Latest news with #CzechRepublic
CBS News
5 hours ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Texas National Guard continues flood response with Czech team joining effort
Kerrville, Texas – With about 100 people still missing after devastating floods, the Texas National Guard and local officials leading recovery efforts received additional international support this week when a specialized detachment from the Czech Republic arrived ready to help. Sixteen civilians and four cadaver dogs from a Czech search and rescue team landed Sunday in Texas on a U.S. military flight from Ramstein Air Base in Germany. National Guard Bureau Chief General Steve Nordhaus coordinated the team's arrival and met the team leads in person on Tuesday while he was visiting Kerrville, Texas, for updates on response efforts. "Thanks for being here, Texas and the Czech Republic were partners right from the beginning in 1993 and what just an amazing partnership," Nordhaus told the team leads at the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport. The Texas and Nebraska National Guard have since 1993 shared a military relationship with the Czech Republic as part of the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program that pairs states with countries to train together. There are over 100 partnerships with about 115 countries around the world, according to the National Guard, and the one with the Czech Republic was one of the first after the initiative began in 1991. The Czechs providing support in the wake of floods in Texas follows assistance the Texas National Guard gave last year when the Czech Republic experienced severe flooding. When a flood hit Ostrava in the Czech Republic in September 2024, a Texas Air National Guard unit training in Europe diverted an MQ-9 Reaper drone to Ostrava to provide aerial assessments for recovery efforts. In Texas, about 230 members of the Texas National Guard are currently supporting response efforts. According to the Texas National Guard, members of the guard rescued over 500 people in the initial 24 hours after the flooding began. About 360 of those were evacuated using UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. During a Black Hawk flight over the Guadalupe River Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott pointed out to Nordhaus flood-impacted areas, explaining where the water rose at a terrifying speed – prompting urgent evacuations – and emphasizing how intensive the search will remain for the roughly 100 people still unaccounted for. After the flight, both Abbott and Nordhaus spoke to members of the Guard who have assisted in rescue and recovery efforts since the floods began on July 4. One of the air rescues came on July 4 when two Guard helicopters evacuated 130 children from Camp Mystic, a summer camp severely impacted by floods that led to the deaths of at least 27 campers and counselors. The 130 rescued the day of the flood by the guard were evacuated from Camp Mystic and taken to higher ground, according to Captain Connor Garrison, who led one of the aircraft and recounted the mission to Nordhaus and Abbott. "I appreciate you, I couldn't be prouder," Abbott told Garrison and other members of the Guard. The Texas National Guard is receiving support from other states like Arkansas, Arizona and North Dakota, which are providing additional personnel or equipment. For instance, North Dakota has sent down one of its own MQ-9 Reaper drones to help survey debris scattered along the still swollen Guadalupe River.
The Star
6 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Wales' most-cappted keeper Hennessey retires at 38
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - International Friendly - Wales v Czech Republic - Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - March 29, 2022 Wales' Wayne Hennessey reacts REUTERS/Rebecca Naden/File photo (Reuters) -Wayne Hennessey, the most-capped goalkeeper in Wales history, retired at the age of 38 after representing his country in 109 matches, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) said on Wednesday. Hennessey made over 100 league appearances each for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace, reaching the FA Cup final in 2016 with the latter. He was at Nottingham Forest last season but did not make an appearance. The Bangor-born player was part of the Wales squad that reached the semi-finals of the Euros in 2016, also appearing in the 2022 World Cup. He last played for Wales in November 2023 in a friendly against Gibraltar. 'I have decided to bring my playing career to an end, I look back with gratitude and forward with optimism as I take the next steps on my footballing journey," Hennessey said in a statement. (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
CNA
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- CNA
Bastianini to return for Czech GP, injured Morbidelli and Vinales out
