Czech hockey teams beats US, heads to quarterfinals of World Cup

The Czech hockey players beat the US team 1-0 at the Tampere World Championships to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship thanks to a 1-0 win over the U.S. in both teams’ penultimate game in the group stage. Matej Blumel scored the game’s lone goal on a first-period breakaway and Karel Vejmelka stopped all 24 shots fired his way, including some tough ones in the closing minutes.

The Czech Central Bank (CNB) will likely raise the interest rate further in June if data from the economy is in line with the bank's latest macroeconomic forecast, CNB Governor Jiří Rusnok confirmed in a televised Sunday debate. "If the current forecast is being confirmed, the probability is high," Rusnok said on Czech Television. He said it was possible the main rate, now at 5.75%, would go over the 6% mark in June but did not say how likely that was.

No monkeypox cases have been confirmed in Czechia yet the National Institute of Public Health (SZU) said in a press release Sunday evening. One suspicious sample was assessed as negative and no other suspected cases have been reported. The first symptoms of this infectious disease are fever, headache, or muscle pains. After one to three days, a rash appears, often on the face first. The disease usually lasts two to four weeks and most patients recover. Several European countries recently reported cases of monkeypox, including Britain, Spain, Portugal, and Germany.

Slavkov chateau park hosted the first living statues festival in the Czech Republic on Saturday. Thirty-two living statues and 12 people with body art paintings appeared at the festival. One of the living statues was António Santos aka Staticman, a pioneer of living statues. Roughly 8,000 people visited the festival. A spokesperson from the chateau says it is hoped the festival become a tradition. Due to the coronavirus measures, the festival could not be held in 2020 and 2021.

The week will begin with warmer in Czechia on Monday (up to 26°C) with rain and cooler temps to follow throughout the week and weekend, predicts the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI). Tuesday will be the rainiest day of the week with showers and clouds on and off throughout the week. Maximum daily temperatures will hit 14 to 19 degrees Celsius with temperatures dropping to 8 to 3 degrees Celsius at night.

The Czech Republic will increase its spending on defense to 2 percent of its GDP by 2024, Prime Minister Petr Fiala told journalists yesterday after meeting with President Miloš Zeman and a team of experts in foreign affairs on Saturday. Reaching 2 percent by 2024 would be a year earlier than the last stated goal of 2025; in 2020, the Czech Republic spent less than one percent of its GDP on military defense.

The President's spokesperson Jiří Ovčáček stated that Zeman and Fiala discussed economic matters including energy and food issues as well as foreign policy. Fiala added that they discussed challenges facing the Czech Republic's upcoming EU presidency. "We would like postwar renewal of Ukraine to be one of the priorities, but this of course requires a peace situation in Ukraine," he noted.

A trio of Czech tennis stars will play in the first round of the French Open at the Roland Garros in Paris today as Kateřina Siniaková, Karolína Muchová, and Marie Bouzková play their first matches at this year's event. Barbora Krejčíková, who won both singles and doubles titles at the French Open last year, will play her first match on Monday. First-round matches at this year's French Open begin from 11:00 a.m. this morning.

Krejčíková is the number 2 seed at this year's French Open, behind the WTA's top ranked Iga Świątek. This year's French Open will represent Krejčíková's first major tournament since recovering from an elbow injury. Eighth-seeded Karolína Plíšková and Petra Kvitová (32) will also kick off the French Open on Monday.

The Czech Republic's national hockey team topped Norway 4-1 on Saturday evening to move to 3-2 in this year's IIHF Hockey World Championships. David Pastrňák scored two goals for the Czech team, including a slick penalty shot, while Jakub Vrána and Roman Červenka added one apiece.

The Czech team is now tied with the United States at ten points for third place in Group B; with two games to go, both teams are five points ahead of Norway and Latvia. The top four teams will advance to the quarterfinals, which begin later this week. The Czech Republic will next play the United States on Monday, and face off against top-ranked Finland on Tuesday.

While the demand for new property developments across the Czech Republic is growing, companies are facing a shortage of skilled labor, according to an informal survey conducted by CTK. While Czech property developers are actively recruiting from local universities, the number of students studying in related fields has dropped by 25 percent over the past two decades, according to data from the Czech Statistical Office.

