 13 regions, though they had won in all of them in 2008, and the biggest winners were the Communist Party, who triumphed in two regions. The Civic Democrats and the Mayors for the Liberec Region each placed first in one.

The first round of elections was held for one third of the seats in the Czech Senate. The Social Democrats saw 23 of their members make it into next weekend’s two-candidate runoffs, while the Communists will have 12 in the running and the Civic Democrats 10. If the Social Democrats and the Communists take 15 of 25 possible mandates they would together have a constitutional majority.

Talks underway in some regions about forming governments

Negotiations have already begun in some regions about the formation of regional governments, with the Social Democrats likely to lose at least some of their current 13 governorships. In the Karlovy Vary region the Communists, who came first, have held talks with the Social Democrats about forming a coalition, though the issue of who should become governor has been postponed. While the Civic Democrats triumphed in the Pilsen region, the current coalition of the Social Democrats and Communists is likely to continue. In other regions the Christian Democrats, the Zemanites and regional groupings have a chance of playing a role in government.

Hackers call Communist voters idiots on party website

Following the electoral success of the Communists, hackers saying they were from the group Anonymous attacked the website of the party’s Brno branch on Saturday. The hackers placed a message on the site calling those who had voted for the Communists idiots who were not watching which way the Czech Republic was headed. They said that communism had halted progress in the country for decades, and that the modern-day Communist Party was attempting to do likewise.

Brno scientists working on programme to identify neurological diseases by voice

Scientists from the Brno University of Technology are working on a computer programme that uses voice analysis to identify some neurological diseases. University spokesperson Jitka Vanýsková told the Czech News Agency that the software could pick up on whether somebody had for instance Parkinson’s disease, even in its early stages. She added that voice analysis could be as useful at detecting some diseases as blood testing is with others.

Rotating house wins environmental building award

A house that rotates and follows the sun has received the top prize in this year’s E.ON Energy Globe Awards Czech Republic, which honour environmentally friendly structures. The building, which is located in Velké Hamry near Jablonec in north Bohemia, can also retract two metres into the ground, making it easier to heat in winter, and has a swimming pool heated by solar panels. It was built by its owner Bohumil Lhota over a period of around 20 years.

Štěpánek and Paes take Shanghai Masters doubles trophy

The Czech tennis player Radek Štěpánek and his Indian partner Leander Paes have taken the doubles trophy at the Shanghai Masters. The pair beat the Indian duo of Mahes Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 6-7(7) 6-3 10-5 in Sunday’s final to give them their third title of the year. Štěpánek and Paes, who has in the past enjoyed success in the mixed doubles with Czech-born Martina Navrátilová, joined forces at the start of this season.

Baroš makes generous donation to Baník Ostrava

The former Czech soccer international Milan Baroš has made a generous donation to his first club, Baník Ostrava. The striker, who now plays for Galatassary in the Turkish league, paid CZK 1,000,000 in an auction for an Ostrava shirt from the team’s league-winning 2003/2004 season, on the condition that half of the money go directly to the club’s players and half to the club itself, the website of the newspaper Sport reported. The auction was part of an event marking 90 years since Baník’s foundation. The club, which also struggled to avoid relegation last season, is currently at the bottom of the Czech top flight.

Weather

There should be a good deal of sunshine in the Czech Republic in the coming days, but some places will see rain. Temperatures are expected to reach a maximum of 17 degrees Celsius.