Czech news in brief for July 31: Friday's top afternoon headlines

Good afternoon, this afternoon's top story comes from the world of sports where a former Spanish professional player and youth coach will take over the Czech national football team - a first for a foreigner here. In other news, police reveal more details about the Prague Pride march's security measures, and a shakeup at the helm of the Czech Centers. Let's look at the main headlines.

Spain's Santi Denia has been confirmed as the next head coach of the Czech national football team, the Czech Football Association announced today at an extraordinary press conference in Prague. The 52-year from Albacete has signed up to head the national squad on a two-year contract with an option for another two years.

A historic first. Replacing Miroslav Koubek who bowed out after Czechia's poor World Cup performance, Denia becomes the very first non-Czech to lead the country's national team.

Several hundred of police officers and a helicopter will be mobilized to oversee the Prague Pride march, the traditional culmination of the week-long festival that takes place next Saturday, August 8. A police spokeswoman assured that law enforcement will secure the entire route of the festival from Wenceslas Square to Štvanice island - which this year replaces the Letná plain as the main destination - and reminded that traffic will be heavily restricted in the city center as a result.

Safety first. Although police always monitor the march, the heightened security measures this year were announced by the Interior Ministry after the recent attack on the Berlin Pride event.

Foreign Minister Petr Macinka has dismissed Jitka Pánek Jurková from her position as general director of the Czech Centers and named Ivan Jukl, the outgoing ambassador to Egypt, as her successor from next month. He has been tasked with spreading the "good name of the Czech Republic abroad" through the network's more than 25 cultural offices.

The wider context. There have been long-standing concerns that the Foreign Ministry could close down a number of Czech Centers abroad as Macinka repeatedly criticized them as loss-making and mismanaged. Now, he has given the new director the task of increasing their efficiency and financial management.

Nearly 150 people have been newly diagnosed with HIV in the first half of the year, ten more than in the same period last year, and almost half of the cases concerned foreigners with long-term residence.

Hard data. Since 1985, when Czech authorities started keeping statistics on the virus, doctors have reported more than 5,300 HIV-positive people, with last year registering the highest number of new cases (293) to date. For the past 15 years, somewhere between 200 and 300 people are being newly diagnosed with HIV every year in the Czech Republic

Strong thunderstorms with wind gusts of up to 70 km/hour could hit the western half of Czechia in the evening or during the night, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute warned earlier today. There is also a growing risk of wildfires in all parts of the country except for northern Bohemia, particularly in South Moravia and the Pilsen region.

Cooling ahead. Temperatures are expected to drop slightly over the weekend after Thursday and Friday's highs, but could still remain around 30-35 degrees in Moravia.