Czech morning news in brief: Top headlines for Aug. 5, 2021

Czechs win bronze in men’s kayak at Olympics

Czech Republic's crewmates Josef Dostál and Radek Šlouf won the bronze medal in the men's kayak double 1000 meter race. This was the ninth medal for Czechs at the Tokyo Olympics. The Australian team won and Germany Germany took silver. Dostál has made up for the disappointment of the individual race, in which he finished fifth. This is his fourth Olympic medal. In London 2012, he won bronze in a four-kayak, which he defended four years later in Rio de Janeiro. In Brazil, he also finished for silver on a single kayak. Two years younger, Šlouf made his way to the podium at his Olympic debut.  

German media: Train collision highlights Czech rail trouble

Yesterday's fatal collision of an express train going from Munich and a regional passenger train going in the opposite direction near the village of Milavče in West Bohemia, has indicated the problem of the outdated railway signaling in the Czech Republic, German media have stated. Three people died on the spot in the accident, and dozens of others suffered very serious and serious injuries. Lukas Ifflander, from the German Pro Bahn passengers' association, told Bavarian broadcaster BR24 that many Czech rail tracks have been maintained only minimally and have operated in a very simplified regime.

He added that many of the current Czech tracks would have been closed down in the 1980s at the latest, if located in Germany. Many Czech tracks are still unequipped with automatic train protection devices, Ifflander said. It was the lacking protection system that enabled the express train driver to go through a stop sign, Ifflander said, recommending that a modern safety system be installed on rail tracks across the Czech Republic.

Czech Republic sending helicopter to help tackle fire in Albania

The Czech Republic has offered help to Albania, currently facing extensive forest fires, is sending a helicopter with a fire crew to the afflicted region, the Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter. A joint unit of Czech firefighters and police departed for the Balkans on Thursday at 6 am and is expected to operate in Albania for seven days. According to Albanian media, a fire has been raging at south Albania's thinly populated Karaburun peninsula for nine days and is starting to slowly proceed to Llogara, a national park popular with tourists. Fires have also broken out at some places in the center and north of the country and elsewhere in the Balkans in consequence of a wave of heat. The Czech offer is coming in reaction to Albania's request for help, addressed to the EU and other states.

Czech Republic seeking UNESCO listing for handmade glass

The Czech Republic is among the six European countries that jointly seek putting handmade glass production on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, Milada Valečková, from the Jablonec-seated Museum of Glass and Jewelry has told ČTK. The project, initiated by France, has also been joined by Germany, Hungary, Finland and Spain. Valečková said that France had addressed the Czech Culture Ministry, which started preparing, in cooperation with the museum, the glass production's listing as a piece of national heritage as a precondition for the international listing. Somewhat slowed down by the coronavirus pandemic, the national listing is expected to be approved smoothly by the relevant commission in September, Valečková said.

PM Babiš's ANO leading in election polls

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's ANO would win the election to the Chamber of Deputies with 26 percent if they were held in July, according to a poll conducted by the Median polling institute and released. The second place would go to the coalition Together, comprised of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) and TOP 09, with 21.5 percent. As against June, the Together has outstripped the coalition of the Pirates and Mayors and Independents (STAN), now in the third place. They are followed by the anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the new, extra-parliamentary party Oath. Like in June, they have outstripped the Communists (KSČM) and the junior government Social Democrats (ČSSD). The Social Democrats are just under the 5 percent threshold to enter the Chamber of Deputies.

Poll: Two-thirds of Czechs do not trust Babiš, Zeman

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is the Czech top politician whom most people (67 percent) do not trust, followed by President Miloš Zeman (65 percent distrust him) and Deputy PM and Social Democrats (ČSSD) leader Jan Hamáček (62 percent), according to a poll the CVVM institute. The fourth most unpopular politician is ANO lower house group head Jaroslav Faltýnek whom 61 percent of Czech distrust, the poll showed. The most trusted Czech politician is Health Minister Adam Vojtěch (for ANO), whom 46 percent trust, followed by Labor Minister Jana Maláčová (ČSSD) and Constitutional Court chairman Pavel Rychetský, whom 39 percent trust. Vojtěch and Rychetský are the only officials whom more people trust than do not trust, though the difference is only slight (5 percentage points).