News

Several Czech coal trading businesses have been forced to halt sales as their stores are running out due to a sharp rise in demand from Poland, news site Seznam Zprávy reported on Friday. Jakub Hanuš from the coal warehouse of Olvan Náchod told Seznam that while a ton of coal now costs between 20,000 to 25,000 crowns in Poland, in Czechia Poles are able to purchase the same weight for just CZK 5,500.

Some warehouses have chosen to save the little coal they have left for Czech customers, while others have set limits on the maximum amount of coal they are willing to sell. Mr Hanuš told the news site that there is now a risk that those clients who order coal as late as October will not be able to receive their order during the winter.

Poland, a major European coal producer, is using the material to fuel its industry. Many Polish households, who normally purchased coal for their heating needs from Russia, are now experiencing severe shortages, Seznam Zprávy reported.

Saturday will see temperatures range around 12 degrees Celsius with overcast skies and rainfall.

The former prime minister of Czechia and the current chairman of the ANO party, Andrej Babiš, polled highest in a Median agency August survey of presidential candidates with 23.5 percent of the hypothetical vote. He was followed by retired General Petr Pavel who polled at 22 percent. Compared with the previous month, Mr Babiš lost two percentage points while General Pavel gained one point. In a hypothetical second round of elections General Pavel would win, according to the survey, with 58 percent of the vote. However, more than a fifth of respondents said that they were still undecided who they would vote for in the second round.

Economist Danuše Nerudová placed third in voter preferences, favoured by 11.5 percent of respondents. She was followed by trade union leader Josef Středula (7.5 percent) and senators Marek Hilšer and Pavel Fischer, who both polled at 6.5 percent.

The news site Deník N says that a former Czech diplomat suspected of handing classified information to the Russians may go unpunished. The same outlet reported on Thursday that the Czech BIS intelligence service had uncovered an employee of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs who had collaborated with Russia’s civilian intelligence agency, the SVR. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.

However, the man, who has since left the ministry, has been investigated by the BIS, whose evidence may not be used in court, Deník N says.

It said on Friday that it was not clear whether the police were also investigating the ex-diplomat, which would be necessary if criminal proceedings are to take place.

Prime Minister Fiala praised BIS, who had surveilled the man for years, for uncovering his activities.

One source told Deník N that the Russian spy agency had capitalised on the man’s “weakness for women and money”.