News

Ceske Budejovice racked by racial unrest

The south Bohemian city of České Budějovice was racked by more racial unrest on Saturday. Police were out in force across the city, fencing off a a demonstration of some 400 far-right protesters from a Roma gathering at the Maj housing community.Despite numerous skirmishes between police and far-right protesters no serious injuries have been reported. Special security measures remain in place and citizens have been asked to keep off the streets.

Jan Hus anniversary marked around the country

Masses were held around the country on Saturday commemorating the legacy of the 15th century reformer priest Jan Hus who was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415. Jan Hus (John Huss) was a Catholic priest and rector of the University of Prague who was strongly influenced by the teachings of the English reformer priest John Wycliffe. He translated Wycliffe’s works into Czech and proposed to reform the church in Bohemia just as Wycliffe had in England. Hus was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1411 before being condemned as a heretic and executed in Constance four years later.

Hus inspires fresh protest against church restitutions

Some 100 people gathered on Prague’s Old Town Square on Saturday to highlight Jan Hus’ legacy and protest against the law on church restitutions. In a letter to Pope Francis they ask the head of the Catholic Church, which is to receive 134 billion crowns worth of land and property, to refuse to accept it. The petition has been signed by several hundred people who hope that Pope Francis, as a modest man and a staunch defender of the poor, will hear their plea.

Traffic fully renewed along D1 motorway

Traffic has been fully renewed along a 20 km stretch of the D1 motorway between Prague and Brno which was closed for reconstruction work on Friday. In the course of the night hours, six bridges over the road were demolished attracting camera crews and onlookers. The debris was cleared shortly after dawn and traffic along most of the route was renewed by midday, with the exception of one stretch of the road near Benesov which opened at 4pm on Saturday. The country’s main motorway remains open to traffic throughout its four year reconstruction although the speed limit has been reduced along the single lane where work is underway.

Krivoklat forests may not become nature reserve

Plans to turn the Krivoklat area into a national park may be scuppered by the fall of the centre-right government, the internet news site idnes.cz reported on Saturday. The idea to give the Krivoklat deep spruce forests better protection emerged seven years ago and won strong backing from the outgoing environment minister Tomas Chalupa and agriculture minister Petr Bendl. With their demise the region’s present governor Josef Rihak, who is opposed to the idea of creating a national park in the area, may succeed in burying the proposal. He claims that creating a nature reserve is unnecessary since the forests are already well-protected and argues that such a step would negatively impact business and tourism in the region.

PM at centre of love triangle in new political satire

The corruption and spying scandal that toppled the centre-right government of prime minister Petr Necas will be the subject of a new play by a group of young actors who specialize in political satire. According to the internet news site lidovky.cz director Tomas Svoboda is working on a play centring around the love triangle of the outgoing prime minister, his wife and his mistress and chief-of-staff. The play will reportedly contain authentic dialogues from police wiretappings. It is expected to premiere at Prague’s Divadlo pod Palmovkou in the autumn.

Police searching for missing pop star

Police have launched a nation-wide search for pop singer Iveta Bartosova who has been missing from her Prague home since Wednesday evening. The 47-year-old Bartosova, who is believed to have a serious drinking problem, left her home in the company of an admirer whom she once claimed to have stalked her. Her live-in partner reported her missing to the police, saying she had been abducted by the said admirer. He admitted that he and Bartosova had had a fight prior to her disappearance.

Weather

The coming days should be bright and sunny with afternoon highs reaching 28 degrees Celsius.