Czech weekend news in brief: Top headlines for August 22, 2021

The Czech Republic had 133 newly confirmed Covid-19 cases on Saturday, which is seven fewer than a week ago, however, a lower number of coronavirus tests were carried out this week, the Health Ministry's morning data show. Czech hospitals treated 59 coronavirus patients on Saturday, ten more than a week ago. Eleven of these patients are in serious condition. Laboratories in the country carried out about 26,000 PCR and 42,000 antigen tests on Saturday, roughly a fourth fewer than a week ago. The coronavirus incidence rate remains nearly 12 new cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days. On Saturday, 13,793 coronavirus vaccine doses were administered. In total, more than 11.2 doses have been administered in the country since the launch of the vaccination at the end of last year. Eight coronavirus deaths were recorded this week, the last one on Friday.

Czech politicians gathered at the seat of Czech Radio to honor the 53rd anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops, speaking to the importance of free speech. Deputy Prime Minister Alena Schillerova recalled the heroism of the witnesses and victims of the invasion, those who suffered injuries or left Czechoslovakia due to the military invasion and subsequent occupation. Politicians also applauded the role of the public radio and television employees during the first days of the occupation. Schillerova added that the support that Czechoslovakia received from abroad in 1968 was important. "The Czech Republic should never close its eyes before troubles and hardships that occur abroad either, no matter how far it is from the Czech border," she said.

A coach carrying Czech tourists returning from Italy to the Czech Republic overturned on the A93 motorway in the Kelheim district Saturday morning. Fourteen people were injured in the accident and four of the injuries were severe, a Lower Bavarian police spokesman said. All injured passengers were transported to the hospital; the ten people who suffered minor injuries have already been released. Two middle-aged men and one young and one middle-aged woman suffered severe injuries. According to information from the police and the Čedok travel agency, which organized the package holiday, the cause of the accident is still unknown but could have been caused by a microsleep episode on the part of the driver.

British actor Michael Caine presented the world premiere of the American comedy film "Best Sellers," in which he plays one of the lead roles, at the Karlovy Vary international film festival today. The audience in the Thermal Hotel gave a standing ovation to Caine, who received the Crystal Globe award for his outstanding artistic contribution to world cinematography on Friday. Sir Michael Caine is one of the main guests at the 55th Karlovy Vary festival. He won his first Oscar for the best supporting actor in Woody Allen's film "Hannah and Her Sisters." In 2000, he won the second Oscar for his role in "The Cider House Rules," a film after John Irving's bestseller. In "Best Sellers," directed by Lina Roessler, Caine stars as an elderly writer who goes on his last tour in order to save a publishing house that is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Archeologists from the University of West Bohemia (ZCU) have uncovered a unique Stone Age mound near the Říp mountain in central Bohemia, the "long barrow" type ranking among the oldest in Europe. In addition, they uncovered a burial chamber with preserved timber support and a buried child and artifacts from about 3,800 B.C., a find that is unprecedented in the Czech Republic. The ZCU has been researching the locality in cooperation with experts from Charles University and the Czech University of Life Sciences for the project Neolithic Long Barrows in Bohemia and the reconstruction of the ritual landscape around Říp, the mountain playing a key role in the legend of the medieval birth of the Czech nation and the arrival of Czechs in what is now their homeland Bohemia.