Daily news summary

Families must vacate homes after legal defeat

Sixty Czech families must leave their homes within one month after losing a court case. They were clients of a now bankrupt building company called H-System and have now definitively lost a legal battle with the administrator of their properties at Horoměřice near Prague, Josef Monsport.

Mr. Monsport wants their apartments to be sold off to the benefit of other former clients of H-System, which was subject to asset stripping.

Justice Minister Jan Kněžínek said it was not appropriate for him to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision. However, he did highlight the possibility of the clients going to the Constitutional Court. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš described the verdict as unjust.

Tiger killing case sparks move to bar private zoos

The opposition Christian Democrats have proposed legislation that would bar private individuals from running zoos, iDnes.cz reported on Tuesday. The move comes after a recent case involving the killing of tigers to produce traditional Asian medicines. Under the bill only municipalities, regional authorities and the state would be allowed to operate zoos.

For his part, the ANO prime minister, Andrej Babiš, says big cats ought to be in zoos that are administered by the state.

Police have charged several people with the unauthorised treatment of animals over the tiger killings. The case is allegedly linked to a zoo park north of Prague.

Policemen punished over photos with killer Kajínek

Three police officers in Ostrava who had their photos taken with the convicted murderer Jiří Kajínek have been punished. However, the police do not reveal the specific sanctions involved in such disciplinary cases. In spring the policemen’s superiors condemned the three, saying their action had threatened the honour of the profession.

The three posted on social media pictures of themselves with Kajínek, who has become something of a celebrity with a certain segment of the Czech population since being pardoned by President Miloš Zeman.

Ex-SPD secretary Jaroslav Staník to be tried for hate speech

Jaroslav Staník, a former secretary of the extreme-right opposition Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) movement, will be tried in court over statements he made about Jews, Roma and homosexuals.

Staník has been charged with fomenting hatred towards a group of people, infringing upon their rights and freedoms, and denying the Holocaust while calling for genocide. If found guilty, he faces up to three years in prison.

According to eyewitnesses, including fellow MPs, Staník said last October that homosexuals, Roma and Jews should be shot at birth, and called for members of those minority groups to be gassed. He had allegedly been drinking heavily when he made the comments in the restaurant of the lower house of parliament.

Pond filled with water to save carp suffering due to drought

Firefighters have ferried water to a fish pond in the East Bohemian town of Přelouč to save carp and zander suffering due to a fall in the water level, iDnes.cz reported on Tuesday. Recent dry weather has had a dramatic impact on local ponds and administrators say they find dozens of dead fish every day, the news site said.

Fish farmers say filling ponds is the only way to keep oxygen-starved fish alive. As the traditional seasonal food, the carp should reach Czech dinner tables next Christmas.

Building of Prague airport launched on this day in 1933

Tuesday is the 85th anniversary of the launch of construction work on Prague airport. The site in the Ruzyně district was selected after the city’s first airfield at Kbely proved inadequate. The building of the airport took almost four years and the first flight from Ruzyně took place in April 1937.

Decades of intermittent growth followed, with the most recent expansion being the opening of Terminal 2 in 2006. It was renamed Václav Havel Airport Prague in 2012, the year after the former president’s death.

Weather forecast

It should be mainly sunny with the chance of storms in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, with temperatures of up to 29 degrees Celsius. Similar conditions are expected for the following week.