Daily news summary

Cabinet expected to vote on mining limits in North Bohemia on Monday

The Czech cabinet is set make a long-awaited decision on the future of mining limits in North Bohemia at a session in regional centre Ústí nad Labem on Monday, the Czech News Agency reported. It said ministers would were likely between two options, both of which envisage doing away with limits at the Bílina mine. Opponents and supporters of the move are expected to demonstrate outside the cabinet meeting. Doctors, scientists and other concerned persons have written to Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka warning that the change could harm the environment and the health of local communities; those in favour say it will be good for employment in the region. Restrictions on mining in the area have been in place since 1991.

Czech envoys must attend Zeman's meetings with foreign leaders, says Záoralek

It is very important that Czech diplomats also attend meetings between President Miloš Zeman and local leaders when he is on foreign trips, says the Czech foreign minister, Lubomír Záoralek. He made the comment on a television debate programme on Sunday. Mr. Záoralek said he would do his best to ensure no repeat of situations in which Mr. Zeman met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Beijing this year accompanied by an advisor but not the pertinent Czech ambassador. The country's foreign policy chief said his officials needed to be aware of the content of such meetings so they could analyse them.

Number of migrants entering state falling, says Chovanec

The number of migrants entering the Czech Republic is now falling, the minister of the interior, Milan Chovanec, said on Sunday. Speaking on a television discussion show, Mr. Chovanec said he would next week meet ombudswoman Anna Šabatová, who recently condemned conditions at Czech asylum centres. The interior minister said the centres were up to 21st century standards. He also said the Czech Republic would need to take in migrants in future but that a mass wave was not desirable.

Christian Democrats want Rozbořil to explain charges to Olomouc government

Christian Democrats in the Olomouc Region have called on its governor Jiří Rozbořil to convene a session of the regional government in the coming weeks at which Mr. Rozbořil would shed light on his indictment on bribery charges. The Christian Democrats’ Ivo Slavotínek says information on the matter in the media has been unclear and could harm the reputation of the region. Mr. Rozbořil was arrested last week as part of an anti-corruption operation that has also involved senior police officers. He has filed a complaint against the charges, which he says are the result of a misunderstanding.

Hundreds gather in Prague to highlight wave of attacks in Israel

Hundreds of people gathered in Prague on Sunday to highlight the recent wave of attacks on Jews in Israel. The event was organised by a number of groups and was intended to draw attention to what they described as a wave of ethnic terror that European countries were ignoring. The rabbi of the Bnej Israel congregation, David Bohbot, said the Israeli government should admit a war was taking place in the country; as in war, Jews should protect themselves against those who attack them, he said.

Prague’s Main Station not to be renamed after Sir Nicholas Winton

Prague’s Main Train Station is not going to be renamed after the late Sir Nicholas Winton, despite calls for such a move. The chairman of the city’s toponymic commission, historian Václav Ledvinka, told the Czech News Agency that neither the station nor a nearby park was in the running for such a tribute. He said other places in the capital were being considered for renaming after Sir Nicholas, who saved over 650 Czech Jewish children from the Nazis and died in July at the age of 106. Transports organised by Sir Nicholas departed from the Main Train Station and a statue of him stands there.

Sunday 25th anniversary of worst Czech mining disaster of modern age

Sunday is the 25th anniversary of the worst mining disaster in modern Czech history, when 30 miners met their deaths in the Důl Barbora mine in Karviná in the Moravian Silesian Region. An explosion occurred at 650 metres below ground on 18 November 1990, killing two thirds of the 41 men working there. A commission later established the cause as a methane explosion started by a spark. The most tragic mining disaster ever in the Czech lands, which left 319 dead, occurred in Příbram in 1892.