Police officers around the country are signing a petition in support of police president Petr Lessy, following his confrontation with Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek on Friday. The police president told members of the security and defense committee in Parliament he had been lobbied and even threatened by the finance minister over the investigation into the purchase of CASA planes for the Czech army. The finance minister has strongly rejected the allegations, insisting that the calls were related to the purchase of a new fleet of cars for the police, and has demanded that unless the police president can produce convincing evidence he should resign from office. Lessy says he’s ready to take a lie detector test to prove his case.
The head of the anti-corruption police Tomáš Martinec said the police would press ahead with the investigation of corruption in state administration despite the volley of criticism directed against them over the CASA planes investigation. In a debate on Czech Television, Mr. Martinec said the police had sufficient grounds for its request to prosecute former defense minister Vlasta Parkanova and that the request was not based solely on an assessment by the firm American Appraisal which concluded that the CASA planes had been severely overpriced. He pointed out that the police had worked on the case for two years under the supervision of the supreme state attorney. The former defense minister is to be charged within a matter of days.
The labour and social affairs ministry wants to train hundreds of care-givers. The ministry which needs to address the problem of an aging population and a lack of social workers, says it wants to train hundreds of people –mainly women between 45 and 55 years of age – who are already working as care givers for close family and elderly relatives. These people would receive special training and could join the ranks of professional care givers once they are ready to go back to work, a ministry spokeswoman told the ctk news agency.
The month-old baby girl who was kidnapped and abducted to Germany returned home safely at around midnight on Saturday. Several dozen family and friends turned out to greet her and over a dozen journalists and TV crews were in attendance. Baby Michaela was forcibly taken from her mother in the street when she was just 18 days old and the case evoked widespread public sympathy. The child was found by German police a week after her abduction thanks to cameras which registered the number of the kidnappers’ rented vehicle. Four people were detained in connection with the case, two remain in custody. The motive of the crime has not been revealed but the head of the local police force has moved to allay fears that the incident might be repeated.
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids reopened its doors to visitors on Saturday, four years and one month after the devastating floods of 2008. The expanded museum was showcased during a two-day celebration over the weekend that included a parade, a video-projection light show, performances by children’s song and dance ensembles and a marionette theatre performance. The museum’s biggest pride is a newly opened exhibition of 230 paintings, sculptures and other works by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha .The restoration of the museum and library was made possible through local, national and international assistance. More than 25 million dollars was raised during a capital campaign for flood recovery, to which the Czech Republic donated 10 million crowns.
A liquid manure leak has contaminated a stream and pond near Lišná, in the Rokycany region, presenting an imminent danger to fish and water species in the vicinity. Firemen have been pumping contaminated water from the stream for several hours in order to minimize the damage. It is not yet clear who is responsible for the damage.
The music festival Colours of Ostrava broke all previous attendance records on Saturday night getting 31.500 visitors. The highlight of the third of the festival was a concert by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette. Visitors also crowded to hear the French chanson singer ZAZ and Czech singer Lenka Dusilova. The festival winds up on Sunday with a concert by Janelle Monaes.
The coming days are expected to be overcast and rainy with day temperatures between 17 and 21 degrees Celsius.
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