Daily news summary
President Zeman attends V4 summit in High Tatras
Presidents of the Visegrad group states – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are holding a summit in the High Tatras in Slovakia.
Among the topics on the two-day V 4 summit will be the future of the EU, the European social agenda, ageing of the population and issues concerning the Roma minority.
State failing to collect fines for unauthorised online gambling
Since the new gambling law went into effect in 2017, the Finance Ministry has imposed fines against online operators totalling 455 million crowns but collected only a fraction of that amount – just 240,000 crowns – the daily E15 reports.
In most cases, sanctions were imposed for operating a site without authorisation. According to the NMS monitoring centre for drugs and dependences, more than 500,000 people in the CR have a gambling problem.
Police in Ostrava warn against new type of dangerous synthetic drug
Police in Ostrava have warned against a new type of synthetically made marihuana that has appeared on the black market in the city.
The dangerous substance first appeared among drug users in the Moravian-Silesian region in September. So far, 23 people have been treated for intoxication after taking the drug and one person died as a result of combining the drug with alcohol.
Police have warned there could be thousands of doses of the synthetic drug among addicts. Six people have been charged in connection with the case.
Pirate Party and Praha Sobě agree on reconstruction of Prague’s Libeň bridge
The Pirate Party, the civic movement Praha Sobě and the Allied Forces for Prague (comprising of TOP09, Christian Democrats and STAN) have agreed on the reconstruction of Libeň bridge over the Vltava River. The possible coalition partners at Prague City Hall entered into talks on forming a municipal coalition in Prague on Wednesday. The first meetings focused on transport, including the development on the new D metro line, parking in the city and the reconstruction of Libeň Bridge, a 1928 historical construction with Cubist elements.
Earlier this year, the City Council executive committee backed the demolition of the bridge, but the decision met with protests from conservationists and other experts.
Negotiations over the formation of a municipal coalition at Prague City Hall will continue in the following day.
Number of Czech road deaths reaches 410 in first nine months of 2018
A total of 410 people died on Czech roads in the first nine months of 2018, which is 43 more than in the same period last year, the head of the country’s traffic police, Tomáš Lerch, announced at a press conference on Thursday.
Most people died in head-on collisions or in accidents caused by speeding. On the other hand, the number of alcohol-related accidents has dropped to 21, which is 13 fewer than in the previous year.
Sixth edition of Signal festival of light kicks off on Thursday
The annual Signal festival of light gets underway in Prague on Thursday night. Over the next four days, the festival will offer site-specific installations, video mapping on historical buildings and other events around the city.
The common theme of the festival’s sixth edition will be the centenary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia. Around half a million people are expected to attend.
The festival will be launched on Prague’s Karlín Square with a video mapping show by French visual artist Romain Tardy.
Weather
Friday is expected to be mostly sunny with daytime highs ranging between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius.
