Clock tower removed from Prague's Industrial Palace for restoration

In a special construction operation, a crane removed a 26-ton clock tower from the central part of the Industrial Palace at Výstaviště in Holešovice as part of the ongoing renovation. The pillars of the steel tower are in very poor technical condition and cannot be repaired in place. The removal required several weeks of preparation. The overhaul of the tower will take several months. The tower’s clock will also be restored with a replica of the original clock face.

The Czech nanosatellite VZLUSAT-1 developed by the Czech Aerospace Research Centre (VZLÚ) in cooperation with local companies and universities marks its fifth year in orbit today, which makes it the longest-orbiting Czech satellite. Even though the original lifespan estimate was about a year, the institute says all the systems of the satellite are still fully working and collecting scientific and technological data The nanosatellite carries an X-ray telescope and also a Czech-made radiation shield. The satellite weighs two kilos and it travels in the polar orbit at an altitude of 150 km.

The price of gasoline is at a new maximum, approaching CZK 48 per liter. On Wednesday, Natural 95 cost an average of CZK 47.96 per liter, up from 27 hellers from last week. The price of diesel rose by CZK 1.06, gas stations now offer it for CZK 48 per liter. Fuel prices are rising despite measures taken by the government. Analysts expect that gasoline prices will stop rising or become cheaper. Diesel prices will continue to rise slightly, ČTK reports.

Safari Park Dvůr Králové sent two of its black rhinoceros, the Eastern subspecies threatened with extinction in the wild, to a zoo in Poznań, Poland, where they will breed. The Dvůr Králové zoo is one of the world's most significant breeders of this subspecies. The zoo has raised a total of 47 black rhinos so far and currently keeps 13. The latest offspring, male Kyiv, was born there on March 4.

The companies of the accused businessman Maroš Jančovič from the case around the former Prague deputy Petr Hlubuček and businessman Michal Redl won contracts not only from the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) but also from the Czech Post Office (Česká pošta). According to the public register, they collected approximately CZK 35 million from the state enterprise, daily Hospodářské noviny reported. Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said he would have the post office's finances checked by an in-depth audit, which should take place by the end of the year. The Czech Post Office denies that there were any irregularities in the contracts.

The government approved the Czech National Oncological Plan 2030, which sets the future framework for targeted treatment of cancer in Czech hospitals, the Health Ministry announced. The document is one of the conditions to gain CZK 15 billion for health from the European Union. The fight against cancer is one of the priorities of the upcoming Czech EU presidency. The plan outlines the goals for prevention and increasing the quality of patients' lives. By 2035, cancer will be the main cause of death of the EU population, the ministry said.

Researchers Eva Krupičková Pluhařová, Evgenia Chitrova, and Zuzana Střížová have been awarded in the Czech version of the L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science program. So far, 44 women scientists have been awarded under it in Czechia. This year, a prize of CZK 200,000 goes with the award. Fifty-nine female scientists joined the program this year.

Medical and chemical soldiers from Czechia, Germany, France, Britain, and the United States have been training in Tisá, Ústí nad Labem region, since June 13. The aim of the exercise, which will end on June 24, is to harmonize actions in case of the use of weapons of mass destruction. The soldiers built tents and a field hospital to treat contaminated people. The last such international exercise was organized in Tisá in 2016. Exercise commander Radek Tomáš told journalists that there was high interest in the exercise from other allied countries with regard to the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The Bank Board of the Czech National Bank today raised the key interest rate by 1.25 percentage points to 7 percent, ČTK reports. The reason is the development of inflation and rising inflation expectations. The base interest rate hasn't been this high since 1999. Today's increase was the seventh above-standard increase in the base rate by more than 0.25 percentage points in a row.

A significant increase in interest rates was generally expected, as inflation has been well above the ČNB forecast in recent months. In May, it reached 16 percent year on year, while the central bank expected 14.9 percent.

The Czech Republic may be able to impose national sanctions on individuals and entities committing serious infringements in an international context that have not yet been included in the European Union's sanctions list. At today's meeting, the government approved a new sanctions law, which was submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to ČTK. The proposal will now go to Parliament.

According to Tomáš Borán, the director of the registration section of the State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL), one death in the Czech Republic has a probable connection with the Covid-19 vaccination. According to him, the cause of death was thrombosis and a reduction in the number of platelets after the administration of a vector-based Covid vaccine. The brand of the vaccine was not specified. Both the vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson are vector-based, and their use was limited. The institute examined more than 170 deaths in connection with vaccination. 

From the point of view of the overall EU population, the main themes of the European Parliament should be the fight against poverty and the protection of public health.  Czechs, on the other hand, prefer the focus on the EU's defense, security, energy, and industrial independence. 

In most parts of the Czech Republic, the risk of fires has risen again due to drought, and in the northwest Bohemia, temperatures will reach tropical 30 degrees again by Friday. Rain is expected soon only in the South Bohemia and Plzeň regions.