Listen to the new voice of Prague's public transport network

The city of Prague has announced the winner of a poll to choose the new voice of the Prague metro. The new voice of Prague public transport will be the actor and voiceover artist Jan Vondráček, who is known for dubbing in the series "The Mentalist". Vondráček will be tasked with recording all announcements and stop names, a total of approximately 10,000 recordings for bus, tram, and metro lines. 

Vondráček will replace Dagmar Hazdrová after 30 years. He has voiced dozens of other characters in various films and series. The actor will start recording in August, his voice should be heard in the city's public transport network from autumn. You can listen to the new voice of Prague transit here.

A 29-year-old man killed his former girlfriend today in the Zlín Regional Office building, where the woman worked, and unsuccessfully attempted to kill himself. He is now in a hospital under police supervision, the Czech Police said on Twitter. His injuries are life-threatening, according to the medical rescue service. The regional office is in the Baťa Skyscraper. It remains open except for the 14th floor, where the incident took place.

Firefighters have begun streaming their efforts combatting the forest fires in Czech Switzerland. A drone transmission vehicle, monitoring the situation around the Janov lookout said the communications department of the General Directorate of the Fire and Rescue Service. View the stream on the fire department's YouTube channel.

People can follow the eastern direction, where the villages of Mezná and Kamenická stráň are located, the northwestern direction, where Hřensko is located, and the northeastern direction with Pravčická brána Via several cameras.

The forest fire in the Czech Switzerland National Park did not spread during the night. Firefighters manage to contain the fire on an area of five by two kilometers. No firefighters were seriously injured during the entire intervention. Firefighters have been working in Czech Switzerland since Sunday morning, and since Tuesday evening they have managed to contain the fire. A safety belt has been created using mining machines.

"We remain in the same positions, we didn't have to retreat anywhere," said Ústí nad Labem regional fire department spokesman Milan Rudolf said. With the help of mining machines, it was possible to create a fire break on a Czech road.  

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Czech government approved the construction of the Plzeň-Líně strategic business park at a meeting on Wednesday. The area of ​​approximately 400 hectares belongs to the Ministry of Defense, which should transfer the land to the Plzeň region.

A gigafactory for the production of batteries for electric cars could be established on the site. On Wednesday, Škoda Auto confirmed that this location appears to be ideal and could potentially be included in the final selection for the location of the gigafactory.

The annual Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště kicks off tomorrow. The 48th edition of the festival will include the world premiere of a new documentary about Czech rock star and former politician Michal Kocáb, directed by Olga Sommerová, as well as "Kunstkamera," the latest film by surrealist Jan Švankmajer.

The annual prize of the Association of Czech Film Clubs will be presented to Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan and Czech actor Ondřej Vetchý, among others.

The Senate on Aug. 10 will debate the protocol on the NATO entry of Sweden and Finland. Senate committees are to present their positions by Aug. 9 at the latest. The Chamber of Deputies is to review the protocols at its extraordinary session in late August. The two countries decided to enter the alliance due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In early July, representatives of 30 NATO members signed the protocols on the accession of Finland and Sweden. If the two countries are to become NATO members, the accession documents need to be ratified by all allied countries, which may take several months.

The Czech Senate has approved a cost-saving tariff intended to help households reduce their bills for electricity, gas, and heat. The tariff will take the form of a subsidy from the state budget in favor of energy suppliers. Further details, i.e. how much the contribution will be and who will be entitled to it, will be determined by the government by August at the latest. 

The aid will come as a fixed amount regardless of household consumption. The less a household consumes, the greater part of its consumption will be covered by the state contribution. In this way, the government intends to motivate households to save. The approved amendment to the Energy Act must now be signed by the President.

The government has approved an amendment to the 2022 budget, in response to rising prices and other costs related to the war in Ukraine. The projected deficit is now CZK 330 billion, some CZK 50 billion higher than the deficit approved by the lower house in March.

"Due to rising prices, the state budget must deal with additional expenses, led by compensation for high energy prices, the second extraordinary valorization of pensions, a contribution for families with children, and the first purchase of gas for the state material reserves," Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura said.

Revenues of the amended budget amount to CZK 1.68 trillion, and expenses are CZK 2.01 trillion. The Chamber of Deputies should discuss the budget amendment in September.

As forests in Czech Switzerland National Park burn for the fourth day, officials say that the blaze has affected an area of ​​five by two kilometers, making it the largest forest fire that the Czech Republic has ever experienced to date.

Today the Civil Aviation Authority announced a flight ban over Czech Switzerland. The no-fly zone will be in a circle with a radius of ten nautical miles, i.e. roughly 18.5 kilometers. The administration of the Czech Switzerland National Park has asked the Ministry of the Environment to announce a ban on entry to the park.

Minister Vit Rakusan told reporters today that the firefighting planes from Italy that landed at an airport near Prague this afternoon to help extinguish the extensive fire could lead to a positive breakthrough there; iDnes.cz reports that the landmark Pravčická gate and the Falcon's Nest survived the fire.

The administration of the Czech Switzerland National Park has asked the Ministry of the Environment to announce a ban on entry to the park.

Ukrainian soldiers injured while defending their country will come to the Czech Republic for treatment. Transport will be provided by the Czech army. Shortly before the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine signed an agreement with the Czech Republic to help treat soldiers, reports daily Denik N. The first 12 Ukrainian soldiers are expected to arrive in the coming week, both the Ministry of Defense and Ukrainian Ambassador Jevhen Perebyjnis confirmed to the publication.

The Czech film Tmání (Darkening) uses virtual reality to address depression and the ways to cope with it. It is the first-ever Czech VR film supported by the State Cinematography Fund. Directed by Ondřej Moravec it will be shown at the Venice Film Festival which just released its full lineup this week.

“Venice has the most prestigious competition section for virtual reality and only invites around twenty projects every year. We consider it a small miracle that Tmání was chosen by the festival, and we are incredibly excited for the first viewers to see our VR film," said the film's producer Hana Blaha Šilarová from Frame Films.

The film portrays the authentic experiences of a young person with depression. It will be shown in the festival's immersive section. The film festival kicks off on Aug. 31.