Daily news summary

Central bank expected to increase interest rates next week

The central bank is likely to increase the basic interest rate to 1.5 percent at a meeting of the bank‘s board on Wednesday, according to financial experts. The National Bank last raised the basic interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25 percent in August.

Central bank governor Jiří Rusnok has not ruled out more hikes before the end of the year saying economic growth, inflation and wage development all indicate the likelihood of this development.

Government to seek Communist Party backing for draft budget

Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jana Maláčová told Czech Television on Sunday that in seeking support for the 2019 draft budget the government would focus primarily on securing backing from the Communist Party.

She said that this was the obvious course of action in view of the fact that the Communists had supported the minority government in a confidence vote.

However the Communist Party made it clear from the start that the government could not automatically count on its support in any other upcoming vote, particularly as regards the most important bill of the year –the state budget.

The opposition parties have already said they would not support the draft proposal since they consider the proposed 40 billion crown deficit irresponsible at a time of strong economic growth.

Pharmacists demanding action over late delivery of medicines

The Czech Chamber of Pharmacists says it will sue the State Institute for Drug Control over late delivery of drugs, unless the institute takes action against distributors who fail to deliver medicines on time. According to the law they are bound to deliver ordered pharmaceuticals within two days.

Health Minister Adam Vojtech told Czech Television the ministry is aware of the gravity of the problem and is preparing a law according to which drug producers, rather than distributers, would be held accountable for late deliveries of drugs ordered.

Šedá happy with her social experiment despite criticism

Czech conceptual artist Kateřina Šedá has said she is happy with the outcome of her UNES-CO project in the town of Český Krumlov, despite getting many negative reactions from the public.

Speaking at a press conference at the close of the social experiment which aimed to bring back normal life to the town which is suffering from overtourism, Šedá said the project had highlighted important questions regarding the measure of tourism a normal living town can take and what can be done to maintain a sense of normality. She said it was always important to hold a dialogue on such issues, even when people are angry and negative.

Český Krumlov with its 12,000 inhabitants is annually visited by over two million tourists, which has resulted in the city centre becoming something of a ghost town. In the course of the summer Kateřina Šedá paid families with children to live in the city-centre and lead normal everyday lives.

Many people criticized and ridiculed the experiment saying the money could have been put to better use. The project cost four million crowns, with the state contributing two million. Šedá said she actually ran into debt because of it.

Fences going up along highways to prevent clashes with wild animals

Construction firms are erecting special fences along Czech highways to prevent frequent clashes of cars with wild animals.

Every year clashes with deer and wild boar cause over 12 thousand accidents, many of which are fatal.

The autumn and winter periods are especially dangerous in this respect because animals migrate in search of food.

Plíšková wins 11th WTA title in Tokyo

Karolína Plíšková stunned Japanese sensation Naomi Osaka in straights sets to capture the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday. The fourth seed took just 63 minutes to complete a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the newly crowned US Open champion in Tokyo.

“My serve is my strongest point and today I used it to best advantage” Plíšková said after capturing her 11th career WTA title.

Weather forecast

Monday should be overcast with rain in the western parts of the country and day temperatures between 9 and 13 degrees Celsius.