News

Senior Social Democrats body approves coalition deal

The Central Executive Committee of the largest party in the emerging new Czech government, the Social Democrats, has, as expected, approved a coalition agreement reached with ANO and the Christian Democrats. The party’s chairman, Bohuslav Sobotka, said no serious objections to the coalition deal had been raised at Saturday’s meeting at Prague’s Congress Centre. Mr. Sobotka said the new government – which has pledged not to raise taxes – would make savings in the running of the state but not at the expense of individuals. The country is on the edge of recession, he said, and required a government that would waste no time in supporting growth.

Sobotka: Social Democrats will be “generous” in division of cabinet seats

Bohuslav Sobotka says the Social Democrats will be “generous” in the division of cabinet seats with ANO and the Christian Democrats. His party finished first in October’s elections on 20.45 percent, while ANO came second on 18.65 percent and the Christian Democrats got 6.78 percent. The Social Democrats want to take eight portfolios, while ANO would get seven and the Christian Democrats two. However, the latter are insisting that they get three ministries – what’s more, in fields they are interested in – and are threatening to pull out of government talks.

Defeated rebel Hašek to support government despite finding coalition deal “compromise”

Michal Hašek, who lost a battle to take control of the Social Democrats, says a coalition deal between the party, ANO and the Christian Democrats is “a compromise”, but he will still support the nascent government. He moved against Social Democrats’ chairman Bohuslav Sobotka after elections in October but the latter emerged on top and this week presented a coalition deal. An ally of Mr. Hašek’s, Jeroným Tejc, has expressed dissatisfaction with the fact the government programme does not deliver on the Social Democrats’ promise to amend the tax system.

Policeman one of two victims of explosion

A policeman was one of two people killed in a gas explosion in the garage of a house in the village of Žerůtky in South Moravia on Saturday. The officer was aged 27, while the other victim, a woman reported to have been his mother, was 46, a police spokesperson said. There have been reports that the explosion was caused by a grenade. As one of the dead was a policeman, the incident is being investigated by the Czech police’s internal affairs agency.

Train kills two in Moravia in separate incidents

A high speed train travelling between the Moravian cities of Brno and Šumperk ran over and killed two people in separate incidents on Friday night, a spokesperson for Czech Railways’ inspections agency said on Saturday. A woman died near the village of Luleč while a man was killed on the outskirts of Brno. Neither was carrying documents that could have helped identify them. The train arrived in the Moravian capital five hours late.

Bridges damaged by floods set for demolition in Central Bohemia

Twenty-seven bridges in Central Bohemia damaged by flooding earlier this year will have to be replaced, the region’s governor Josef Řihák has told reporters. Inspectors ruled that they had to be demolished, with the work is set to begin next year when weather conditions are favourable. Almost 140 other bridges affected by floods in June have been repaired, Mr. Řihák said. Roads in Central Bohemia were also hit and some CZK 450 million has been spent to date repairing around 80 percent of the damage.

Kladno officials hope aerial thermographic photography will help reduce heat loss

Officials in the Central Bohemian town of Kladno are planning to employ aerial thermographic photography in an effort to identify leaks of heat from buildings and the local hot water supply. An official said the method, which will be used in the Czech Republic for the first time, should improve the planning of building repair and ultimately deliver energy savings. The thermographic photography project will begin in 2015 and run for three years.

Czech pavilion for 2015 World’s fair to be recyclable

A jury has selected the company Koma from Vizovice to build the Czech pavilion at the next World’s fair, which takes place in Milan in two year’s time. The theme of the 2015 Expo is “feeding the planet, energy for life” and the winning design consists of containers that can be reused when the six-month event comes to an end. Jury member David Vávra, who is an architect, praised the recyclable aspect of Koma’s design. However, he said he and his colleagues had been disappointed that the competition had, unlike in the past, not generated striking architectural ideas.

Weather

It should be partly cloudy in the coming days, with temperatures of up to 4 degrees Celsius.