Daily news summary
PM Babiš to discuss possible cabinet reshuffle with president Zeman
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is set to discuss possible cabinet reshuffle with president Miloš Zeman next week, he said in a debate programme on TV Prima on Sunday. According to the presidents spokesman, Jiří Ovčáček, the meeting will take place at the beginning of next week.
There has been speculation about the dismissal of Minister of Industry and Trade Marta Nováková, who is facing criticism over an incident last month when a representative of Taiwan was forced to leave a diplomatic meeting at the trade ministry, at the insistence of the Chinese ambassador.
Other name mentioned in the media in connection with the possible reshuffle in the government is that of Transport Minister Dan Ťok.
Slovak president’s last foreign trip will lead to Czech Republic
Slovak president Andrej Kiska is set to visit the Czech Republic in on what will be his last foreign trip as president of Slovakia. He is due to meet with president Miloš Zeman at the Lány Chateau, he said on a debate programme on Czech Television on Sunday.
The first official visit of the newly elected Slovak president, Zuzana Čaputová, who will be sworn in on June 15, will also lead to the Czech Republic.
Czechs and Slovaks spent over seventy years in a common state before splitting in 1993, but they have maintained exceptionally close ties.
Old flat prices up by over 10 percent year-on-year
Prices of older Czech apartments grew by an average 10.9 year-on-year in February, to around 39,000 per square meter, data from the market monitors CeMap show.
The most expensive properties are in Prague, where the average price per square meter for an old flat stood at 92,000 crowns (3,600 euros.) This is five times more than, for example, in the North Bohemian city of Ústí nad Labe.
According to Ondřej Hon of CeMap, the growth of apartment prices is fueled by a shortage of quality property and low building development in larger towns and cities.
Water reserves low despite above-average snowfall in winter
Water reserves in the ground have not been fully replenished over winter, Jan Daňhelka, deputy director of the Czech Hydro-meteorological Institute, told the Czech News Agency on Sunday.
Despite above-average precipitation in December and January, most of the country’s rivers are down to fifty percent of normal levels and the Czech Republic is most likely facing another drought.
Last year was the hottest year on the territory of today’s Czech Republic since 1961. The average temperature was 9.6 degrees Celsius, which is 1.7 degrees Celsius higher than the long-term average. Damages caused by the drought amounted to around 11 billion crowns.
Czech Philharmonic concert marks International Roma Day
Czech Philharmonic marked the International Roma Day, which falls on April 8, with a special concert at Prague’s Rudolfinum concert hall on Sunday, featuring nearly 300 participants from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, and Austria.
The event was prepared in cooperation with vocalist and choirmaster Ida Kelarová and featured traditional and contemporary Romani music as well as compositions by guitar player, singer and composer Desiderius Dužda.
An exhibition mapping the six-year collaboration between the Czech Philharmonic and Ida Kelarová’s Romani children's choir Čhavorenge is currently on display in Rudolfinum.
Bob Dylan to play at Prague’s Lucerna Hall on Sunday
The legendary US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan is set to perform the first of his three concerts at Prague’s Lucerna Hall on Sunday evening, within his European 2019 tour.
According to organizers, the concerts will feature some of his best-known hits and a selection from his 2017 album Triplicate.
The 77-year-old Nobel Prize-winner has performed in the Czech Republic repeatedly. He last appeared in Brno in April of last year.
Weather
Monday is expected to be partly cloudy with scattered showers and daytime highs ranging between 26 and 20 degrees Celsius.
