Czech morning news in brief: top stories for March 15, 2021

On Saturday evening, an unknown 36-year-old man tried to climb the "Gate of the Giants" at Prague Castle. The man, who managed to make it over the gate before quickly being apprehended by the castle guard, now faces up to four years behind bars. The entire incident was captured on video by a tour guide who was conducting a virtual tour. Because the man posed a threat to the President's residence a castle military guard drew his submachine gun, but the incident was resolved quickly. What led the man to act, possibly a protest against government measures or the closing of cultural attractions or monuments, is now being investigated by police.

The coalition of the Pirates and the Mayors and Independents (STAN) would be frontrunners if the Oct. general elections were held now an election model released by the Kantar CZ agency for Czech Television shows. Support for Babiš's ANO party is at an all-time low due to the pandemic; if the ballot was held now ANO would get 20.5% finishing second behind the opposition Pirate Party with 22%. The survey had a margin of error between 1.6 and 3.2 percentage points. Third-place would go to the coalition Together, formed by the Civic Democrats (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), and TOP 09, with 17.5 percent. The Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) would receive 11 percent of the vote. The Communists (KSCM) would get 5.5 percent narrowly crossing the threshold to enter the lower house of parliament, while the junior ruling Social Democrats (CSSD) would remain just under the threshold with 4.5 percent.

A new survey by Ipsos and Welcome to the Jungle CZ found that working from home, currently recommended by the Czech govt., has a positive effect on three-fifths of Czechs' sense of independence. In 56 percent, it also had a positive effect on their well-being. At the same time, however, 30 percent of people said they feel more lonely in home office. In 17 percent of respondents, home office worsened relationships with colleagues. According to the survey, 37 percent of people now work from home, 63 percent have to go to work. At beginning of the outbreak in 2020 just four percent of Czechs in the Czech Republic had home office, approx. 206,000 employees. 

Czech mountain rescuers pulled a woman out from under an avalanche that fell in the Krkonoše mountains from a mountain near Špindlerův Mlýn Sunday. Rescuers managed to revive the woman and transport her to a nearby hospital, however she did not survive. There were six people in the Mužské Kameny mountain area when the avalanche fell. Two men were in shock but did not suffer injuries. A helicopter transported them to a hospital in Liberec. The woman was airlifted to the Hradec Králové Teaching Hospital where she died from her injuries on Monday. An avalanche also fell Sunday on the Polish side of the Giant Mountains in the Bialy Jar area. More than 60 members of the Czech rescue service helped search the area, but nobody was found trapped beneath the snow.

“The Gray Man” based on Mark Greaney’s debut novel has begun filming in Los Angeles this month but production is expected to move to European locations, including Prague and the Czech Republic, this spring. The globetrotting thriller about a former CIA operative turned assassin boasts a star-studded cast headlined by Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling. Regé-Jean Page, Ana de Armas, Wagner Moura, Alfre Woodard, and Billy Bob Thornton also feature among the film's cast. At an estimated budget of $200 million, "The Gray Man" will be the most expensive original film that Netflix has produced to date, writes the Prague Reporter.