Daily news summary
Aktuálně: President removed at last moment from bill on reporting lobbying
The government removed the president from a list of politicians and senior officials who must make public meetings with lobbyists, Aktuálně.cz reported. The head of state was taken off the list at the last moment before the government approved the bill on reporting lobbying, the news site said.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said that the move had been made after the president’s chancellor called for it at a meeting with cabinet members.
Announcing the approval of the legislation last week, the minister of justice, Marie Benešová, told reporters it had passed with “minor modifications”.
Further Czech investigated over participation in Ukraine conflict
Czech police are investigating a 25-year-old man from the Karlovy Vary Region on suspicion of fighting with pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine, the news site Deník N. reported. The man could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of involvement in a terrorist attack.
Deník N. said 15 cases of Czechs fighting in Ukraine’s Donbass region. It said the recently charged man is accused of taking part in combat alongside pro-Russian rebels in the second half of 2015.
Poll: Slovak president most popular foreign politician among Czechs
The recently elected Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová is the most popular foreign politician among Czechs, with over 70 percent of respondents giving her a favourable rating, according to a poll carried out by the STEM agency released on Wednesday.
The Slovak head of state is followed by Pope Francis, who enjoys the support of 63 percent of Czechs. The head of the European Commission Jean-Paul Juncker has a 25 percent support rating while the Chinese president Xi Jinping is at the bottom of the ladder with just18 percent.
EC accuses Czech mobile operators of breaching EU antitrust rules
The European Commission has accused Czech mobile phone operators O2 and T-Mobile as well as the Czech telecom infrastructure provider CETIN of breaching EU antitrust rules. According to the EC report, published on Wednesday, the network sharing agreement between the country’s two major operators restrict competition and harms innovation.
The network sharing cooperation between O2/CETIN and T-Mobile CZ started in 2011 and has been increasing in scope. Currently it covers all mobile technologies and the entire territory of the Czech Republic, with the exception of Prague and Brno, amounting to around 85% of the population, the report says.
Forbes: Plíšková world’s eight highest-paid athlete
Czech tennis player Karolína Plíšková is the eight highest-paid female athlete, according to the U.S. magazine Forbes, with total earnings amounting to 6.3 million US dollars.
The Czech-born former World No. 1 has won four events over the past 12 months, winning 4.6 million US dollars in prize money and another 1.7 million in endorsements.
The list is dominated by Serena Williams with 29.2 million US dollars and Naomi Osaka with total earnings of 24.3 million US dollars.
Seven wolf cubs observed in Beskydy and Javorníky mountains
Scientists have presented new evidence of a thriving wolf population in the Beskydy and Javorníky mountains in north-east of the country. A wolf with seven cubs, which were apparently born this year, was captured on a camera trap. It is the first time wolfs have started reproducing in the area since being re-introduced there in the 1990s.
Weather
Thursday is expected to be partly cloudy to overcast with occasional rain and isolated thunderstorms earlier in the day. Daytime temperatures will range between 23 to 27 degrees Celsius.
