Daily news summary

Foreign Ministry condemns cyber-attacks by foreign powers

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the cyber-attacks against state and non-state institutions by foreign state powers.

Cyber security is key to the functioning of a sovereign state and its institutions, the ministry said on its website, stressing that no effort should be spared in fighting the growing hybrid threat.

It said it was cooperating with allied states within the EU and NATO to further common security.

According to the National Office for Cyber and Information Security (NÚKIB), a foreign state power was behind the June cyber-attack on the Czech Foreign Ministry.

It was not the first incident of its kind. Last December, the Czech counter-intelligence service, BIS, said in its annual report that Russia’s intelligence services were behind cyber-attacks targeting the Foreign Ministry in 2017.

Czech Army decorates soldiers serving in foreign missions

Twenty-eight Czech soldiers who served in foreign missions in Kosovo, Italy and Afghanistan received medals of merit from the army’s deputy chief-of-staff, Lieutenant General Jaromír Zůna on Friday.

Zůna thanked them for their dedicated service and for helping to fulfil the country’s commitments in NATO and the European Union. The Czech participation in foreign missions is appreciated and highly valued, Lieutenant General Zůna said.

The Czech Army has had soldiers stationed in Kosovo since 1999. Until 2011 it had a contingent of 500 soldiers there. Three of the decorated soldiers served in the naval Operation Sophia and 14 of them were deployed in Afghanistan.

Czech embassy in Libya to close down

The Czech Republic will close down its embassy in Libya as of September 1, the Czech Foreign Ministry says in a report which is to be debated by the government.

Due to the security situation in Libya, the embassy has been operating from Tunis since April of 2015.

Given that the Foreign Ministry sees no immediate prospect of improvement, the embassy will be closed down.

Its agenda will be taken over by the Czech embassy in Tunisia, which is to be reinforced to meet those obligations.

Transport Ministry to push ahead with road construction projects

The state will spend 87 billion crowns on road construction projects next year, five billion crowns more than originally planned, Transport Minister Vladimír Kremlík said at a press briefing in Prague on Friday.

He said he would not request further money from the state budget, but would seek other sources and economize elsewhere.

The ministry wants to start construction of the remaining sections of the motorway network within the next five years. 191 kilometres of new motorways are currently under construction.

Finance Minister Alena Schillerová has agreed to increase the budget of the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure by five billion crowns.

The fund will thus manage 70 billion crowns from the state budget, and another 17 billion from European funds.

Hip Hop Kemp festival organizers claim police repressions are to blame for sliding attendance

The organizers of the Hip Hop Kemp festival, which starts in Hradec Kralove on Friday, claim that police repressions are bringing down the number of visitors every year.

The festival had around 25,000 visitors in 2015 and attendance has been sliding with every passing year. The organizers say they expect another significant drop to around 11,00 visitors this year.

They claim that excessive police controls directed at drug abuse are putting people off from coming to what was once a highly popular event.

The police have rejected the accusation, saying they are merely doing their duty as at any other festival in the country.

Climber Adam Ondra wins gold at Climbing World Championships in Japan

The Czech Republic's Adam Ondra has won the men's Lead gold at the Climbing World Championships in Hachioji, Japan. He beat Germanys Alexander Megos and 2018 champion Jakob Schubert who finished third.

It is the twenty-six-year-old‘s seventh world medal in bouldering and his third world championship title.

“It was absolutely incredible. I was exhausted, but I pushed ahead and gave it my all” he told journalists after the final.

Weather forecast

Saturday should be partly cloudy to overcast with day temperatures between 23 and 27 degrees Celsius.