Daily news summary
Assembly elects Krnáčová first female mayor in Prague
Members of Prague City Hall’s assembly on Wednesday elected ANO’s Adriana Krnáčová mayor, the first time the post will be held by a woman. Thirty-three members voted in favour and 22 against while seven abstained. In a short statement, the new mayor said it was time for Prague to “wake up” as numerous pressing issues needed attention. But she came under fire from two former predecessors for waiving a traditional three-minute address to introduce her policy programme ahead of the actual vote. Three deputy mayors were also elected on Wednesday: Petr Dolínek of the Social Democrats, ANO’s Eva Kislingerová and the Green’s Matěj Stropnický.
President says recommendation of Czech Radio Council does not concern him
President says recommendation of Czech Radio Council does not concern him
President Miloš Zeman said the recommendation of the Council for Czech Radio not to broadcast further live interviews with him after he used vulgar language on air did not concern him. Speaking to journalists during his visit to Tajikistan on Thursday, Mr Zeman said it was up to Czech Radio’s management to deal with the situation. The recommendation came in reaction to a recent scandalous broadcast in which President Miloš Zeman used a number of vulgar expressions. According to the Council, both the law and the broadcaster's ethical codex were breached; at the same time, the council conceded that surprise had played a strong role in the interviewer’s mild reaction to the language used.
Foreign Minister Zaorálek visits Baghdad
Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek, along with the deputy Defense Minister Tomáš Kuchta and a delegation of businessmen, arrived in Baghdad on Thursday morning for a one-day visit. The Czech foreign minister is set to hold talks with the new Iraqi President Fuad Masum, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and his counterpart Ibrahim Al-Jaafari. Mr Zaorálek will also meet with Kurdish representatives in Irbil. Among the topics on the agenda will be the Czech Republic’s military aid to Iraqi armed forces fighting Islamist radicals.
Prague Mayor Krnáčová: Opencard to be dealt with by Christmas
The newly appointed Prague Mayor Adriana Krnáčová has said that the city council will be dealing with hot issues such as Opencard or waste collection at its meeting next week. In an interview for the business daily Hospodářské noviny, Mrs Krnáčová said the city council would present a solution for Pragues’s transport pass known as Opencard by Christmas. Prague City Hall has been locked in a drawn-out dispute with eMoney Services and took over the running of the card after the contract for its operation expired. However it lacks the right to change or re-programme the existing software.
Nurse charged with murdering six patients sent into custody
A court in Ústí nad Labem on Thursday sent a former nurse, who was charged with murdering six patients at a hospital in Rumburk, north Bohemia, into custody. The state prosecutor had asked for the suspect to be taken into custody for fear she might try to flee the country. According to investigators, the nurse had been killing patients who were in her care, since 2010, overdosing them with potassium. The nurse herself denied that she was committing euthanasia.
Newborn girl found in Brno babybox
A newborn girl was placed in a baby box in Brno on Thursday afternoon, making her to be the 110th child to be left there since the network was established in the country in 2005. Doctors said the baby, who was given the name Jana, was in a good condition. There are a total of 63 babyboxes in different locations around the Czech Republic, and in the past nine years, 63 girls and 43 boys were left in them.
Outstanding Czech scientists receive Česká Hlava awards
The Česká Hlava awards will be handed out to six outstanding Czech scientists in Prague on Thursday. The main prize for lifelong work goes to biochemist Emil Paleček, who discovered electro-technical properties of nucleic acids. Chemical engineer Karel Kolomazník will receive the award for innovation in finding new ways to recycle toxic waste from the leather industry. The awarding ceremony will take place on Thursday night and the winners will receive 1.7 million crowns. The Česká Hlava awards project was launched in 2002 by private companies and has become one of the most prestigious events in the world of science.
Czech brewer wins dispute over Budwesier Budvar trademark in Norway
Czech brewery Budějovický Budvar has won a 21-year long dispute with Anheuser-Bush InBev over the registration of the Budweiser trademark in Norway, the brewery’s spokesman Petr Samec told the Czech News Agency on Thursday. Budvar applied for the trademark in December 1993, but the world biggest brewer filed an objection. The final ruling allows Budvar to continue selling its beer in Norway under the Budweiser trademark. Legal disputes over the famous trademark have been going on since 1907.
Football: Sparta Prague face Napoli
Czech football club Sparta Prague face Italy’s Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday evening in the Czech capital. The two clubs are tied in Group I on nine points, followed by the BSC Young Boys with six and Slovan Bratislava with zero. Napoli won their first match against Sparta 3:1. Sparta will be hoping for a win to try and get a stranglehold on qualification for the second half of the tournament in the spring.
Moravia-Silesia affected by air pollution
Air pollution exceeded the permitted levels on Thursday in parts of Moravia, particularly the Ostrava and Karviná regions, according to the data released by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. Moravia and Silesia is one of Europe’s most polluted regions due to heavy industry located on both sides of the Czech-Polish border. Air pollution is a problem especially in the winter months, when the situation is aggravated by coal heating.
