Daily news summary
Czech PM to attend enthronement ceremony of new Japanese emperor
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is in Japan to attend the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito together with some 50 foreign dignitaries the world over.
In the course of his four day stay in Tokyo, Mr. Babiš is scheduled to hold talks with the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and other foreign leaders.
Ahead of his departure the Czech prime minister described Czech-Japanese relations as “excellent” saying Japan was one of the leading investors in the Czech Republic.
Czech PM regrets postponement of vote on Brexit
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said he regretted the postponement of a vote on the Brexit deal in the House of Commons on Saturday, adding that he hoped Britain would clarify its position as soon as possible.
Mr. Babiš noted that since no one in the EU wanted a no deal Brexit one could only hope that British MPs would manage to approve both the required legislative changes and the Brexit deal by the set deadline. Similar reactions have come from politicians across the political spectrum.
President Zeman leaves hospital
President Miloš Zeman was released from hospital on Sunday after undergoing what has been described as a four-day “reconditioning stay".
His spokesman told journalists the treatment was to get the president in good shape for the national holiday celebrations on October 28.
Zeman, 75, has low blood pressure, diabetes and polyfunctional neuropathy that makes walking difficult.
Former Czech president Václav Klaus to receive high state distinction
Former president Václav Klaus, the last surviving Czech RAF pilot Emil Boček, Srbian film director Emir Kusturica and the president of the Supreme Audit Office Miloslav Kala are among the personalities who will receive a high state distinction from President Miloš Zeman on the occasion of Czechoslovak Independence Day, on October 28th.
Although the list of personalities selected for awards is confidential the president himself revealed some of the laureates ahead of the public holiday this year.
According to Prague Castle the laureates have been informed about the honour and the list of selected personalities has been countersigned by the prime minister.
Czech singers give birthday concert for chanson queen Hana Hégerová
Czech singers are giving a concert in Karlín on Sunday night in honour of chanson queen Hana Hégerová’s 88th birthday.
Lucie Bílá, Hana Zagorová Lenka Filipová and Lenka Molavcová are among the artists who will be giving a rendition of some of Hégerová’s most popular hits.
Hégerová, who ended her career in 2011, will not be present for health reasons.
Over 30,000 join campaign to save Czech forests
Over 30,000 people joined in the campaign to save Czech forests on Saturday planting trees in areas decimated by the bark-beetle. The campaign was organized by the state-owned company České Lesy which owns half of the forests in the Czech Republic.
People were given different kinds of trees to plant within the adopted strategy to grow mixed forests on the territory of the Czech Republic, which are more resistant to different kinds of pests.
České Lesy is planning to plant 55 million trees this year to help make up for the losses sustained through bark-beetle infestation.
Weather forecast
Monday should be clear to partly cloudy with day temperatures between 16 and 21 degrees Celsius.
