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Fears of rise in neo-Nazism in Czech Republic expressed at Terezín memorial

Speakers at a commemorative meeting at the site of a former World War II ghetto at Terezín in central Bohemia have warned of a rise in neo-Nazism and racism in the Czech Republic. The director of the Terezín Memorial, Jan Munk, said that today the victims were Romanies; next will be Jews, and then other people. He said as a Jew and a citizen he felt threatened by neo-Nazism, and called on state bodies to take greater action against the danger. Some of Prime Minister Jan Fischer’s own family members were killed after being interned at Terezín. He said at Sunday’s ceremony that he had been disappointed by the results of a mock election held in Czech schools which suggested over 7 percent of 15- to 19-year-olds would support the far-right Workers’ Party of Social Justice. Mr Fischer said the area of values was being emptied out in Europe, thanks to an over-emphasis on so-called real politics; this area was being left to those who are against freedom and democracy, he said.

Around 144,000 Jews were sent to Terezín (Theresienstadt) by the Nazis during the war. Fewer than 17,300 survived. Around 1,000 people attended Sunday’s commemorative meeting, which was the 64th.

Flooding feared with heavy rains to continue in coming days

Heavy rains are expected to continue in parts of the Czech Republic over the next couple of days. Forecasters said Moravia, Silesia and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands would see high levels of rainfall until Tuesday morning, with the Pardubice and Hradec Kralové regions also likely to experience persistent downpours. Flooding is a significant threat in some areas. A number of rivers were rising fast on Sunday evening, with some having reached the highest level of flood alert and more expected to follow.

Drunk woman attacks nurse giving her medical assistance at pub in early hours

An inebriated woman is alleged to have attacked a nurse who was giving her medical assistance at a pub in the town of Hořovice in central Bohemia in the early hours of Sunday. The nurse suffered bruising after receiving blows to the face. The alleged attacker was admitted under police escort to a hospital in Hořovice, from which she later fled. Doctors said the woman, who is 48, had been experiencing acute alcohol poisoning when a rescue team was called out to give her assistance.

Web polling agency: Most Czechs against bail-out plan for Greece

Most Czechs do not approve of a bail-out plan for Greece, suggests a survey carried out by the internet based polling agency SANEP at the end of last week. Just under 60 percent of respondents said they were not in favour of the EUR 100 billion rescue plan agreed a fortnight ago by eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund. Some 54.2 percent respondents said they did not believe the measures would prevent Greece from eventually going bankrupt. A poll at the end of April indicated that for the first time since 2001 most Czechs were opposed to euro adoption, while the Czech prime minister said recently that the Greek dept crisis had strengthened the country’s anti-euro camp.

Zoo begins repair on Cubist wooden buildings damaged in 2002 floods

Prague Zoo has begun repair work on Cubist wooden buildings designed by the great inter-war architect Josef Gočár. The buildings were damaged by severe flooding which hit the Czech capital in 2002. The repair work is being carried out in a higher part of the zoo complex. Once it has been completed the timber structures will house a restaurant, a museum, a gallery and a lecture hall. Gočár is regarded as one of the founders of modern architecture in Czechoslovakia. His other works include Prague’s House of the Black Madonna and the Church of St. Wenceslas in the city’s Vršovice district.

Close to half million visit Czech pavilion at Shanghai Expo in two weeks

Around 450,000 people have so far visited the Czech Republic’s pavilion at the Expo 2010 fair in China’s Shanghai. One in every five people who have been to the Expo since it opened its doors two weeks ago have entered the Czech pavilion, spokesman Jiří Potužník told the Czech News Agency. Mr Potužník said other countries had expressed envy of the Czech Republic’s high attendance figures.

Czechs beaten 3:2 by Swiss at ice hockey championship

The Czech Republic were beaten 3:2 by Switzerland at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Germany on Saturday evening. The Czechs gave themselves a hill to climb in their first qualification round game in Mannheim, after conceding two goals in a poor first period. Saturday’s result leaves them in fourth place in group F with three points. If they fail to win their next game against Latvia on Monday night, they could be without a chance of progressing to the next stage when they take on Canada less than 24 hours later.

Řepka delirious after goal secures league title for Sparta

Tomáš Řepka has been speaking about his satisfaction after his goal in a 1:0 win over Teplice on Saturday secured Sparta Prague’s 35th Czech(oslovak) soccer league title. The defender’s suspension after a rash foul was judged by some to have cost Sparta the league two years ago, and he said he was delirious about what he described as the closest fought of the four titles he has won with the club. The final day of the season was unusually tense, with Sparta, Baník Ostrava and Jablonec all still in with a chance of finishing first. Sparta’s win meant Baník would have needed to beat Příbram by an extremely large margin to pip Sparta to first. In the end, Baník finished third after a 1:1 draw and Jablonec came second following a 2:0 victory over České Budějovice.

Ancelotti says Čech penalty save key moment of FA Cup final

The manager of Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti, praised goalkeeper Petr Čech after the club’s 1:0 win over in Portsmouth in the final of England’s FA Cup on Saturday. Ancelotti said the Czech’s penalty save with the score at 0:0 early in the second half was the key moment of the game. It was Čech’s third FA Cup winner’s medal and followed Chelsea’s securing of the Premier League title last weekend. The goalkeeper, who turns 28 next week, also received an award for the most clean sheets in the English top flight last season.

Weather

Forecasters say it will rain every day for the next week or so. Temperatures in the coming days should reach a maximum of 16 degrees Celsius.