News

Justice Ministry supports establishment of prosecutors’ anti-corruption unit

Czech Justice Ministry supports of the establishment of a special unit of prosecutors that would fight corruption, the news agency ČTK informed on Sunday quoting a ministry report that will be debated by the government later this week. The report says such a unit could help sever ties between criminals and prosecutors on the local level while the unit’s prosecutors could more effectively collaborate with the police. The unit should be based in Brno and deal with cases which could be interfered with by public officials, and those typically committed by them. Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil told TV Prima on Sunday the move should be part of a broader overhaul of the justice system.

Former Terezín inmates mark anniversary of deportations of Jews

Over 200 former inmates of the Terezín, or Theresienstadt, Nazi concentration camp along with their relatives on Sunday marked the 70th anniversary of the start of deportations of Jews from the Czech lands. The head of the Terezín Initiative, Dagmat Lieblová, said that as former inmates of the ghetto gradually pass away, their memories will be carried on by their children. The commemoration included a performance of Hans Krása’s opera Brunidbár, staged by the children in the ghetto, and other events.

Between 1940 and 1945, more than 150,000 people, mostly Jews, from the Czech lands, Slovakia, Germany, and other countries passed through the Terezín ghetto on their way to Nazi extermination camps in occupied Poland where most of them were murdered.

Austrian bus driver admits overlooking road sing

The driver of an Austrian tourist bus which crashed in southern Bohemia on Friday admitted he might have overlooked a road sign, a police spokesman said on Sunday. The bus had its roof ripped off after it crashed into a bridge near the village of Dolní Dvořiště, in southern Bohemia, on Friday night, injuring over people. The profile of the bridge was reportedly 30 cm lower that the height of the bus. The police said however that the site of the accident was a dangerous spot as three similar accidents had occurred there since the beginning of the year. The police spokesman added that addition signs should be added to warn drivers of the low profile of the bridge.

Korean film Night Fishing wins Brno Sixteen film festival

The Korean film Night Fishing by Park Chan-kyong and Park Chan-wook won on Saturday the 52nd edition of the Brno Sixteen International Short Fiction Film Festival. The movie was chosen from among 52 films in the competition. Special festival awards went to the Slovak movie 25 km2 by Jana Mináriková, Fatum! by the Spanish director Pablo Milan and Aglaée by the French director Rudi Rosenberg. More than 350 films applied this year to join the Brno Sixteen festival which was first held in the Moravian city of Brno in 1960.

Prague police find one man shot dead, another unhurt but unconscious

The Prague police found a 32-year-old man shot dead and another man, of the same age, unhurt but unconscious, in the district of Prague 10 on Sunday. No further details about the case have been released; the motive and the relation between the two men remain unclear. A police spokeswoman however denied media reports the men were brothers.

Moja the Gorilla’s move to Spain postponed

The relocation of Moja the Gorilla from Prague zoo to Spain has been postponed due to the animal’s health problems, the zoo’s director Miroslav Bobek said on Sunday. Six-year-old Moja was going to travel on Monday to the Cabárceno Nature Park, in northern Spain where she was expected to mate with a male gorilla born in the wild; however, the gorilla got a cold and could develop respiratory tract infection, Mr Bobek said, adding that the new date of Moja’s move to Spain will yet have to be determined.

Low temperature records broken across country

Morning temperatures dropped well below zero across the Czech Republic over the weekend, with dozens of low temperature records broken. The station in Jizerka, in the north of the country, recorded the temperature of 9 degrees below zero on Saturday, the lowest in the country on that day. Decades-old records were broken in more than 25 places over the weekend.

Tennis: Kvitová wins Linz tournament

Czech Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová beat Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulková 6:4, 6:1 in the final of the Linz Open in Austria on Sunday and claimed the fifth WTA title of her career. The 21-year-old Czech took Cibulková’s serve early in the first set but her opponent came back before Kvitová broke again and took the set. In the second, the Czech won five games in a row to wrap up the game. The win could boost Kvitová’s confidence two weeks ahead of the WTA Championships in Istanbul.

Weather

The current spell of cold and dry weather should continue into the week, with daytimes highs of around 13 degrees Celsius.