Daily news summary
Czech Republic will accept no migrants from Turkey before the end of the year, says Interior Minister
The Czech Republic will not accept any migrants from Turkey before the end of the year, Interior Minister Milan Chovanec confirmed on Sunday, speaking on a political debate program on Czech TV. The country was originally to have taken 81 migrants in October but the government indicated earlier the vetting process would take longer. Minister Chovanec made clear that the process was very strict following the recent failed coup in Turkey; in his interview he also stated that tough diplomacy was needed to get Greece to "start meeting its obligations concerning migrants".
Chovenec: Police responded properly to "mock IS" invasion
Interior Minister Milan Chovanec has rejected any suggestion that police who ended a demonstration last weekend on Prague's Old Town Square - in which a populist politician and associates staged a "mock IS invasion" - acted inadequately. Instead, on Sunday, he laid the blame with City Hall councillors who were present. Speaking on Czech TV, Minister Chovanec suggested the event should have been banned the moment it started, given it could have caused broader public panic given recent attacks in Belgium and France. Some tourists were startled before it became apparent it was an act. The police stepped in to stop the publicity stunt when participants brandished replica firearms.
Footballer Jiří Tichý - member of the Czechoslovak squad which came second in the 1962 World Cup - dies at 82
Former footballer Jiří Tichý, a member of the Czechoslovak national squad that finished silver at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, losing in the final to Brazil, has died at the age of 82. The news that he passed away on Friday was released by football club Slavoj Podivín which the former defender used to coach. In the 1962 final in Chile, Czechoslovakia opened the scoring but went on to lose 3:1.
Pilot dies in ultralight plane collision
One pilot, aged 50, was killed and another injured when their ultralight planes collided in the area of Olomouc on Saturday evening. The police are investigating the incident, which also caused damage worth four million crowns.
Tram route changes take effect
Changes on the city's tram routes announced in advance by Prague's Public Transport Company have come into effect. In all, nine routes were modified while 12 were unchanged. Three new trams routes were also added. As of Sunday, Prague's 18 tram, for example, will no longer travel to Petřiny but to Podbaba instead. The changes are expected to bump operational costs by some 130 million crowns annually. Yearly, the operation of Prague's trams comes to around 3.4 billion crowns.
Roughly quarter of country's measuring stations register record temperatures
Almost a quarter of the country's measuring stations on Saturday registered record temperatures, meteorologists confirmed. New records for the date of August 27 were set at 51 of 237 stations. The highest for the day was recorded in the municipalities of Dobřichovice and Neumětely in Central Bohemia, west of Prague. Further records could be broken on Sunday, when temperatures are again expected to reach at least 31 degrees Celsius.
Football: Čech, Gunners, clinch first win in new season
Czech goalkeeper Petr Čech and London club Arsenal clinched their first win of the season on Saturday after suffering a loss and a draw in their first two matches. Arsenal downed Watford by a score of 3:1 to put Arsenal seventh in the Premier League standings. Čech's former club, Chelsea, are first. This summer Čech announced his retirement from the Czech national squad after almost 15 years, intending to focus solely on his commitment to his professional team.
