Police charge suspected Prague bank robber

Police on Thursday charged a 51-year-old man with robbery. The charge follows a dramatic four-hour armed hold up at a bank in a Prague suburb on Wednesday during which a masked man held two women bank staff hostage. Police said further charges of kidnapping and blackmail were possible. The man demanded a ransom of three million crowns, or roughly 160,000 dollars. A special police unit eventually freed the one remaining woman hostage and seized the man after creating a diversionary explosion. Bank hold ups combined with hostage taking are relatively rare in the country.

Civic Democrats take control of Prague city council

The right-wing Civic Democrat party took full control of the running of Prague city council on Thursday. The move follows the resignation of the remaining Green Party member on the council, Petr Štěpánek. Civic Democrats, who have a majority on the 70-seat assembly decided last week to end their coalition with the Greens. The only other Green on the council stepped down last week in protest that her proposals for a more vigorous fight against corruption and investigation into the city’s controversial introduction of a new electronic payment card were blocked.

Author: Chris Johnstone