Daily news summary

Babiš: Post-Brexit, Czechs in UK must not be worse off

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said following a meeting in London on Wednesday with his British counterpart that he is confident the European Union and United Kingdom will reach an agreement on Brexit.

Welcoming him to Downing Street for talks, Ms. May said she hoped for strong business links after Brexit, stating she was looking forward to discussions on how to strengthen ties and trade.

For this part, Mr Babiš said that in his discussion with Theresa May he had emphasized that Czechs and other EU citizens living in the UK should not be worse off after Brexit.

Before flying to London, he noted that the Brexit problem was now mainly focused on the Northern Ireland border issue.

Czechs recall a diplomat in Riyadh over Saudi journalist's murder

The Czech Republic will recall one of its diplomats posted at the Riyadh embassy in connection with the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (Social Democrats) announced following a meeting with the Saudi Ambassador in Prague.

According to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, ten people are currently stationed in Riyadh. Possible sanctions against Saudi Arabia, including limiting arms exports, could be discussed with other European Union countries.

Mr Petříček said he wants to discuss the situation with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš so that the government can speak with a unified position about the apparent murder of Khashoggi, the Czech news agency ČTK reported.

Czech solider killed in Afghanistan to be buried with military honours

The Czech soldier killed in an attack at a military facility in western Afghanistan on Monday will be buried with military honours, head of the Joint Operation Centre Štefan Muránský told the Czech News Agency on Thursday.

Corporal Procházka was a 42-year-old cynologist from the north Bohemian town of Hrádek nad Nisou. He was in Afghanistan on a six-month long posting, which started in August.

His remains were brought to the Czech Republic on Wednesday night on a special army plane. The ceremony was attended by President Miloš Zeman, cardinal Dominik Duka and leading political and military representatives.

Monday’s shooting was the third attack on Czech troops in the past three months, which left a total of four dead and seven wounded.

Six people charged in workforce slavery investigation linked to Czech Republic

British authorities have charged another six people in a case involving a human trafficking and modern slavery network with suspected links to the Czech Republic, the police of the Kent county in the south-east England informed on Thursday.

Two people, both Czech nationals, were charged earlier this year, during a police raid in May in Dover, in which police identified twelve potential victims from the Czech Republic, who were allegedly kept as slaves. The case is due to go on trial in November.

US journalist Seymour Hersh to visit Prague in November

American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, is set to visit Prague in November.

Mr. Hersh, who is a long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine on national security matters, will be signing his most recent book called Reporter: A Memoir. There will also be a public debate and a press conference focused on the White House politics.

Mr. Hersh was supposed to be one of the guests of this year’s Prague Writers’ Festival, but his visit was postponed due to health problems. He will be in the Czech capital from November 8 to November 10.

Plíšková secures spot in Singapore semi-finals after defeating Kvitová

Karolína Plíšková has sealed her place in the Singapore Masters semi-finals after defeating her compatriot Petra Kvitová 6-3, 6-4. It’s the second straight year Plíšková has made it to the semi-finals and her first-ever win over Petra Kvitová.

In the women’s doubles competition, the Czech pair Andrea-Sestini Hlaváčková and Barbora Strýcová advanced to the semi-finals, after defeating Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Maria Jose Martinez of Spain 6:1, 6:2.

They will face the winner of the match between Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková against Květa Peschkeová and Nicole Melicharová in the next round.

Weather

Friday is expected to be mostly overcast with occasional showers and daytime temperatures ranging between 11 and 15 degrees Celsius.