New smuggling gangs have formed in Czechia, police say

New international gangs focusing on illegal migration were formed in the Czech Republic last year. Czechs often worked as drivers or securing vehicles, the police’s Organized Crime Squad (NCOZ) said in its annual report for 2021. Other gang members came from Ukraine, Syria and Vietnam. The Czech Republic is a transit country for refugees from the third world, who mainly go to Germany. The most frequently detained illegal migrants in the Czech Republic are Afghan, Syrian and Moroccan nationals. Interest in transporting people from Vietnam has also increased, according to the NCOZ.

The Prague opposition unsuccessfully proposed the dismissal of Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates). Representative Patrik Nacher (ANO) justified his proposal by saying that Hřib was running the municipality together with his deputy Petr Hlubuček (formerly STAN), now accused in a corruption case. Seventeen of the 65 members of the Municipal Assembly voted for impeachment. Efforts to remove Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr have also failed. The Assembly then approved that the city will carry out in-depth audits of IT contracts awarded since 2010 to companies owned by entrepreneurs Pavel Dovhomilja and Maroš Jančovič, also accused in the corruption case.

The more contagious BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the Omicron coronavirus accounted for 75% of samples testing positive in Czechia last week, while a week ago it was only half, the National Institute of Public Health ( SZU) said. The number of coronavirus cases has started to rise again in the Czech Republic. Last week there were still 3,740, half as many as the previous week. The number of hospitalized COVIDs has also increased. Discriminatory tests attributed the growth to the L452R mutation, which occurs in the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. Find out more in our Covid update.

The energy company ČEZ has concluded contracts with the American company Westinghouse and the French company Framatome for the supply of fuel assemblies for the Temelín nuclear power plant. The two suppliers were selected during a call for tenders in April this year. Fuel deliveries for more than 10 years will begin in 2024. The value of the contract is in the order of billions of crowns. ČEZ Group spokesman Ladislav Kříž said. Fuel from TVEL, which is owned by Russian state holding company Rosatom, is now being used. ČEZ said this is an important step towards strengthening the energy security of the Czech Republic.

Czech opposition leader ANO and former prime minister Andrej Babiš plans to announce his decision on his possible presidential candidacy “probably on November 4”, he told reporters during his visit to the Karlovy Vary region. today. He denies that he is currently running a presidential campaign. He travels the regions to meet voters as president of the ANO movement before the senatorial and local elections in the fall, he said. Senate President Miloš Vystrčil announced yesterday that the first round will be held on January 13-14, 2023 and the possible second round on January 27-28.

Police have charged two people with cryptocurrency fraud causing damage worth hundreds of millions of crowns. The case concerns a group of companies involved in the Platon Life digital payment project, Czech Police Organized Crime Squad (NCOZ) spokesman Jaroslav Ibehej said in a press release. Both suspects are in custody and face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Platon Life released a statement on June 10 denying any wrongdoing. He called the media speculation an apparent effort to damage the company’s good name.

President Miloś Zeman and Prime Minister Petr Fiala consider it important to complement Finland’s and Sweden’s efforts to join NATO, they agreed during their evening meeting at the presidential mansion in Lány , Fiala told reporters afterwards. Fiala is of the opinion that if Sweden and Finland join NATO, it will strengthen security in Europe. Zeman and Fiala also discussed the outcome of the European Council discussions. Zeman expressed his full support for the EU leaders’ decision, which came out of the EU Council meeting, to grant EU candidate country status to Ukraine, Fiala added.

The Czech Republic will send 25 million Czech crowns through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to refugees who have lost their homes in Ukraine, an interior ministry spokesman said. Due to the war, some 7.7 million people have been driven from their homes. Another eight million Ukrainians are in a critical humanitarian situation caused by destroyed infrastructure, due to the suspension of water, electricity and fuel supplies as well as the inaccessibility of health care.

A tractor pulling a platform with a cistern caught fire on Monday afternoon on the Prague ring road before the descent to Běchovice. The accident blocked traffic, with police and firefighters from Prague responding to the scene. According to the photos posted by the rescue services, it is a Soviet tank T-54 or T-55. It belongs to a private collector, Echo24.cz reported.

Households’ assessment of the economic situation has deteriorated sharply over the past year, marking the biggest drop in people’s perception since the establishment of the independent Czech Republic in 1993. Czechs now perceive the situation similar to the previous crisis a decade ago, according to a STEM survey conducted for KPMG. Around 83% of those polled consider the country’s economic situation to be bad, compared to 68% a year ago. A total of 85% of respondents view future developments with concern and uncertainty. Half refer to a deterioration in their financial situation and report having difficulty earning an income.

The crimes of communism must not be forgotten and we must not turn a blind eye to the impacts of the current Russian aggression in Ukraine, members of cabinet, parliament, Prague and the church said at a meeting in memory of Milada Horáková and other communist victims of the regime at the Memorial of Victims of Totalitarianism in Újezd.

Horáková, a lawyer and Democratic politician, was accused by the Communists of treason and executed at the age of 49 on June 27, 1950, after a show trial, along with three others: Jan Buchal, Dr. Oldřich Pecl and Zaviš Kalandra .

Tropical temperatures will continue throughout the Czech Republic. In the lower parts of the country they will exceed 31 degrees, in central and northwestern Bohemia they can reach up to 34 degrees. Strong thunderstorms are also likely to occur Wednesday night and later in the day.

Due to the high temperatures, meteorologists advise avoiding alcohol and unsweetened carbonated drinks as well as reducing physical activity in the afternoon. Meteorologists also warn against leaving children and pets in direct sunlight, especially in closed cars.