News

Former transport minister charged and released

Former transport minister and Public Affairs leader Vít Bárta who is being investigated by police in connection with information leaks from the police force has been charged and released. Mr. Bárta was released on Friday evening after spending 24 hours in detention. The police have imposed an information embargo on the case and Vít Bárta himself has refused to comment apart from telling journalists he was innocent of the charges against him. According to the internet news site idnes.cz the Public Affairs leader, who once owned the biggest detective agency in the land, has been charged in connection with information leaks of police wiretappings of conversations between the former Prague mayor Pavel Bém and influential Prague businessman Roman Janoušek. The head of the information division of the anti-corruption police Jan Petržílek has also been questioned and charged in connection with the case.

Internal disputes at Czech TV following censorship allegations

Over a dozen Czech TV reporters have stood up for the head of the station’s news desk Zdeněk Šámal who may allegedly be sacked over claims of censorship. Sixteen news reporters signed a petition in support of Šámal following roumours that he was to be sacked for reportedly censoring news reports in favour of President Miloš Zeman and the Party of Citizens’ Rights –Zemanites. Emotions have been running high at Czech public television after two dozen news and currently affairs reporters sent a letter of complaint to the Czech Television Council claiming independent and impartial reporting was at stake and their bosses were bowing to political pressure. Sixty other employees have disclaimed the reports. The head of Czech public television Petr Dvořák has said he will get independent auditors to investigate the matter.

Plzen branch of Social Democrats supports party leader

The Plzen branch of the Social Democrats has expressed full support for party leader Bohuslav Sobotka, who this week survived an attempt to oust him from office. The party chair in turn took a benevolent stance to Milan Chovanec, one of the five rebels who met with President Milos Zeman shortly after the elections allegedly to plan the ouster. He later reconsidered his position and publicly admitted the meeting had taken place, forcing the others into similar admissions and turning the situation around in favour of the embattled leader. Mr. Sobotka said that while Chovanec had retained his respect for speaking out, the other four rebels could no longer be trusted and could not expect posts in high office.

Vysočina branch of Social Democrats calls on rebels to resign

Support for the Social Democrat leader has also come from the Vysočina branch of the party which on Saturday called on all five rebels to resign from their posts in the party leadership. The Vysočina regional branch also called for an extraordinary party conference to be held as soon as possible in order to clarify the party’s course in the wake of last week’s power struggle.

Environment minister under fire for scrapping consulting services department

Environment Minister Tomas Podivínský’s decision to scrap a ministerial department providing consulting services to firms and consumers has evoked widespread criticism, with experts arguing that it runs counter to EU trends in this field. The abolished section dealt, among others, with environment-friendly labels that help consumers find healthy products in shops. Ministry spokesman Matyáš Vitik said the agenda would continue to be handled at the ministry but would be divided among the remaining sections. NGOs working in the field say other departments and sections have suffered a similar fate in the past three years and accuse the government of gradually downgrading the ministry’s role.

Czechs mark All Souls day

Traditionally on the first weekend of November millions of Czechs pay their respects to departed friends and relatives. Cemeteries around the country are awash with candles and flowers as families undertake an annual pilgrimage to family graves, often travelling for hours to reach their destination. In the evening masses are held for the departed. In Prague Cardinal Dominik Duka will serve a special mass at the Sts Peter and Paul Basilica at Vyšehrad.

Meteorologists warn of high winds

Meteorologists have issued a warning of high winds with a force of 90 to 110 km across the Czech Republic on Sunday. Drivers have been warned to exercise extreme caution and mountain rescue services have advised people against mountain hiking on that day. The warning is valid between 8am and 17 pm on Sunday.

Weather

The coming days should be grey and overcast with rain in places and daytime highs reaching 12 degrees Celsius.