Daily news summary

Brother of Lebanese taxi driver who disappeared with five Czechs is detained in Czech Republic

The brother of the Lebanese taxi driver who disappeared in the east of the country along with five Czechs was detained in the Czech Republic last year on suspicion of links with terrorism, the web server Novinky.cz said Sunday citing the broadcaster Voice of Lebanon. Ali Fajad was detained with two others on suspicion of being involved in a drugs for arms deal. His extradition has been demanded by US authorities but a final decision is still pending a ruling by the Czech Minister of Justice. Lebanese security forces are searching the area where the five Czechs and driver disappeared. The Czech foreign ministry confirmed the disappearance of the five Czechs on Saturday.

Pavel Bělobrádek under fire after Sudeten gesture

Deputy prime minister and leader of the Christian Democrats Pavel Bělobrádek has come under for a visit to Munich at the end of the week during which he present a wreath in memory of the Sudeten Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia at the end of WWII. Leader of the communist party, Vojtečh Filip said it would have been better for Bělobrádek to have paid homage to those who laid down their lives for freedom rather than those that greeted Adolf Hitler, a reference to the euphoria in 1938 when the Sudetenland was attached to Germany. And Civic Democrat Member of the European Parliament Jan Zahradil asked for clarification whether the visit was official or private. Bělobrádek’s gesture did though win some support from other political leaders.

Czech women rebuffed in silicon breast implant case

Dozens of Czech women have failed in an attempt to claim compensation from a German company which supplied the silicon for breast implants which were later found to be flawed. An initial court hearing in France held out the prospect that damages could be claimed from the German firm which supplied the implants to the French company at the centre of a scandal which broke out in 2011. The complainants argued the producer had failed to check how the silicon was being used. But an appeal court reversed that ruling. Radek Novotný, acting for dozens of Czech women who received the faulty implants, said a further appeal to the Supreme Court is now being considered.

Regional development ministry set to intervene in ‘Marshmallow’ decision

he Ministry of Regional Development will apparently be asked to intervene in the case of the so-called ‘Marshmallow,’ a controversial building project in the centre of Prague which has sparked opposition from local residents and heritage organisations. The project, given its name because of its pastel colours and shape, was originally approved by Prague one district. But Prague City Hall has since started to probe the zoning approval. The project developer regards this as illegal and is now seeking an intervention from the ministry, the Czech News Agency reported.

Czech National Symphony Orchestra records score for Tarantino Western

Recording of the music for Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino’s new Western, The Hateful Eight, began in Prague on Saturday at the recording studios of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Recording should continue through to Monday. Director Tarantino and the composer of the score, Ennio Morricone, were both on hand for the proceedings. The two have teamed up again after falling out in 2013. Morricone is actually making a comeback to composing for Westerns after a gap of several decades.

Viktoria Plzeň win Super Cup

League champions Viktoria Plzeň claimed their first trophy of the new football season by winning the Super Cup against last season’s cup winning team, Slovan Liberec. Plzeň had most of the early pressure and took a two goal lead through Tomáš Hořava and Daniel Kolář. Slovan cut the lead in the 52nd minute with a strike by Lukáš Bátošák, his first game for the club on his debut.

Petr Čech makes winning debut for Arsenal

Goalkeeper Petr Čech has made his debut between the posts for Arsenal in the final of a warm-up pre-season tournament in Singapore. Čech played in the final of the Barclay Asia Trophy against fellow Premier League team Everton. Arsenal won 3:1 with the final goal a consolation for the Merseyside team. Čech said after the game that he knew he would be the focus of attention and was pleased to have put in a good performance.