Czech news in brief for August 3: Monday's top afternoon headlines

Good afternoon, the government is officially on its summer break since Friday, the parliament is already out, and Czech politics have ground to their traditional August halt. Bad news, though, for the former government as ex-Justice Minister Pavel Blažek faces charges in connection with last year's bitcoin scandal.

In today's top headlines, we also talk Czech cinema, Swedish Hollywood stars, and exotic parrots. Here's our afternoon wrap-up.

Czech prosecutors have indicted four people, including former Justice Minister Pavel Blažek, in connection with the high-profile bitcoin scandal that shook the past Czech government last year. Prosecutors are asking for a sentence of 6.5 years in prison for Blažek, once a central figure of the right-wing ODS party of former PM Petr Fiala who was forced to resign from his cabinet position last year because of the case.

Poisoned gift. The scandal erupted last year when local investigative reporters from Deník N revealed that the Czech Justice Ministry had accepted a bitcoin "donation" worth around CZK 1 billion from a formerly convicted felon and drug trafficker.

Director-screenwriter Jan Svěrák's 11th feature film Five Plums, which has been topping the domestic box-office for weeks, will be released in the U.K. in the autumn, promoters announced. "Getting a Czech film into British cinemas is not a given," insists distributor Jana Šafářová. "In the 30 years of existence of the independent Czech Republic, only three titles have succeeded on a larger scale: Kolja, Dark Blue World and I Served the King of England."

A Greek-set comedy. Seen by over 120,000 people in Czech cinemas, Five Plums is a comedy centering around five old friends setting off on a sailboat for a last adventure around the Greek islands.

Extreme weather is once more heading to Czechia this week, with tropical temperatures expected to reach 39 degrees by Wednesday before slightly cooling down at the end of the week, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) said today. Authorities again warned the public about the risk of wildfires caused by the long-running drought and lack of precipitation in most parts of the country.

In related news, ČHMÚ revealed this July was the 11th warmest since 1961 when data started being collected, with an overall average temperature of 19.3 degrees. Czechia's warmest July in history occurred in 2006.

Swedish-born American actor Dolph Lundgren, best known among others for his roles in The Expandables or Rocky IV, will be the guest star of the "Night with a Hollywood Legend" event in Prague's Slovanky Dum on December 12. The price for tickets starts at CZK 1,499, and organizers said those interested in taking a picture with the movie star will have to pay CZK 4,999. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the previous guest of the event cycle last June.

A rich background. Born in Stockholm, 68-year-old Lundgren is as famous for his big-muscles screen roles as he is for his intellectual depth, with top degrees in mathematics and chemical engineering from prestigious universities, a fluency in six languages and an IQ of 160.

Czech customs officers have uncovered an organized gang involved in trafficking protected species of parrots, and seized around 100 birds during raids and house searches, the Czech Customs Authority announced today. The group is suspected to have purchased the parrots from exotic bird markets or private individuals, and then selling them abroad.

A new home. Some parrots have now found a temporary home at the Ostrava Zoo, while dozens of macaws, cockatoos and Amazon parrots - all protected species under international law - were handed over to the Czech Environmental Inspectorate (CIZP).