Daily news summary
Supreme Court rules in favour of journalist in wiretapping case
The Supreme Court has ruled that a court order allowing the police to tap journalist Janek Kroupa’s phone in connection with an investigation of a suspect purchase of hardware for the Czech military was illegal.
The court said such an order should only be made in exceptional cases in which the court would properly justify why it was violating the given journalist‘s right to privacy and right to protect his/her source.
Czech Radio‘s investigative journalist Janek Kroupa filed a complaint against the fact that his phone was tapped in 2012, saying that he had moreover not been informed about it afterwards.
According to Czech law the police have a duty to inform people that they had been tapped in connection with an investigation.
Authorities mulling more stringent conditions for pork imports
The Agriculture Ministry and the State Veterinary Authority have said that in view of the spread of African swine fever they are considering setting down more stringent requirements for pork products imported to the country.
This would primarily concern imports from Poland and Belgium where the virus was detected.
The bulk of the country’s pork imports come from Germany, Spain, Poland and Belgium.
Czech Republic ranks 30th on Economic Freedom of the World Index
The Czech Republic has placed 30th on the Economic Freedom of the World Index published by the Canadian Fraser institute, up by seven spots compared to last year.
The index compares data from 162 countries, assessing a number of indicators, including the size of the public score, the quality of legislation, foreign trade and overall regulation. Monetary issues and inflation are also taken into consideration.
Hong Kong has traditionally placed top of the ladder, followed by Singapore and New Zealand.
Czech director starts filming adaptation of Philip Roth’s The Prague Orgy
Czech director Irena Pavlásková has started filming an adaptation of The Prague Orgy by the late U.S. author Philip Roth. The book, based on Roth’s own experience, is set in the mid-1970s Czechoslovakia and follows the journey of his alter ego Nathan Zuckermann to Prague. The project, a Czech-Slovak-Canadian coproduction with an international cast, will be shot in English. Starring in the lead roles are Canadian actor Jonas Chernick and Russian actress Ksenia Rappaport. The premiere is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2019.
Czechs spend on average 28 euros on books per year
Czechs spend on average 719 crowns (around 28 euros) a year for books and audio-books, suggests a survey carried out by Kanzelsberger bookstore released on Tuesday.
The average price of books sold in the Czech Republic last year increased to 261 crowns, according to the data of the country’s booksellers’ and publishers’ association.
Some 15,500 titles were published in the Czech Republic in 2017 and overall, Czechs spent 7.8 billion crowns on books, which is around four percent more than in the previous year.
Kvitová advances to third round at Wuhan Open in China
Czech tennis player Petra Kvitová advanced to the third round of the women’s singles at the Wuhan Open in China on Tuesday after defeating Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia 6-3, 6-4.
The two-time Wuhan Open champion will take on the winner of the upcoming second-round match between No.12 seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the third round.
Weather
Wednesday is expected to be mostly sunny with daytime highs ranging between 13 and 17 degrees Celsius.
