Morning headlines: Czech Post to close this weekend, Prague airport to collapse due to software glitch

Petr Hlubuček (STAN), who is among 11 defendants in the case of the financial management of the Prague Transport Company (DPP), has decided to resign from his post as deputy mayor and city councilor of Prague, said last night the spokeswoman for the STAN section in Prague, Šárka Kuželová. He also resigned as a member of the supervisory board of Prague Services and of the supervisory board of DPP. Hlubuček’s lawyer called on the public to respect his client’s presumption of innocence. On Wednesday, the Organized Crime Squad of the Police (NCOZ) charged 11 people for the suspicious financial management of the Prague Public Transport Company (DPP).

The traffic control system at Václav Havel airport in Prague collapsed in the afternoon due to a software problem, according to the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic (ŘLP ČR), the company of State responsible for managing air traffic. It was repaired overnight and operations are expected to resume as normal. The new generation of the Top Sky system, which caused the disruption, has been used by Czech flight dispatchers since this year. The system from the French supplier Thales is also used in Austria, Sweden and Denmark, among other places.

Czech Post branches that are normally open will be closed on weekends due to operational maintenance of data centers. Partner services will not issue or accept shipments. The closure begins Friday, June 17 at 7 p.m. and will last until Monday, June 20 at 7 a.m., according to a notice posted on the website of the Czech Post (Česká pošta). Websites and applications operated by Czech Post, such as shipment tracking, will also not be available during downtime. People will also not be able to view the Postal Museum website. The state-owned company operates around 3,200 branches.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is in Prague to meet Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and other Czech leaders to discuss the upcoming Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which begins on July 1. She will also meet students from Charles University. Metsola, from Malta, has been president of the EP since January and is the first female president since 2002.

A 31-year-old man has been accused of murdering four people – his 32-year-old wife and their three children, all under the age of five – at a family home in Louka near Vsetin, in the Zlín region, in april. Police say the man cut himself with a knife afterwards and then caused an explosion in their home on April 24. The man faces 15 to 20 years in prison or even an exceptional sentence, 20 to 30 years or even life imprisonment in the Czech Republic, if convicted. Police have only been able to question the man in recent days due to his serious injuries from the explosion and subsequent fire.

The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech parliament, called on the government to continue supporting Ukraine and pushing for EU membership. He also condemned Russian policy towards Ukraine in a resolution adopted today after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s online speech.

Russia is trying to destroy Ukraine’s cohesion and statehood, say MEPs in a resolution. Only MPs from the anti-EU opposition party Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), which opposes further arms deliveries to Ukraine, voted against the draft resolution.

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib has called for the resignation of his deputy, Petr Hlubuček, who is believed to be among those charged in connection with the management of the Prague Transport Company (DPP). Hřib said he was still trying unsuccessfully to contact Hlubuček and that the coalition would propose his impeachment at Thursday’s meeting of deputies. Police officers from the National Headquarters against Organized Crime (NCOZ) intervened on Wednesday in Hlubuček’s office at the town hall and in the building of the DPP, and charges are brought against 11 people, according to the Prague prosecutor’s office.

Hřib also wrote on Twitter that he believes this development will inspire their coalition partners to support anti-corruption measures in businesses in the city. “The pirates did not even vote for the nomination of a member of the current management of the transport company. They were not selected in public competitions,” he said.

The government party TOP 09 has raised the issue of the privatization of some public enterprises, including the Budějovický Budvar brewery. In its resolution, the party called for the sale of state assets that are not essential to the performance of its main functions. The possible privatization of the České Budějovice brewery has already been discussed and the president of the TOP 09 party, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, has come out in favor of its sale even before the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. One MP opposed the proposal, saying “Selling Budvar is like the Saudis selling oil fields.”

Czech television signal operators and distributors must not broadcast programs from Rossiya RTR/RTR Planeta, Rossiya 24/Russia 24 and TV Center International as part of the fight against disinformation, the Czech Telecommunications Office has said ( ČTU) on its website, referring to an updated EU ordinance. The order is valid for operators in all EU countries.

So far, Russia Today and Sputnik have been banned in Czechia. Czech operators mostly turned off Russian TV channels in late February and early March. The Internet association CZ.NIC blocked eight pro-Russian disinformation sites for three months.

In much of the Czech Republic, thunderstorms will occur on Thursday, accompanied by strong winds or hail. On Thursday afternoon, storms will hit the southeastern half of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, accompanied by strong gusts of wind around 70 kilometers per hour, hail and, to a lesser extent, torrential rains. The thunderstorms should end in the evening.