Daily news summary

Finance minister: Czech 2017 budget could end with small surplus

This year’s state budget, including EU subsidies, could end up with a surplus of up to 10 billion crowns, Czech Finance Minister Ivan Pilný said in a debate programme on Czech Television on Sunday. Excluding money from European Union funds, the minister estimates the budget should in with a mild deficit around 10 billion crowns.

The state budget surplus rose at the end of October to a yearly high of 26.5 billion crowns, but dropped from last year’s 98.3 billion-crown surplus because of reduced EU subsidies.The budget approved for this year envisages a deficit of 60 billion crowns.

Average age of Czech doctors keeps increasing

The average age of Czech doctors has been increasing, the head of the Czech Institute of Health Information and Statistics Ladislav Dušek said at a meeting of the Czech Medical Chamber on Saturday. Concerns about the growing age of Czech doctors were raised by a number of other speakers at the meeting.

According to Mr Dušek, medical schools need to increase the number of graduates by 20 percent in order to replace the soon to be retired specialists. If nothing changes, around one fifth of Czech doctors will be older than 65 by the year 2025, he said.

Snow warning issued for west Bohemia

Weather forecasters have issued a snow warning for west and central Bohemia. Heavy snowfall can bring up to 15 centimetres of fresh snow by Sunday midnight.

Meteorologists have also warned against ice on roads, which is expected in South Bohemia and Vysočina regions on Monday morning.

Špotáková named Czech Athlete of the Year

Women’s javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková has been named Czech “Athlete of the Year” for the ninth time in her career. Javelin thrower Jakub Vadlejch came second in the survey, followed by his colleague Petr Frydrych. The title coach of the year went to the javelin legend Jan Železný.

Špotáková won a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in London this year, ten years after her first gold at the very same tournament. The prestigious survey pools votes from organisers, sport specialists and journalists.

Football: Czechs beat Qatar in Doha mini tournament

In football, the Czech team has won a mini tournament in Doha, after beating Qatar 1:0 on Saturday. The goal was scored in the first half by Antonín Barák.

In their first appearance, Czechs beat former World Cup competitor Iceland 2:1.

Hundreds take part in Velká Kunratická cross country race

The 84th annual Velká Kunratická cross country race was held in Prague's Kunratický Forest on Sunday.

The 3.1 km race, which attracted hundreds of runners, was won for the second time by Jan Janů. Kamila Gregorová won the women's category for the fourth time in a row.

The oldest participant was 80-year-old Josef Vonášek, who completed his 58th Velká Kunratická race.

Weather

Monday is expected to be mostly cloudy with rain showers and snow in higher altitudes. Daytime highs will range between two to six degrees Celsius.