News: Thursday, July 2nd, 2020

Investigators of PM’s Stork‘s Nest case ask to extend investigation by two months

Prague criminal investigators, who are currently looking into the Stork’s Nest fraud case connected to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš have asked their investigation be extended by two months. The police team was supposed to be finished by the end of June, but now says it needs more time to secure evidence.

Storks Nest is a recreation and hotel complex in Central Bohemia, which asked for CZK 50 million in EU funds to help in its construction. The official owner of the complex was a small company. However, investigators suspect the entity was indirectly connected to the prime minister’s multibillion Agrofert conglomerate and therefore should not have been eligible to the EU grant.

The case was closed for lack of evidence by the main prosecutor last year, but subsequently restarted upon review by Supreme Public Prosecutor Pavel Zeman and the Czech prime minister therefore remains under criminal prosecution.

Court rules Czech state to apologize in Peroutka case

The Ministry of Finance will have to apologize for Czech President Miloš Zeman’s false accusation that the acclaimed Czech writer Ferdinand Peroutka admired Hitler.

The Prague Municipal Court on Thursday ruled in favour of an appeal filed by the writer’s granddaughter Terezie Kaslová against an earlier verdict issued by the Prague 1 District Court.

The case involving the Czech head of state dates back to 2016, when he claimed that Peroutka had penned an article entitled ‘Hitler is a gentleman’.

To this day, neither Prague Castle staff nor historians have managed to find the alleged piece.

Wednesday sees lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in over a week

Wednesday saw 92 new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the Czech Republic. It is a lower number than over the past week, when nearly every day the amount exceeded three digits. The town of Karviná in the Moravian-Silesian Region remains the area of highest risk with 270 cases per 100,000 people. Nearby Frýdek-Místek is the second largest hotspot with an average of 34 cases per 100,000 people.

According to the latest official data, 12,046 people in the Czech Republic have been infected with COVID-19 of which 349 died. Currently, there are 3,900 individuals battling the disease, while 7,797 have recovered.

Study: Czechia Europe’s best manufacturing destination

The Czech Republic is the best destination in Europe for manufacturers seeking to scale up their production, according to a study carried out by the agency Cushman & Wakefield.

Globally, the Czech Republic came fourth behind China, the United States, and India, up from fifth place last year.

Among the major contributing factors are the country’s strategic position in the centre of Europe with good transport infrastructure, advanced local businesses, an economic and political environment with a low rate of risk and also moderate labour, energy and development costs, the study suggests.

In terms of the risk rating, the Czech Republic came seventh this year, with Germany being the only European country to outperform it.

Top Football League matches postponed after players test positive for Covid-19

Several matches in the Czech Republic’s top football league have had to be postponed after three players from Karviná tested positive for Covid-19, the website SeznamZprávy.cz reported on Thursday.

According to Dušan Svoboda, the head of the country’s League Football Association, it is not yet clear whether the whole team will have to go into quarantine.

In such a case, the whole Czech top football league might not be completed. So far, the three matches, which were due to take place this weekend, have been postponed until Wednesday.

Smetana’s Litomyšl music festival gets underway

The 62nd annual Smetana’s Litomyšl music festival, focusing on opera and instrumental music, gets underway in the east Bohemian town on Thursday evening.

The opening concert will present a selection of Bedřich Smetana’s work, from the symphonic poem Moldau to duets and arias from his most famous operas.

The main festival centre is the Renaissance chateau in Litomyšl, which is the birthplace of Bedřich Smetana.

Among the musicians to perform at this year’s event, which runs until July 12, is Czech pianist Ivo Kahánek and horn player and conductor Radek Baborák.

Klementinum records first tropical night of 2020

Temperatures in some parts of the Czech Republic didn’t drop below 20 degrees Celsius during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, making it the country’s first tropical night this year.

The Klementinum in Prague, which is the oldest measuring station in the Czech Republic, recorded 20.7 degrees Celsius.

In most parts of the country, night temperatures ranged between 15 to 19 degrees Celsius.

Weather

Friday is expected to be cloudy with scattered rain showers and storms. Daytime temperatures will range between 21 and 25 degrees Celsius.