Daily news summary

Senate backs greater rights for councils in national parks

The upper house of parliament, the Senate, has voted for local councils to be given increased rights over the management of national parks. Other changes to the existing rules, including changes to rights to buy land and increasing the areas where logging is banned, were not backed following a four hour debate in the house. The proposed changes, most of which have been opposed by Minister of Environment Richard Brabec, will now return to the lower house.

Ministry rejects compensation claim from Czechs kidnapped in Lebanon

The Ministry of Interior has rejected claims from four out of five Czechs kidnapped in Lebanon to compensation totalling 40 million crowns. The four maintain that the Czech state failed to prevent their kidnapping due to botched cooperation between intelligences services. The Czechs were seized in mid-2015 and released in February 2016. Their release was linked with the decision of Czech authorities not to hand over Ali Fajad to US authorities in connection with a terrorism investigation.

Up to nine million tourists visit Czech Republic in 2016

The number of tourists visiting the Czech Republic has been on the increase in recent years, according to Czech Tourism agency. Between eight and nine million tourists visited the Czech Republic last year, which is around seven percent more than in 2015, Czech Tourism’s Monika Palatková said on Thursday at the Regiontour trade fair in Brno. She said the Czech Republic was regarded one of the safest countries in the world, adding to the country’s popularity as a tourist destination and which is likely to continue in the future.

Fanta reconstruction target set for 2022

Reconstruction of the Fanta building, the historical part of Prague’s Main Train Station, should be completed by 2022. It is expected to cost the Czech Railway Administration 730 million crowns, Tomáš Drmola of the administration announced on Thursday. The first phase of the reconstruction, which includes renovation of the historical façade, windows and doors, should get underway in 2018. The Railway Administration refused to extend the lease of Italian firm Grandi Stazioni after it failed to complete a renovation of the historical part of the building by October 2016.

Eighteen people killed in air accidents in 2016

Eighteen people were killed in plane crashes in the Czech Republic last year, which is more than twice as many as in 2015. The number of sport plane and parachute accidents has significantly increased as well. Specialists investigated 77 airplane accidents last year, Josef Bejdák of the Air Accidents Investigation Institute said at a press conference on Thursday. He said one of the main factors behind the growing number of accidents was the increasing number of recreational pilots.

Damková becomes first Czech in FIFA Referees Committee

Former football referee Dagmar Damková has become a member of FIFA Referees Committee for the next four years. Damková, who is 42, holds the same post in the UEFA, in charge of European women’s football refereeing. Dagmar Damková is regarded as one of the best female referees in the world. In 2011, she became the first woman to officiate in the Czech men’s first division. She also refereed the 2008 Olympics women’s final and the 2009 UEFA Women’s Euro final.

Weather

The current spell of cold weather is expected to continue for the next few days, with night time temperatures dropping down to -20 degrees Celsius. Friday is expected to see clear skies and daytime highs ranging between -5 and -1 degrees Celsius.