Daily news summary
Czech archbishops denounce Brno festival play
Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka has condemned a theatre festival in the Czech second city, Brno, from featuring the play ‘Our Violence, Your Violence.’ And as a result the church has said it will not take part in events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovakia.
In his letter on behalf of other bishops, Duka said the play was a sell out of Christianity and its ideals and an insult to all Czechs and Christians as well as Muslims.
The church says the play, by director Oliver Frljic, involves a scene where Jesus Christ rapes a Muslim woman. The theatre festival has resisted demands the play be withdrawn from the programme.
Czech parliament votes to overturn ban on deliveries to Iran nuclear plant
The lower house of the Czech parliament on Thursday supported a communist party proposal that a ban on exporting equipment for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor be lifted. The vote was on the first reading as the start of the legislative process.
The ban has been in force for 18 years with the communists seeking to overturn it since 2009. The precise proposal stems from the problems of South Bohemia company ZVVZ Milevsko which had won a contract to deliver air conditioning equipment.
The Czech government took a neutral position on the issue when it came up in Cabinet in March in spite of warnings that agreement to lift the ban might affect relations with key allies such as the United States.
Czech capital listed as possible location for Trump-Kim meet
News agency Bloomberg has said that the Czech capital Prague could be a location for the meeting between US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Bloomberg included Prague in a list of nine possible locations. It added that Kim’s uncle is ambassador in the country. Other locations included Oslo, Helsinki, Stockholm, Geneva, Warsaw, Ulaanbaatar, Bankok, and Singapore.
The meeting should take place in early June or before according to the US president.
Czech car production down 2.6 percent in Q1
Car production in the Czech Republic dropped by 2.6 percent in the first quarter of the year.
The country’s bigger car maker, Škoda Auto, increased production by 2.5 percent, to stand at just over 377,000. The biggest drop came from Hyundai where output was down 15,5 percent. Production from the TPCA joint venture fell by 1.5 percent.
The association representing the auto sector said it expects production to pick up over the remainder of the year. The auto sector represents around 9.0 percent of Czech Gross Domestic Product.
Finále Plzeň film festival gets underway
The Finále Plzeň film festival, devoted to Czech and Slovak film production, gets underway on Thursday in the west Bohemian town.
The 31st edition of the festival will offer 135 screenings. Fifty-one films will be competing for the main prize, the Golden Kingfisher, in five different categories. The festival will continue until April 24.
New Saint Vojtěch sculpture to be unveiled at St.Vitus Cathedral
A new statue depicting Saint Vojtěch and fellow saints is set to be unveiled at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague on Thursday evening. The ceremony will take place at the same time as the remains of exiled Czech Cardinal Josef Beran are taken out of the crypt of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Cardinal Josef Beran, a symbol of resistance to the communist regime, was exiled to Rome in 1965, where he died four years later. He was buried in the Vatican because the communist authorities did not approve the return of his body to his homeland.
The Cardinal’s remains will be flown to the Czech Republic on Friday and will be buried in Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral the next day. The idea for the statue to be placed in the cathedral emerged during the time when Cardinal Beran was still Archbishop of Prague and Primate of Czechoslovakia.
Slavia Prague seals cooperation with oldest Chinese football club
Slavia Prague seals cooperation with oldest Chinese football club In football, Czech top club Slavia Prague has moved to deepen its cooperation with the game in China.
It has signed a strategic cooperation deal with the oldest Chinese club, Beijing Sinobo Guoan, which plays in the country’s top league. The cooperation covers top professional and youth football.
Beijing Sinobo Guoan was founded in 1951 and was 9th in the league last year. Slavia is owned by Chinese company CEFC. A delegation from the Chinese club have been on a visit to Prague.
Weather
Friday should be bright and sunny across the country. Top daytime temperatures will range between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius.
