Daily news summary

Babiš: Life of Dukovany could be prolonged by decade

The Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, says the service life of the Dukovany nuclear power plant could be extended by a decade. That would cost CZK 20 billion, compared to building a new nuclear unit, which would cost around 10 times that amount, he said.

Dukovany was previously expected to keep operating until 2035. Keeping it running for another 10 years would mean the Czech government would not have to decide now on how to fund the expansion of nuclear plants operated by state-controlled company CEZ.

CEZ is reluctant to launch a tender without state guarantees for the massive investments. However, Mr. Babiš argues that the power giant can handle the project on its own.

The minister of industry and trade, Marta Nováková, was quoted on Tuesday as saying that the government may postpone a decision on whether to force CEZ to construct new reactors at the country’s second nuclear power station, Temelín.

Czech and Slovak presidents mark centenary of Martin Declaration

The Czech president, Miloš Zeman, and his Slovak counterpart, Andrej Kiska, on Tuesday marked the centenary of the Martin Declaration, under which Slovaks broke away from the Kingdom of Hungary and later unified with the Czech lands as Czechoslovakia.

Speaking at a ceremony in the Slovak town of Martin, Mr. Zeman said that Czechs had been threatened with Germanisation in 1918 and Slovaks with Magyarisation. However, thanks to the Martin Declaration the two people’s had not lost their nationality or language and could develop freely, he said.

Mr. Kiska said the foundation of Czechoslovakia had been complicated and praised the role played by its founders Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Milan Rastislav Štefánik.

Warmest ever October night temperature recorded on Monday

The warmest ever night temperature for October in the Czech Republic was recorded on Monday, meteorologists reported. No less than 19.8 degrees Celsius was recorded in Mošnov in the Moravian Silesian Region, just two-tenths of a degree below what forecasters consider a “tropical” nocturnal temperature.

Such values are registered in the Czech Republic in July and August but rarely at other times of the year.

Strong winds leave thousands of households without power

Strong winds overnight have left thousands of households without power and are complicating traffic around the country.

The situation is reported to be worst in the Pardubice, Benešov and Šumperk regions where over thirty thousand households were without power on Tuesday morning.

Fire crews in the Pardubice region alone were called to 150 emergencies in the course of the night and many smaller roads were closed on Tuesday due to fallen trees. Trains are running late in several regions with dozens of connections affected.

Exploration of lives of prisoners takes Jihlava best Czech documentary prize

Enclosed World by Karel Žalud has won the award for best Czech film at the 22nd edition of the Jihlava documentary festival. The four-hour work is compiled from a Czech Television series of the same title that explores the lives of prisoners and their families.

The Belgian film Vacancy by Alexandra Longuet took Jihlava’s prize for best foreign documentary. French New Wave veteran Jean-Luc Goddard, who also directed Jihlava’s trailer this year, received an award for contribution to world cinema.

Slavia return to top of table with win over Dukla

Slavia Prague have returned to the top of the Czech soccer league. They overcame city rivals Dukla 4:1 on Monday evening to again move two points in front of reigning champions Viktoria Plzeň and bring the 13th round of the season to an end.

Two of Slavia’s goals came from midfielder Miroslav Stoch. The result leaves Slavia seven points ahead of rivals Sparta Prague ahead of a derby clash between the two next weekend.

Weather forecast

It should be bright in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, with temperatures of up to 14 degrees Celsius expected. The following days are expected to bring rain but daytime highs are forecast to remain in the mid-teens Celsius for the coming week.