Daily news summary
Zaoralek optimistic on Czechs facing terror charges in Turkey
The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Lubomír Zaorálek, says he is optimistic with regard to a Czech couple facing terrorism charges in Turkey. Speaking after talks with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Ankara on Tuesday, he said he saw willingness on the part of the local authorities to be accommodating to the Czech Republic. Miroslav Farkas and Markéta Všelichová were arrested in Turkey last month. Both say they have been involved in Syria with Kurdish group YPG, which Ankara regards as a terrorist organisation. Mr. Zaorálek said the Czech Embassy in Turkey was working every day on their behalf.
Japan’s Asahi to buy Plzeňský Prazdroj
The Japanese company Asahi Group Holdings is to buy the Czech brewery Plzeňský Prazdroj from SABMiller, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Plzeňský Prazdroj, which makes the famous Pilsner Urquell lager, is changing hands as part of a EUR 7.3 billion deal that also includes a number of other breweries in the Central and Eastern Europe region. Asahi reportedly outbid PPF, the investment firm of Czech tycoon Petr Kellner, and other contenders. The European Commission made the sale a condition for agreeing to SABMiller’s acquisition by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Prague authorities must redo territorial plan over new Metro line
The authorities in Prague will have to go back to the drawing board over plans to build a fourth underground rail line in the city following a court decision, Czech Radio reported. The Supreme Administrative Court rejected a complaint lodged against an earlier verdict from the Prague Municipal Court that upheld objections to the project from land owners on the planned route. The city authorities say they will begin working on a new territorial plan in January, though a city official said the Metro line would be to the benefit of the land owners and compromise could still be reached. The “D” line should run from Náměstí Míru via Pankrác to Písnice in the south of the city.
Stays in Airbnb-style accommodation up 40 percent in CR
The number of tourists staying in Airbnb-style private accommodation in the Czech Republic grew by 40 percent year on year to 2.2 million in the first nine months of this year, suggests research conducted for CzechTourism. The state agency also said on Tuesday that the overall number of visitors had grown by 12.6 percent in the first three-quarters to reach 9.3 million. Hotels saw an upswing of 6.3 percent in overnight stays in the same period.
Prague 6 closes competition to design monument to Havel’s Vaněk
The authorities in Prague 6 have closed a competition to design a monument to a fictional character created by the playwright, dissident and former president Václav Havel. Protagonist Ferdinand Vaněk, who appeared in four Havel plays, is being honoured in this way as part of events marking what would have been the 80th anniversary of his creator’s death. Twenty-three designs for a “Vaněk bench” were submitted and councillors are due to pick a winner on Thursday.
Weather forecast
Forecasters say we can expect snow in some parts of the Czech Republic on Wednesday, with temperatures likely to reach a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius. It should then get gradually warmer, with daytime highs of around 3 degrees Celsius likely at the weekend.