Daily news summary
Lower house ratifies Czech-Slovak treaty on mutual protection of airspace
The lower house of parliament on Thursday ratified a Czech-Slovak treaty on mutual protection of airspace.
The Czech and Slovak defence ministers, Martin Stropnický and Peter Gajdoš, signed the treaty in February, after it was approved by the Slovak and Czech governments.
Under the treaty, if one of the countries is unable to protect its airspace, the other can assist it. It also allows pilots to interfere on the territory of the other country even with weapons in case it is necessary.
PM Sobotka: budget proposal for 2018 to be approved by end- September
The 2018 draft budget proposal should be approved by the end of September, despite the coalition’s ongoing dispute over wage hikes for public sector employees, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Thursday after a meeting with Finance Minister Ivan Pilný.
The coalition is set to hold talks on the issue on Monday. Prime Minister Sobotka repeated that he supported the unions and agreed with a ten percent hike for public sector employees and 15 percent hike for teachers starting November 2017.
Government to finance reconstruction of Veletržní Palace
The reconstruction of Prague’s Veletržní Palace, the home of the Czech National Gallery’s modern art collection, is essential for the future of the institution, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Thursday during a visit to the premises.
The current head of the National Gallery, Jiří Fajt, plans to announce an international architectural competition for the renovation of the 1920s building.
According to the prime minister, the reconstruction should be one of the main priorities of a new investment programme of the Ministry of Culture, which should be approved by his government.
According to preliminary estimates, the renovation of Veletržní Palace could cost up to one billion crowns.
Summer of 2017 one of the warmest in Czech Republic’s history
The Czech Republic saw one of the warmest summers since records began back in 1775, the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute reported on its website on Thursday. The oldest Czech meteorological station at Prague’s Klementinum recorded an average temperature of 21.7 degrees Celsius, which places this summer on the 6th spot in a total of 243 measurements. The summer of 2003 remains the hottest in history, with an average temperature reaching 22.4 degrees Celsius.
Study: Prague residents can expect to live longer
Residents of Prague have greater projected longevity than people living in other parts of the Czech Republic, with women in the capital expected to live to 82.7 years and men to 78 years on average. The figures are projected for babies born in 2015 and 2016 and come from official government data quoted by Czech Television. Babies born in the Ústí nad Labem region have the lowest life expectancy, with women projected to live to 79.5 years on average and men 74 years.
While Prague enjoys high employment and a relatively high level of social services, Ústí nad Labem suffers from poor air quality and relatively high numbers of people with low living standards.
Plíšková slips from world number one after US Open exit
Karolína Plíšková has been knocked out at the quarter-finals stage of the US Open in New York. The Czech’s 6-7 3-6 defeat to Coco Vandeweghe of the United States on Wednesday means that Plíšková will lose her world number one ranking after eight weeks at the top.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is guaranteed to have a pair in the doubles final at Flushing Meadow, with Lucie Šafářová and Barbora Strýcová set to meet Lucie Hradecká and Kateřina Siniaková in the semi-finals.
Weather
Friday is expected to be partly cloudy with daytime highs ranging between 19 and 23 degrees Celsius.
