Strong thunderstorms move through Czechia after record weekend heat

From July, the government will increase the living and subsistence minimum again, this time by 8 to 10 percent, told The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka to ČT24. While the government wants to increase the subsistence minimum to almost CZK 4,700, the subsistence level could increase to more than CZK 3,000. That would help about three hundred and fifty thousand people. "The increase and support for low-income families, for single parents, who are simply in a difficult situation, will be somewhere between eight and ten percent," said Jurečka.

MEP Stanislav Polčák has suspended his membership in the Mayors and Independents (STAN) movement. He refused a comparison with the former deputy mayor of Prague Petr Hlubuček, who is among the accused in the case of corruption in the Prague Transport Company (DPP). Polčák's earlier acquaintance with another accused, businessman Michal Redl, is hurting the movement, said the former MEP. 

Through the so-called energy-saving tariff, households that heat with gas or electricity could receive a maximum of 9,000 crowns. The Minister of Industry Jozef Síkela told ČT that for small households with low consumption it would be in the order of thousands of crowns. For large households with high consumption, it would be close to the double-digit amount in thousands. The government intends to partially compensate for the rapidly rising energy prices.

The Rohlik Group, which focuses on online food sales, received approximately CZK 5.4 billion crowns (EUR 220 million) from investors in the last round of financing, reports iDNES.cz. The company will use the money to improve services and further expand, the company said. Entrepreneur Tomáš Čupr also stated that he was going to the stock exchange.

STAN is beginning to look for Petr Gazdík's successor in the government, reports ČT24. The chairman of the party, Vít Rakušan, announced on Sunday that the outgoing minister of education could be replaced by one of the senators. The school unions call for the rapid appointment of a new minister due to the upcoming negotiations on the budget for next year and the amendment to the Act on Teachers.

High temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, the associated risk of fires, and strong storms are coming to the Czech Republic on Monday. The warning of high temperatures is only valid in South Moravia, the threat of fires, on the other hand, is increased throughout the country. Strong thunderstorms will pass almost through the entire country, except the west and northwest of Bohemia, and will gradually intensify. 

Meteorologists also measured the record high temperature in June, specifically 39 degrees Celsius, in Rez near Prague today, suggests the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. The previous record from 2019, measured at the Doksany station in northern Bohemia, was 0.1 degrees lower.

The Czech Republic reported its first "supertropical" day of 2022 as temperatures soared to over 35 degrees at five measuring stations across the country, according to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. A high of 35.7 degrees Celsius was meaured in Vanov, north Bohemia.

High temperatures will continue through Sunday, with an extreme risk of hot weather issued for Prague and surrounding areas from noon through 10:00 p.m. On Saturday, temperature records were set at 13 of the 160 measuring stations throughout the Czech Republic.

A 57-year-old man has died after crossing the newly-opened Sky Bridge 721 in Dolní Morava. Billed as the longest suspension footbridge in the world, the tourist attraction has only been open for about a month. The man reportedly suffered a heart attack after crossing the bridge. Emergency physician Marek Dvořák reported on the incident via Instagram.

Accodring to Dvořák, two doctors who happened to be passing by at the time attended to the man, but he could not be saved despite their efforts. "Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the rescuers, the patient died," Alena Kisiala, a spokesperson for regional rescue services, told local media. According to Kisiala, several factors including extreme heat could have played a role in his death. "One thing is that it was very hot. There is definitely physical exertion and adrenaline when you cross the footbridge," she added.

Former Prague deputy mayor Petr Hlubuček has been remanded in police custody in the wake of a corruption scandal involving Prague public transport authority DPP, Adam Borgula from the Prague High Prosecutor's Office told journalists on Friday. Two other men involved in the scandal, reportedly businessman Zakaria Nemrah and lobbyist Michal Redl, have been taken into custody alongside Hlubuček.

According to Borgula, the men have been detained over fears they may flee the country or attempt to influence witnesses. "In my view there is the realistic fear that they may evade prosecution," he said, adding that all the three men had filed a complaint about being remanded in custody. Prague's Municipal Court will hear their complaint.

Czech Kayakers Amálie Hilgertová and Tereza Fišerová have both advanced to the ICF Canoe-Kayak Water Slalom World Cup final in Krakow. In semifinal action, Hilgert finished in third place and Fišerová fifth despite a two-second penalty for touching a pole. Barbora Valíková, the third Czech competing in the semis, finished in 25th place and did not advance to the finals.

Hilgertová fished 2.29 seconds behind Poland's Klaudia Zwolińska in the semifinals, while Australian favorite Jessica Fox came in second. In the men's competition, positive coronavirus cases have eliminated a number of participants including Olympic champion Ricardo Funk as well as the entire German team.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský expects the European Council to unequivocally confirm Ukraine's EU candidate status next week, he stated through a Foreign Ministry pres release issued on Friday. The Czech Republic also supports bids by Moldova and Georgia to join the EU, the press release states.

Earlier Friday, European Council President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the commission has recommended Ukraine's candidacy for EU membership. She added that the country would still have to conduct a great deal of necessary reforms in connection with the entry process. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the step taken by the European Council was a historic decision.

Czech scientists have gained access to LUMI, one of the fastest supercomputers in the world, which was officially put into operation Kajaani, Finland this week, the Czech Education Ministry writes on its website. According to the Ministry, the computer is the fastest and most efficient supercomputer in Europe and the third-fastest in the world.

Ten European countries will take part in the operation of LUMI: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. The current performance of LUMI is 150 petaflops (10^15 calculations) per second. Its expected peak performance is 550 petaflops.