Daily news summary
President Zeman leaves for official visit to China
Czech president Miloš Zeman leaves for an official visit of China on Saturday. The Czech head of state will be received by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Shanghai on Monday.
The Czech delegation, made up of some 70 business representatives and four ministers, including Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček, will attend China International Import Expo, an international trade fair focused on imports into the world’s most populous state.
Mr. Zeman has visited Beijing in the past and also hosted the Chinese president in Prague.
Quarter of Czech hospitals post loss of over 160 billion crowns
A quarter of hospitals in the Czech Republic last year posted a loss of more than 160 billion crowns, according to a report released by the Institute of Health Information and Statistics. The assets of the 137 medical facilities in question amounted to over 14 billion crowns, while their liabilities stood at 17.7 billion.
The overall costs of Czech hospitals in 2017 amounted to 160.5 billion crowns, which is a nine percent increase on the previous year.
The Ministry of Health is currently working on introducing a new system of financing medical care in hospitals, which should come into effect in 2020.
Nearly 1200 people received immediate housing assistance since 2016
Labour offices in the Czech Republic have provided immediate, extraordinary assistance to around 1160 socially deprived tenants since 2016, according to the annual report issued by the government Agency for Social Inclusion, which is set to be debated by the government on Wednesday.
The immediate support is designated for tenants living in lodging houses to pay first and last month's rents in their new housing. Around 560 applications have been turned down by the labour offices.
The government Agency for Social Inclusion was established in 2008 to assist local authorities to resolve housing problems and creating a liaison between people living in social exclusion and labour offices, schools and the police and currently works in 60 municipalities with over 230 socially excluded localities.
Czech beach volleyball duo Hermannová/Sluková named Queens of the Beach
The Czech beach volleyball duo Barbora Hermannová / Markéta Nausch Sluková were awarded the Queens of the Beach title at the CEV gala event in Budapest on Friday night.
The Czechs have had their most successful season so far, ending at the top of the FIVB World Ranking. They won the Vienna Major women’s final and claimed bronze at the European Championship in the Netherlands. They also took silver at the World Tour Finals in Hamburg.
Czech Jakub Kudláček to head International Scouting for Charlotte Hornets
Former Czech basketball player Jakub Kudláček has been promoted to head the department of International Scouting for Charlotte Hornets, a professional basketball club based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the CZech News Agency reported on Saturday. He was hired as an international scout last autumn.
The Charlotte Hornets, which competed in the NBA, is largely owned by retired NBA player Michael Jordan. Kudláček, who is 28, played professionally in Europe for seven seasons and was a member of the Czech national team. He previously served as an international scout for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Record warm temperatures registered in Moravia and Silesia
Record warm temperatures were seen in several parts of the Czech Republic on Friday, mainly in Moravia and Silesia. Record temperatures for November 2 were seen at 18 stations keeping records for 30 years or more. The highest temperature, 21.2 degrees Celsius, was registered at Lučina near Frýdek Místek.
At this time of year temperatures typically range from 5 to 9 degrees Celsius. Meteorologists have attributed the unseasonable weather to a stream of very warm air coming from south-eastern Europe.
Weather
Sunday is expected to be partly overcast with daytime temperatures ranging between 9 and 13 degrees Celsius.
