Czech snowboarding star to miss Beijing Winter Olympics

Czech snowboarder Eva Samková, who won gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics, will not compete at the Beijing Games in 2022 due to serious injuries sustained in a recent accident. Samková broke both ankles in an accident during the World Cup teams competition in Austria on December 11. Despite immediate surgery by specialists in Austria and intensive rehabilitation attempts, she did not recover quickly enough to compete in the Olympics. Samková said the decision not to compete in Beijing was difficult, but she will now focus on her full recovery.

The Czech Defense and Foreign Ministries are discussing sending aid to Ukraine to support the country’s resistance to Russian aggression. Prime Minister Petr Fiala briefed journalists on today’s talks, saying the Czech Republic does not turn a blind eye to the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border. Fiala mentioned the diplomatic rift between Russia and the Czech Republic that opened up last year, warning that current Russian attitudes do little to defuse tensions. “At the moment, relations between the Czech Republic and Russia are not the best, and the Russian strategy certainly does not contribute to easing tensions and improving the security situation,” he said. declared.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has today ruled in favor of Norway in the case of a Czech mother, Eva Michálaková, who is seeking custody of her sons from the Norwegian social service Barnevernet withdrew more than ten years ago. According to the ECHR, Norway did not violate the respective article of the European Convention on Human Rights by removing the children from the Michálak couple. Article 8 of the Convention provides that “everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life” and that “there shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except in accordance with the law”. The family’s defense attorney, Dora Boková, said new facts have emerged on which the family will base their appeal.

Forty cars were involved in a pile-up on the D5 highway near Žebrák in the Beroun region of central Bohemia. The accident happened in the direction of Prague. At least five people were injured, ambulance services attended the scene. Three of the injured were taken to hospital for surgery, while two others have moderate injuries and will be flown to Prague for treatment. The D5 in the direction of Prague is impassable at the scene of the incident, the damaged vehicles occupying approximately 150 meters of road.

Inflation in the euro zone reached a record 5% in December. In the EU as a whole, inflation reached 5.3%. The latest inflation figures for the bloc were released today by the EU’s official statistical office, Eurostat. The bloc’s inflation level is still lower than that of the Czech Republic; according to Eurostat, Czech inflation is currently at 5.4%. Energy was once again the main contributor to the rise in prices, although services also became more expensive across the bloc.

The new Czech government wants to help Ukraine amid escalating border tensions with Russia, Defense Minister Jana Černochová said in an interview with Hospodářské noviny. Černochová said the Czech Republic was ready to send or sell military equipment to Kyiv, but this would have to be coordinated with allies, including the Visegrád countries, Germany, Austria and the Baltic states.

Černochová said that the Czech Republic is “historically, politically and in terms of alliances on the side of Ukraine. If Ukraine needs help, we will do our best. The minister is currently negotiating with the head of the Czech army Aleš Opata on the possible needs of Ukraine.

A 700 meter long chain of candles was created yesterday in Zlín in memory of Jan Palach. Palach set himself on fire in the center of Prague on January 16, 1969, to protest the lack of Czechoslovak resistance to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring reforms.

To mark the 53rd anniversary of Palach’s death, Zlín saw the creation of a huge chain of candles. The concept was created by artist Petr Dosoudil six years ago as a one-off event, but it has now become a tradition.

The German Transport Ministry has criticized a stunt by Czech millionaire Radim Passer on the country’s public highways. Passer took his Bugatti Chiron supercar to a speed of 414 km/h (257 mph) on a 10 kilometer stretch of the A2 motorway. Passer is the 33rd richest person in the Czech Republic, with a value of 6.6 billion Czech crowns.

Passer said the stunt was filmed last year on a three-lane straight section and “visibility the entire stretch.” He insists safety was a priority and the stunt was only performed because the conditions were right. But the video shows Passer’s car overtaking several other vehicles, and the German Transport Ministry said that although autobahns often have no formal speed limit, it “rejects any behavior that could endanger road users. the road”.

Jan Farský, a STAN politician who caused an uproar when he offered to leave the Czech Republic to study for six months in the United States immediately after being elected to the national parliament, gave up his seat as a deputy. The STAN party board asked him to resign from parliament last night.

Farský said he did not want to complicate the functioning of the government and the party. The party leadership said they had underestimated the outcry over Farský’s double pledges. The MP wanted to accept a six-month Fulbright Commission scholarship focused on a plan to federalize the European Union similar to 250 years of American federalism.

The new Czech cabinet said it would adhere to the traditions of the Charter 77 movement for human rights and democracy in the Czech Republic. The announcement came on the 45th anniversary of the publication of the Charter 77 declaration by communist-era dissidents, including Václav Havel.

Charter 77 was the first and longest running opposition civic initiative in the Soviet bloc at the time. It has become an example for other opposition initiatives in other countries. The statement called for respect for human rights as promised by communist Czechoslovakia in the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The Fiala government said it “appreciates all victims of Charter 77-related repressions and other independent initiatives of the time, and all those who assisted in their activities.”