Daily news summary
Exporters: Weak crown policy has delivered up to CZK 450 billion in extra exports
Czech exporters say the central bank’s policy of keeping the crown weak has meant between CZK 400 and CZK 450 billion in extra exports in the last two years. The Czech National Bank intervened to bring the crown down to around 27 to the euro in November 2013 and has maintained the policy ever since. The deputy head of the Association of Exporters, Otto Daněk, said on Tuesday that if the bank had not taken action the crown would today stand at around 25 to the euro. Mr. Daněk said Czech exports could this year reach a record of over CZK 4 trillion.
Anti-Zeman protestors summonsed over banners
Police in Bochov summonsed several people who held up protest banners against President Miloš Zeman when he visited the West Bohemian town, the spokesperson for Karlovy Vary police said on Tuesday. After questioning the demonstrators were found not to have committed any wrongdoing last month when they held up a number of signs. One of them read “Zeman is a Gentleman: A. Hitler”, parodying the president’s claim that pre-war journalist Ferdinand Peroutka had supported the Nazi leader. A 71-year-old man who pulled down one of the protesters' signs faces a misdemeanour charge, police said.
Minister demands police chief explain incident involving Tibetan flag at film school
The minister of the interior, Milan Chovanec, says he is giving Police President Tomáš Tuhý a week to explain an incident involving a Tibetan flag at Prague’s FAMU film school during a visit by the Chinese president last week. Two men presenting themselves as police officers inspected the flag, one of several erected in support of Tibet when Xi Jinping was in the city. Mr. Chovanec said if the police did not have a relevant reason for the visit it was a case of completely unacceptable arbitrary behaviour. He also called on Mr. Tuhý to explain why people who held up banners against President Miloš Zeman in the town of Bochov had been called in for questioning.
March sees highest ever Czech car sales for one month
March saw the highest ever number of car sales in one month in the Czech Republic, according to the Car Importers Association. Almost 23,000 new vehicles were registered in March, a rise of 8 percent on the same month in 2015. Sales for the first quarter were 12 percent up year on year, with the country’s biggest automaker Škoda Auto enjoying a 21 percent increase in sales in that period.
PM says tax office, Finance Ministry, must respond to Panama Papers
The Czech Tax Office and financial analysis unit at the Finance Ministry will have to respond to the Panama Papers, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka tweeted on Monday, adding it would be necessary to create pressure on existing tax havens. The Panama Papers are a data leak of more than 11 million documents revealing how the world elite move funds to offshore companies and havens to avoid taxes when possible. The prime minister suggested that the EU needed to act to push for the liquidation of tax havens and shady business agreements connected with offshore dealing. More than 280 Czechs were listed in the leak, including top business leaders. In the Czech Republic, the Panama Papers are being analysed by the Czech Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Baby Indian elephant first-ever bred and born at Prague Zoo
Prague Zoo saw the birth of the first baby elephant both bred and born at the zoo in its 82 year history, on Tuesday. The news was revealed by Prague Zoo’s director Miroslav Bobek on twitter. The Indian elephant was born after 3 AM, and weighed 104 kilograms, he said. The baby was born to Janita, was brought to the zoo from Sri Lanka in 2012. The zoo’s director described the baby elephant’s birth as one of the most powerful moments he had witnessed at the zoo during his tenure.
Beehives to be installed on roof of Art Nouveau Prague City Hall
Beehives are to be installed on the roof of Prague City Hall in the historical centre of the capital. Councilors on Tuesday voted to allow a beekeeper to run six hives on top of the Art Nouveau building for an unlimited period of time. Beehives are already in place on the roof of a city centre shopping centre and hotel. Experts say the urban environment provides bees with a wide variety of plants for pollination and, unlike in the countryside, there is no danger from pesticides
Temperature records set at majority of Czech weather stations
Temperature records were set in many parts of the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Eight out of 10 weather stations that have been keeping records for more than 30 years saw their warmest ever April s. The hottest place in the country was Poruba in Ostrava, where it was 26.8 degrees Celsius. Temperature records were also broken in many places on Monday.
Prague exhibition among many events highlighting Charles IV anniversary
Gold ducats bearing an image of Charles IV and glass cups discovered by archeologists in Prague are among the items due to appear in a new exhibition in the capital. The Seven Towers exhibition, which gets underway on Monday at the Academy of Sciences, is subtitled Charles IV in the Eyes of Academics. The event is one of several being held to mark next month’s 700th anniversary of the birth of the Bohemian king and Holy Roman Emperor.
