News

The House at the Stone Bell on Prague’s Old Town Square will host an exhibition of work by US director Tim Burton from the end of March until early August, a spokesperson for the gallery said on Tuesday. The filmmaker is set to appear in person at the opening of the show, which will include drawings, illustrations, puppets, costumes and design objects from his movies. Known for his gothic sensibility, the director has helmed such films as Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks! and Alice in Wonderland.

Czech ice hockey coach Alois Hadamczik has called up such veterans as Jaromír Jágr and Petr Nedvěd for the country’s squad for the Winter Olympics in Russia’s Sochi next month. Seventeen players from the NHL have been included in the roster, with Tomáš Plekanec of Montreal Canadiens being named captain. It will be the fifth Olympics for Jágr, who has not ruled out playing a sixth in 2018, when he will be 46.

The Social Democrats, ANO and the Christian Democrats have signed a coalition agreement on a new centre-left government. The agreement outlines a list of policy priorities and a division of ministerial posts. Under the deal, the Social Democrats will get 8 posts in the new government, the ANO party 6 and the Christian Democrats 3. Social Democrat leader and the country’s likely next prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka will now submit the coalition agreement to President Miloš Zeman who should by rights appoint him prime minister. There has been some speculation that the president might try to stall the process if he has serious reservations to the proposed cabinet line-up. Mr. Sobotka said earlier that if all goes well a new administration could be in place by mid-January.

Environment activists have criticized the nomination of Richard Brabec to the post of environment minister in the new government. Brabec, who is nominated by the ANO party, is actively engaged in the chemicals and forest industries and in the years between 2005 and 2011 served as financial director at the chemicals plant Spolana, which appears on Arnica’s list of major polluters. He is moreover still on the company’s board of directors. Jan Pinos of the environment movement Duha says Brabec’s nomination to the post of environment minister presents a blatant clash of interests and borders on the absurd.