Daily news summary
Aung San Suu Kyi scheduled to visit Prague in October
Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to visit Prague next month, the news site Aktuálně.cz reported. She was invited by the Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, and should hold talks with both him and President Miloš Zeman. She is also due to speak at a human rights conference organised by the Václav Havel Library.
However, the Nobel Peace Prize winner cancelled a visit to the United Nations in New York recently following criticism of the treatment of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and her Czech hosts fear the Prague trip may not in the end take place, Aktuálně.cz said.
Sister of Czech who died in London wants Strasbourg to overturn verdict
Legal representatives of the sister of a Czech man who died in London have petitioned the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to overturn a UK court ruling which exonerated a man accused of his killing, the TV station Prima reported on Tuesday.
If the court accepts the case the Czech Republic will support the victim’s sister, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Prima said it might be months before the court responds to the petition.
Zdeněk Makar, who was 31, was beaten to death following an altercation outside a fast food outlet in London in September last year.
Czech foreign debt rises to 4.5 trillion crowns
The Czech Republic’s total foreign debt rose by 47.4 billion crowns to nearly 4.5 trillion crowns in the second quarter of this year, accounting for 91.9 percent of gross domestic product, according to preliminary data released by the Czech National Bank on Wednesday. Year-on-year, the foreign debt was nearly 1.1 trillion crowns higher.
The Czech Republic’s foreign debt has been gradually increasing for some time. It exceeded the four trillion crown mark for the first time this year. It crossed the two trillion mark in 2010, six years after reaching 1 trillion crowns for the first time.
Czech drug pervitin remains problem in Germany
Cross-border trade in the Czech produced drug pervitin or methamphetamine remains a problem in Germany. According to a recent report by the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the uptake of pervitine is spreading mainly in the southern and eastern part of Germany which border on the Czech Republic.
According to the German police, around five to ten tonnes of methamphetamine is produced in the Czech Republic each year. Last year, German police seized 62 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, which was five tonnes less than in the previous year.
EFSA: Czech ‘rum’ contains carcinogen
Traditional Czech ‘rum’ known as ‘tuzemák’ contains a carcinogenic ingredient, a report by the European Food Safety Authority has suggested. According to their analysis, the aroma in the alcoholic beverage contains carcinogen which can be harmful to consumers’ health.
Agriculture Minister Marián Jurečka said that if the ingredient is banned by Brussels, the Czech Republic will be asking for an exemption so that the use can be continued.
Tuzemák, which is produced from sugar beet spirit, had to be renamed after EU regulations stipulated that only spirits distilled from sugar-cane can be called rum.
Russia’s Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk confirms talks with Jaromír Jágr
Kontinental Hockey League club Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk has confirmed that it is holding negotiations with Czech hockey legend Jaromír Jágr.
The general manager for Russia’s Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, Rail Jakupov, told the daily Sports-Express that he was in talks with Jágr’s representatives, adding that they were waiting for his decision.
The 45-year old Jágr said earlier that he was ready to play in Europe if he couldn’t find work in the North American NHL.
Weather
Thursday is expected to be mostly cloudy with occasional rain showers and daytime temperatures ranging between 13 to 17 degrees Celsius.
