The Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute that it does not expect any more significant rises in river levels in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, an order for local authorities to keep in place flood defences erected last week has been rescinded. However, the highest level of flood alert remains in place at a few locations in Bohemia. Eleven deaths have been recorded in connection with flooding that began at the start of last week; material damages have been put at tens of billions of crowns.
The state-owned power utility CEZ is to waive three monthly bills for households hit by over half a metre of flooding, its director, Daniel Beneš, said on Tuesday. Homes where flood waters were less than half a metre will not be charged for one month’s power, he said. The prime minister, Petr Nečas, described the gesture as a sign of social responsibility and called on other power suppliers to make a similar gesture.
The minister of health, Leoš Heger, says his officials will carry out free tests of water in wells in areas that have been affected by flooding. Mr. Heger told Czech Radio that the Ministry of Health was earmarking millions of crowns for analyses of water quality. People have been told to pump out all remaining water and remove mud before having their wells tested. Almost 3,000 wells were inundated during the recent flooding.
President Miloš Zeman named 58 new professors at a ceremony at Prague’s Carolinum on Tuesday. However, seven academics due to receive the title did not attend. The issue of the president’s right to name professors hit the news last month when he said he would not confer the title on Martin C. Putna, a move which caused outrage in the academic community. Mr. Zeman said the literary historian had acted inappropriately by carrying a provocative banner in a gay pride parade. Mr. Putna is to receive his title from the minister of education later this month. The president says the right to appoint professors should be removed from the head of state, in line with practice in other countries.
The prime minister, Petr Nečas, has announced that he is getting divorced from his wife Radka. In a statement, he said that he and his wife had applied to a court to have their marriage dissolved. Mr. Nečas revealed in January that he and his wife, with whom he has four children, were no longer living together.
The TOP 09 minister of culture, Alena Hanáková, is to be replaced by Jiří Hlaváč, a former deacon of the Faculty of Music and Dance at Prague’s Academy of Performing Arts, the new website iDnes.cz reported on Tuesday, referring to a government source. There has been speculation for some time about the future of the minister, who has been criticised by some in the arts world.
The minister of justice, Pavel Blažek, has described some criminal proceedings carried out by the police’s anti-corruption unit as “theatrical”. In a letter to the head of the force, Martin Červíček, quoted by the Czech News Agency, the minister also criticised what he called the “personal media promotion” of senior police officials. The letter was sent in April during a dispute between the Prague supreme state attorney, Lenka Bradáčová, and the then head of the anti-corruption unit, Tomáš Martinec; she had requested that Colonel Červíček evaluate the work of the unit. The police president has refused to comment on the letter.
The creator of the country’s annual film industry awards ceremony, Petr Vachler, says he will not hand the rights to the Czech Lions to the Czech Film and Television Academy. Mr. Vachler said the CZK 10 million that the Academy had offered to pay him for the rights over a period of a decade was insufficient. He said he was not fixated on retaining control of the brand and was chiefly concerned with the Czech Lions continuing, adding that he hoped to reach a compromise on the matter.
The renowned Czech poet, novelist and literary historian Zdeněk Rotrekl died on Sunday at the age of 92, a representative of his publishers said. Rotrekl, whose work was strongly influenced by his Roman Catholic faith, spent 13 years in prison during the Communist regime and was banned from publishing for four decades. The Brno writer was the recipient of several important honours, including the Order of T.G. Masaryk.
Author Marie Kubátová has died at the age of 90. The writer, famous for the Krkonošské Fairytales animated children’s series, passed away last week, the news website iDnes.cz reported. Born in Prague, Kubátová – who was a pharmacist by profession – collected stories from the Krkonošské Mountains with her mother, who was also a writer.
It should be fair in the next few days with temperatures of up to 24 degrees Celsius.
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