Daily news summary
Mayors and Independents’ leader Gazdík to vacate his post
The head of the party of Mayors and Independents Petr Gazdík has confirmed his intention to leave his post at the head of the party in order to make way for change.
Gazdík, who founded the party in 2009, said it needed a change-of-guard and a new vision. He said he would push for the party’s conference in April of next year to elect a new leadership.
According to the news site Aktualne.cz the party’s current first deputy Vít Rakušan is a hot candidate for the top post.
Police officer charged with illegal wildlife trade
The General Police Inspectorate has charged a police officer from the Regional Directorate in Prague and two other individuals with illegal wildlife trade, the Czech News Agency reported on Friday. The suspects allegedly attempted to sell the horn of a critically endangered rhino on the Asian market, which could have brought them over two million crowns. If found guilty, they would face up to five years in prison.
The sale and purchase of rhino horns has been banned worldwide since 1977 within measures to protect the endangered species. The horn powder is sought after mainly in Asia, where traditional medicine lends it therapeutic and aphrodisiac powers.
Czech balance of payments shows surplus of 44.7 billion crowns in Q3
The Czech economy’s current account balance of payments, a broad measure of goods and money flowing in and out of the country, ended in a surplus of 44.7 billion crowns in the first three quarters of 2018, according to figures released by the Czech national Bank on Friday. The surplus for the first six months of the year totals 7.9 billion crowns.
Car production up by 2.9 percent in period to November
Car production in the Czech Republic rose by 2.9 percent to nearly 1.4 million between January and November this year, the Automotive Industry Association said on Friday. Exports have grown by 3.3 percent to 1.25 million vehicles.
By contrast, domestic sales of cars have dropped by around two percent. The country’s biggest car producer, Škoda Auto, raised output by 4.5 percent to over 831,000 cars and TPCA recorded growth by 11 percent to nearly 197,000 cars.
According to the head of the Czech Automotive Industry Association, Bohdan Wojnar, car production for the whole of 2018 is expected to reach 1.4 million, which should slightly exceed last year’s figure.
Iranian play White Rabbit Red Rabbit to be staged in Prague
Prague’s venue Jatka 78 is set to stage a play by Iranian dramatist Nassim Soleimanpour White Rabbit Red Rabbit. It was written by the author while he was forbidden to leave his country for refusing military duty.
The play, which is to be performed each night by a different actor, takes the form a sealed letter and the seal is only broken once the actor steps onto the stage. It has become a huge success after its premiere in 2011 and has since been performed in more than 25 languages.
Among the actors to appear in the Czech staging of White Rabbit Red Rabbit is Martha Issová, Aňa Geislervoá and Petr Čtvrtníček. The premiere is scheduled to take place in the Jatka 78 venue in January.
Bob Dylan to perform in Prague in April
The legendary American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will be performing three concerts at Prague’s Lucerna Hall in April of next year, within his European 2019 tour, the organizer of the event Live Nation Czech Republic announced on Thursday.
Dylan who first performed in Prague in1994 has been back ten times, wowing audiences in Prague, Brno and Ostrava.
His Lucerna concerts next year will feature some of his best-known hits and a selection from his 2017 album Triplicate.
Weather
Saturday is expected to be mostly overcast with occasional snow showers in higher altitudes and daytime highs ranging between minus 4 and 0 degrees Celsius.
