Czech morning news in brief: top headlines for June 8, 2021

Czech environment and foreign ministers, Richard Brabec and Jakub Kulhánek will negotiate an intergovernmental agreement with Poland regarding its disputed Turow lignite mine, situated near the Czech border. The ANO-ČSSD cabinet also tasked the government commissioner with representing the Czech Republic before the European Court of Justice to propose that a EUR 5 million daily penalty be imposed against Poland for not suspending mining activities in Turow despite an injunction by the EU court ordering it. The Czech Republic is prepared to ask for EUR 40-50 million. According to the Czech draft, Poland must provide all available information about the mining impacts, the anti-filtration wall, and monitoring. The cabinet will debate the Czech-Polish deal after it is negotiated. ČTK

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The share of unemployed in the Czech Republic fell to 3.9 percent in May from 4.1 percent in April new data published this Monday by the Labor Office shows. Year on year, unemployment was three-tenths of a percentage point higher. The number of job seekers in the office's records decreased by approximately 12,100 to 285,822 compared to April, while the number of vacancies increased by 3,200 to 346,604. Compared to last May, the number of vacancies increased by about 15,600, and the number of unemployed increased by almost 19,700 year-on-year. Analysts say that the pandemic, which lasted a year did no fundamentally affect unemployment in the Czech Republic, however, the Czech Republic lost its previous primacy to Poland which currently ranks as the country with the lowest unemployment rate. ČTK

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met Charles University (UK) Rector Tomas Zima on Monday who said the university is ready to extend its support to Belarusian students and academics. "The cooperation we discussed with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is also focused on making the public aware that in Belarus, students are put in prison, academics are put in prison, and a number of rectors were dismissed and persecuted," Zima said. Zima said UK could organize an international conference on the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, human rights, and democracy in Prague in the autumn. He said the establishment of a foundation that would support Belarusian students in the Czech Republic is being considered as well. There are 129 students from Belarus at UK. The university has been supporting the students who are not allowed to study in Belarus or who face difficulties due to repression. ČTK

Restorationists opened the crypt under the Loreto sanctuary in Prague Monday with the aim of providing ideal climate conditions and the best restoration techniques for frescoes in the crypt, which was opened only for the second time since the 18th century. The visit revealed that the paintings have not deteriorated since the crypt was hermetically sealed 200 years ago. Burials in the crypt ended in the 18th century under the reforms of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. Ten years ago, experts were surprised by the quality and variety of the figural frescoes, featuring the motives of death, resurrection, allegories of time and ephemeral human existence, and the degree to which they were preserved. The main scene depicting Lazarus' resurrection is based on Rembrandt's graphic model at a time when he was still alive. It is one of the first preserved reactions to his works in Czech lands. A 3D model of the crypt and its frescoes is on display in the sanctuary of the Capuchin Franciscan Order. ČTK

In the coming weeks, temperatures in the Czech Republic should slightly fall; this week and early next temps will fluctuate from 20 to 29 degrees Celsius, and thunderstorms are expected according to the monthly weather outlook published Monday by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI). Rain is also predicted on St. Medard's Day, June 8, though another 40 days of rain isn't expected as Czech weather folklore predicts; the CHMI says showers and thunderstorms are likely. Over the next four weeks, the highest daily temperatures are likely to be around long-term averages for this period. At the turn of June and July, however, they may fall below average. ČTK