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Bradáčová named head of State Prosecutor’s Office in Prague

Justice Minister Pavel Blažek has named former Ústí nad Labem state attorney Lenka Bradáčová to head the State Prosecutor’s Office in Prague. In doing so, he complied with an earlier recommendation by the Supreme State Attorney Pavel Zeman. At a press conference on Monday, the justice minister indicated that meetings with Ms Bradáčová, a highly-respected anti-corruption crusader, discussing the future of the office had played a role, as had the fact there were no serious contenders.

Mr Blažek’s predecessor, Jiří Pospíšil, was recalled from his post last month by the prime minister which led to marked speculation in the media he was removed before he could name her himself. Mr Pospíšil was officially sacked for managerial failures, including requests for budget increases at a time when government members had to respect austerity measures.

Politicians welcome justice minister’s choice

In related news, politicians from various political parties welcomed the justice minister’s decision to name Lenka Bradáčová as the new head of the State Prosecutor’s Office in Prague: TOP 09 deputies' club leader Petr Gazdík called the move “a good step” while LIDEM leader Karolína Peake said the newly-named official would stabilise the situation at the State Prosecutor’s Office. Among the opposition, Social Democrat Jiří Dienstbier also welcomed the move, while Communist Party leader Vojtěch Filip called Ms Bradáčová a “suitable” candidate.

More questions surface regarding controversial vehicle registration system

More questions have surfaced regarding the problematic national vehicle registration system. Czech Television claims the system, which has been plagued by problems since its launch on July 9th, was severely overpriced. It was reportedly commissioned without a public tender to the company ATS Telecom for the price of 60 million crowns despite the fact that the company which operated the old register offered its services for a fraction of that price – a mere six million crowns. The Transport Ministry said it had commissioned the job without a public tender in order to save time. Deputy Prime Minister Karolína Peake told the CTK news agency on Monday she would ask Transport Minister Pavel Dobeš, a member of her own emerging party LIDEM, for an explanation. She said it would be a good idea to have independent auditors look into the manner in which the register was commissioned, its price and efficiency.

Hašek calls for transport minister to go

In related news, there is little doubt in the mind of regional governor Michal Hašek, of the opposition Social Democrats, that the transport minister should step down. On Monday, Mr Hašek echoed earlier words by his party leader that Pavel Dobeš should go, citing additional complications with the system in parts of the country on Monday. The vehicle registration system, for example, suffered problems in Ostrava and Pardubice, even though the transport minister has guaranteed it would be fully up-and-running. In Ostrava, there was a lapse in the internet connection while in Pardubice there was a problem with the historic vehicles section. Mr Dobeš faced an ultimatum to step down by Friday last week, if the system wasn’t operational. Technicians said that Monday’s problems were not systemic.

Crews respond at illegal dump

Police and fire fighters responded to a used oil leak in in the area of Dubeč in Prague affecting a local field. According to fire service spokeswoman Pavlina Adamcová, uncovered at an illegal dump were five 1,000-litre barrels filled with oil, left on a concrete surfacel; three of the barrels were damaged leading to the spill. Contaminated earth in the area will have to be removed by specialists, the spokeswoman confirmed. Environment representatives for the city will reportedly also view the area.

Olympic rubber boots jump in sales

Blue wellington boots that the Czech Olympic team wore to great success in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London are reportedly selling well at the Czech House in London, not only among Czech visitors but Londoners and tourists. The Czech collection - blue and white suits topped off with wellington boots and parasols (a humorous reference to English weather) was one of the hits of the opening evening, trending high on Twitter and gaining international attention. Václav Hrbek, the head of Alpine Pro, official partner of the Czech Olympic team which invested heavily in the collection, told news website idnes that sales of the blue rubber boots had also gone up at home. He said that expected profits would be mild but indicated the project was crucial in terms of marketing.

Police search for burnt metal thief

Police are searching for a metal thief who tried to cut an electronic cable along a railway route near Most. The perpetrator dug up the cable providing electricity for the route’s safety system in five places and attempted to chop through it with an axe. In doing so, he received a jolt of around 6,000 volts, specialists said. The thief must have suffered at least minimal burns to his arms and upper body, they added, saying the accident could have ended badly indeed. The jolt partly melted and burned the axe, which was found at the scene. If caught (and found guilty in the case) the perpetrator could face up to six years in prison.

Football: Mladá Boleslav lose in opener

Football club Mladá Boleslav – after winning two in a row in second round action in the Europa League, lost its opening match of the new season in the Czech league, 1:0 against Teplice. In other action, Viktoria Plzeň defeated Hradec Kralové 3:0. Defending champions Liberec also began with a strong win: 4:0 over Příbram. The first round wraps-up later on Monday with Slavia facing Jihlava.

Olympic tennis: Kvitová advances to third round

Czech tennis player Petra Kvitová has made it to the third round at the Olympic Games. On Monday, she rebounded in her match against China’s to Shuai Peng after losing the second set. The final score was 7:5, 2:6, 6:1.

In other action, Petra Cetkovská had to forfeit her match due to injury, while Lucie Šafářová lost. Kvitová is the only Czech player left in the singles tournament.

Czech kayaker Hilgertová through to semi-final

Czech kayaker Štěpánka Hilgertová, in her sixth Olympic Games, qualified for the semi-final in her discipline on Monday. In the canoe double (C2), Jaroslav Volf and Ondřej Štěpánek, as well as Vavřinec Hradílek and Stanislav Ježek also advanced.

Weather

Mostly clear skies are expected at the beginning of the new week with a chance of showers in places; daytime temperatures are expected to reach highs between 20 – 24 degrees Celsius.