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Three-time Olympic speedskating champion and time trial cyclist Martina Sáblíková may be out of the upcoming Rio Games. On Thursday the UCI published a comprehensive list of all countries which had qualified for the event; but Sáblíková, her coach and others were shocked to learn the Czech Republic was not among them.

Teachers have for years been the lowest paid professional people in the Czech Republic. Hoping to rectify that situation at least somewhat, they are now demanding a salary increase of at least 10 percent from next year. The finance minister is being circumspect about how much more they can expect but does say he regards teachers’ pay as a “priority”.

Every year the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Association of Czech Libraries awards the title Knight of the Order of the Beautiful Word to over a dozen children who have discovered the joy of reading and to selected actors and writers who have helped to bring the magic of the spoken or written word to the youngest generation. This year, for the first time ever, one of those admitted to the select club is a member of the Czech expat community abroad – nine-year-old Jerry Mech from Chicago.

Evidence has emerged that Prima TV ordered its journalists to report negatively on refugees. In a recording of an editorial meeting last year, the channel’s head of news is heard telling reporters to present asylum seekers as a threat or consider finding new jobs. The audio file was made public on Tuesday by independent news website HlídacíPes.org and has sparked a debate about journalistic ethics. I asked Hlídací Pes’s founder Robert Břešťan how he had reacted on first hearing the recording.

Czech mountaineer Radek Jaroš has taken another step in conquering the highest mountains of each of the seven continents, the so-called Crown of the World. On Wednesday morning, the Czech climber, along with his colleague Petr Mašek, scaled Denali in Alaska. His success, however, was marred by the death of his colleague Pavel Michut, who died on Sunday while attempting to ski down the famed Alaskan peak.

Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček has won the Queen Elisabeth Competition for young musicians, which is considered the world’s most demanding piano contest. The 29-year-old Czech impressed the jury with his performance of Sergei Rachmaninov in Brussels last week. He will receive the award, including a cheque for 25,000 euros, at a gala ceremony on Tuesday attended by Belgium’s Queen Mathilde.

Councillors at Prague City Hall unanimously agreed to ban the use of Segway vehicles in the city’s historic centre. The move comes after dozens of complaints and accidents, including one on Monday afternoon in which a user suffered a concussion in a collision with a tram.

On May 31st 1945, in the aftermath of WW II, some twenty thousand German-speaking inhabitants of Brno were driven from their homes and forced to walk the 50 km distance to the Austrian border. Close to 2,000 of them died of exhaustion on the way. On Saturday some 250 people took part in the 10th annual Reconciliation March held in memory of those who suffered and died in the wildcat expulsions of German-speaking inhabitants from the border areas of post-war Czechoslovakia. Jaroslav Odstrčilík, the organizer of the event, explains the significance

Surveys have repeatedly shown that a majority in the Czech Republic would favour of a ban on smoking in the country’s pubs and restaurants. Polling agency Ipsos, together with the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University, has long mapped how people feel on the matter. Proposed anti-smoking legislation was killed in the lower house this week, causing a rift in the coalition and leaving the Czech Republic still isolated in Europe when it comes to regulating smoking.

The annual Days of Jerusalem in Prague festival is currently under way in the Czech capital. Established four years ago with the support of Prague and Jerusalem city councils, it offers a selection of dance, music, visual and culinary arts from the various communities in Jerusalem. Last year, the festival sparked criticism when a group of world renowned public figures claimed that it helped legitimise Israel’s political strategy.