"Our experience confirms the statistics," Michaela Tomášková, CEO of Central Group, tells CTK. "Recruiting new employees to our teams of designers, architects, and builders is a big challenge that is connected with low unemployment. Over the last year, we have filled only about ten positions in these fields with graduates."

A memorial to Czech priest Jan Bula, who was executed by the former communist regime in 1951, has been erected in Rokytnice nad Rokytnou near the Roman Catholic church he once preached at. Bula's nephew Antonin Bula and 92-year-old Jaroslav Václavek, a political prisoner who was arrested the same day as Bula and spent four years in a uranium mine, both took part in the unveiling of the memorial.

Bula was sentenced to death as part of the Babice Case, a series of show trials that took place in 1951 and were superficially linked to a raid on a communist meeting. Eleven people were executed by the regime in retribution. Bula was hung on May 20, 1952, at the age of 32.

The eastern half of the Czech Republic was hit by especially strong thunderstorms that saw winds of up to 125 kilometers per hour during the night and into the early hours of Saturday morning, according to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. The storms were accompanied by hail in some areas, and damages resulted in delays in rail travel and impassable roads.

Across the country, firefighters responded to hundreds of incidents related to the storms, most often fallen trees caused by the heavy winds. In Prague, firefighters responded to 75 incidents, including one at the city's new tent camp for refugees in Troja. Operation of the camp had fully resumed during the night, according to Prague Firefighters spokesperson Martin Kavka.

The Czech Republic's national hockey team will face Norway this evening in a pivotal match heading into this year's World Championship quarterfinals. The Czech team is 2-2 after wins against Great Britain and Latvia, and losses against Sweden and Austria, and currently ranks fourth in Group B for the final seed to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Czech team will face off against Norway at 7:20 Prague time this evening. Their final two matches will come against the United States on Monday and Finland on Tuesday, two teams that currently rank ahead of the Czech Republic in this year's World Championships. Forward David Kämpf joins the Czech team this weekend after his Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Czech Republic reported its first "tropical" day of 2022 yesterday as temperatures in numerous areas of the country exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. The highest temperatures were measured at Kuchařovice, whey they reached 31.1 degress Celsisus; temperatures over 30 degrees were also recorded in Prague, Plzeň, České Budějovice, and numerous other locations across the country.

The Czech Republic's first day with temperatures over 30 degrees in 2022 came 10 days later than in 2021, when temperatures over 30 were first recorded on May 10, and we'll have to wait some time before temperatures exceed 30 once again. Last night's storms brought a new cold front into the country, and temperatures are not forecast to exceed the low-to-mid 20s through at least the next week.

Czech basketball star Jiří Zídek, who led the Czech national team to silver and bronze medals in the European Championships during the 1960s and 70s, has passed away at the age of 78, the Czech Basketball Federation has announced. Zídek was selected as the best Czech basketball player of the 20th century in a 2001 poll, and in 2019 became the first Czech to be inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame.

"Czech basketball is shrouded in grief today. A real giant has left, who will forever remain one of our most important basketball personalities," the the Czech Basketball Federation writes on its website. Zídek aspired to become the first Czech player in the NBA, but complications from the communist leadership prevented him from achieving this goal. His son Jiří "George" Zídek Jr. would later become the first Czech player in the NBA after being selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the 1995 draft.

Four male tortoises from Germany's Heidelberg Zoo have joined Prague Zoo's creep of Aldabra giant tortoises, the zoo's Filip Mašek has told local media. The tortoises will be housed by Prague Zoo for approximately one year while their home pavilion in Germany undergoes reconstruction.

Emil, Julius, Einstein and Hemingway did not have to undergo quarantine upon arrival in the Czech Republic, and visitors to Prague Zoo can see them at the tortoise pavilion as of this weekend. In addition to Aldabra giant tortoises, Prague Zoo's pavilion also houses Galapagos giant tortoises. It was built in 1998 and reconstructed in 2002 after devastating floods.