Daily news summary
Czech foreign minister visiting Ukraine
At the start of a two-day official visit to Ukraine Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček met for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavel Klimkin on Monday.
The foreign ministers agreed to establish a Czech-Ukrainian forum to deal with sensitive issues from the past and focus on future cooperation. Mr Klimkin thanked the Czech foreign minister for his country’s support of EU sanctions against Russia and its condemnation of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Prior to the meeting, the Czech foreign minister laid flowers at the memorial of Czechoslovak soldiers who helped to liberate the Ukrainian capital Kiev during WWII. He is also scheduled to meet with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
Supreme Audit Office report: Czechs fails to improve air quality
The Czech Republic is failing to meet the targets for improving the quality of air, suggests a report released by the Supreme Audit Office on Monday. It warns that the Czech Republic may not be able to fulfil the goal of reducing greenhouse emission by 20 percent by the year 2020.
According to the auditors, one of the problems is that the state doesn’t ensure that the state-subsidised projects to reduce air pollution are effective. Out of the 23 measures designed to improve air quality, seven had not been met by the end of the September 2018, the report says.
These include for instance support for the use of alternative fuels in truck transport or reducing the share of fossil fuels in local heating.
Heyrovský Institute for Physical Chemistry granted European award
The Jaroslav Heyrovský Institute for Physical Chemistry has become the first department of the Czech Academy of Sciences to obtain the HR Excellence in Research Award, the Czech News Agency reported on Monday.
The award gives public recognition to research institutions that have made progress in aligning their HR policies with the principles set out in the European Charter for Researchers, making them more attractive to researchers looking for a new employer or for a host for their research project.
The Institute is a centre of fundamental research in physical chemistry, electrochemistry and chemical physics and is strongly involved in training of both undergraduate and graduate students.
Czech Philharmonic to make its debut performance in Hamburg’s ‘Elphie’
The Czech Philharmonic is set to make its debut performance at the Elbphilharmonie concert venue in Hamburg, the Czech News Agency reported on Monday. The performance, which is part of the orchestra’s German and Belgian tour, is scheduled to take place on February 4, and will feature young Canadian pianist Jan Lisecki.
The concert hall in Hamburg, known as ‘Elphie’, was completed two years ago and has since become one of the city’s most popular tourist sights. The concerts, which are usually completely sold out, have so far attracted over 1.7 million people.
Traffic chaos hits South Moravia after heavy snowfall
Heavy snowfall with around ten centimetres of fresh snow has complicated transport in the east of the country, especially in South Moravia.
Traffic is congested in many places and police have warned drivers to exercise extreme caution after being called out to several dozen accidents throughout Monday morning.
Most parts of the country are expected to see more snow and rain throughout the day.
Domingo conducts Mozart in Prague
The world famous tenor Placido Domingo on Sunday conducted a concert of selected Mozart arias at Prague’s Estates Theatre in honour of the composer’s birthday, getting a standing ovation.
The birthday concert featured the National Theatre Orchestra and soloists Adela Zaharia, Štěpánka Pučálková, Petr Nekoranec and Simone Alberghini. It took place at the very same theatre where Mozart conducted the world premiere of Don Giovanni on October 29, 1787.
Weather
Tuesday will be mostly cloudy with daytime highs ranging between -1 and 3 degrees Celsius.
