Daily news summary

Czech foreign minister to meet with V4 counterparts ahead of EU summit

Czech Foreign Ministr Lubomír Zaorálek is due to meet for consultations with the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four in Brussels on Sunday, ahead of a scheduled meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday. According to Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Michaela Lagronová the EU foreign ministers’ summit will be dominated by the foiled coup in Turkey and the migrant crisis and should be attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry. It is not yet clear if the Turkish foreign minister will be present at the talks.

Police investigating financial operations at OKD mining company

The police’s anti-corruption squad is investigating financial operations at the OKD mining company which was declared bankrupt in May of this year, Czech Television reported on Sunday. The company has debts amounting to 17 billion crowns and there are suspicions that millions of crowns may have been taken out of the firm illegally. Some of its assets were reportedly transferred to other companies. A number of officials at OKD and its parent company NWR are suspected of financial mismanagement and abuse of office.

Proposed ban on Segways to be broader than expected

A proposed ban on Segways in selected parts of Prague will be broader than expected according to the draft proposal which is to be debated by Prague councilors next week. The proposal, which was made available to the ctk news agency, envisages a complete ban in Prague 1, Holešovice and Letna and selected parts of the districts Vinohrady, Žižkov, Prahy 4, Smíchov and Liben. Segways should be banned from pavements, cycle paths, pedestrian zones and streets. The ban should come into effect in mid-August. Segway operators say they will sue the city for losses incurred.

Air travel between Prague and Istanbul renewed

Air travel between Prague and Istanbul has been renewed in the wake of a short fall-out in the wake of the foiled coup in Turkey. A morning and afternoon flight were cancelled on Saturday but an evening flight took off as scheduled and no problems are reported. There are currently around 7,000 tourists in the country’s seaside resorts. The head of the Association of Czech travel agencies Jan Papež said Czechs would now have to make their own decision about whether or not to go ahead with planned holidays in Turkey. The Czech Foreign Ministry has advised Czechs against travelling to Ankara, Istanbul and southeastern Turkey. Tourists visiting other areas have been asked to remain vigilant, avoid large gatherings and crowded places and register with the ministry’s travel data base.

James Morrison performing tonight at the Prague Proms

Australian trumpeter and composer James Morrison will be performing tonight at the Prague Proms. Mr. Morrison, who is a regular at the Prague Proms, will appear with his entire band and perform alongside singer Hetty Kate. The concert titled Jazz from A to Z will take place at Prague’s Obecný dům and starts at 7pm.

Prague Zoo sends more Przewalski mares to Mongolia

Prague Zoo has sent four more Przewalski mares to Mongolia for reintroduction into the wild, within its breeding program aimed at saving the Mongolian wild horse. The zoo’s spokeswoman said the horses left Prague airport aboard a CASA military plane on Saturday and are expected to reach their destination on Sunday. Przewalski’s horse is a rare subspecies native specifically to Mongolia. It became extinct in the wild 40 years ago and Prague Zoo has played a major role in saving the horse, breeding it and gradually returning it to its natural environment. Between 2011 and 2014 the zoo has sent 19 horses to a nature reserve in the Mongolian steppe where they have already had 15 foals.

Pokemon Go meet up in Prague cut short due to server problems

A Wenceslas Square Pokemon Go event attracted several hundred people to the Prague city center on Saturday. The aim of the first such meet-up in the Czech Republic was to set a record in the biggest get-together of Pokemon Go fans in central Europe, compare levels and hunt Pokemon in the city centre. However the event was cut short due to server problems and the crowd dispersed after about 20 minutes. The mobile app-based game, in which players can track Pokemon hiding in real-world locations using their phone’s camera and GPS, has become an international craze.