KTM Tech3's Enea Bastianini will return at this weekend's Czech Grand Prix after recovering from appendicitis but his teammate Maverick Vinales and VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli will sit out with injuries, their MotoGP teams said on Wednesday. Bastianini, who joined Tech3 from Ducati last year, missed the entire German Grand Prix weekend after being hospitalised but is expected to return to the track on Friday. "It was really tough for me to remain in bed for so long and unable to join the team at the German Grand Prix, but I gave myself the time to recover properly in order to arrive in Brno in good shape," Bastianini said in a statement. Morbidelli crashed heavily on lap four of the German Grand Prix sprint where the Italian rider was thrown off his bike and sent tumbling across the gravel. He was diagnosed with a severe contusion to the left collarbone and VR46 Racing said he would miss the Czech Grand Prix, with no replacement announced. "Following two days of medical checks, physiotherapy sessions and rest, we decided together with the team to miss this GP at Brno," said Morbidelli, who is fifth in the championship, 205 points behind leader Marc Marquez. "It's always difficult to take decisions like this, but after a heavy crash like the one I had in Sachsenring - and in this moment of the championship before the summer break - it doesn't make any sense to take risks, because the pain is still persistent." Spaniard Vinales underwent surgery on Sunday for a fractured left shoulder after he suffered a highside crash in qualifying, paving the way for compatriot Pol Espargaro to make his return with Tech3, a team he debuted with in MotoGP back in 2014. "It's been a long time since our last visit to Brno, which is a fantastic track," said Espargaro, who has not raced in MotoGP for nearly a year after featuring as a wildcard for KTM last season. "The last time we raced here I felt super-good in my best period with KTM so let's see how it is with the new surface." The Czech Grand Prix will also mark the return of Aprilia's Jorge Martin after the reigning MotoGP champion recovered from injuries he suffered in a crash at the Qatar Grand Prix in April.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Who is West Ham new boy Diouf?
A £19m centre-back, a Senegal international, a 20-year-old. But what else do we know about West Ham's new signing from Slavia Prague, El Hadji Malick Diouf?Diouf was recruited by the Galaxy Football Academy in his home city of Dakar, Senegal, aged joined the Academie Mawade Wade - named after the former Senegal national team coach and boasting graduates including ex-Manchester United and Stoke man Mame Biram Diouf - four years January 2023 aged 18, he went on trial at Norwegian top-flight club Tromso, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle and was offered a contract to join their reserve quickly graduated to the first team and helped Tromso finish third in the Norwegian league and qualify for Europe. It was during the 2023 season where he established himself in the left wing-back role after playing predominantly as a winger during his youth move helped pave the way for the Academie Mawade Wade to sign a four-year partnership with Tromso in October a year, 21 first team appearances and three goals in Norway, Diouf signed for Slavia Prague in the Czech Republic - the same club from which the Hammers signed Tomas Soucek and Vladimir season he made 41 appearances, most as a wing-back - including eight in the Europa League - as Slavia won the Czech First League by 16 seven goals and four assists illustrate the attacking threat he offers down the left has also made six appearances for the Senegal national team since his debut in September 2024, winning on five occasions including playing the full game in June's historic victory over England.
Russia Today
10 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
NATO state opts out of Trump's Ukraine arms plan
The Czech Republic will not participate in a new initiative proposed this week by US President Donald Trump to supply American weapons to Ukraine, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Tuesday. Trump unveiled the plan during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, proposing that American arms be delivered to Kiev with funding from other NATO members. Rutte named Germany as the primary donor, with funding also offered by Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada. 'The Czech Republic is focusing on other projects and ways to help Ukraine,' Fiala told the news outlet Publico. 'Therefore, at this moment we are not considering joining this project.'Trump pitched the initiative as both a commercial opportunity for the US defense industry and a means for NATO countries to increase pressure on Russia. Moscow has likened the effort to the US preparing a deadly meal for Ukraine and forcing others to pay for it. Rutte said the participating nations represent the initial wave of contributors, with more expected to join. Politico reported on Tuesday that France, one of the EU's largest economies, would not be financially supporting the effort. According to the outlet, citing two French officials, Paris prefers to develop its own defense industry to meet European security needs. A similar position has reportedly been taken by Italy. The government believes it lacks the financial resources to commit to the plan, according to the Italian newspaper La Stampa. Fiala said his government will continue to back the Czech ammunition initiative, a program launched in early 2024. The initiative to provide artillery shells to Kiev has drawn support from more than a dozen countries, though it has also faced criticism over cost overruns, quality issues, and delivery delays. In an interview last week, Czech President Petr Pavel said the EU should reassess its approach to the Ukraine conflict, asking, 'What alternatives do we have, both us and Ukraine? To fight Russia endlessly?'
