Daily news summary

Prouza quits as State Secretary for European Affairs

Tomáš Prouza will step down as the State Secretary for European Affairs at the end of March. Government spokesman Martin Ayrer confirmed Mr Prouza's resignation on Friday, saying that the official had accepted an offer in the private sector. The media had reported that Mr Prouza lacked proper security clearance; until recently, there was speculation he was a strong favorite to step in as apt he new minster of labor and social affairs.

Euro MPs, government, to coordinate response to EU firearms directive

Czech Euro MPs and the Czech government have agreed to cooperate in negotiations on an amendment to the EU firearms directive. The news was confirmed on Friday evening by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. The amendment is looking to tighten gun restrictions which are opposed by the Czech interior minister, Milan Chovanec. By contrast, Minister Chovanec is pushing for changes at home which would allow Czechs to draw and use firearms in the event of a terrorist attack. The prime minister described the debat as complex; the amendment is to be debated in March. Mr Sobotka indicated Czech Euro MPs would propose changes to the EU proposal.

Czech Lion film awards to be presented Saturday

The Czech Republic's main film awards, the Czech Lions, are due to be presented at a televised ceremony from Prague's Rudolfinum concert hall on Saturday night. The awards, organized by the Czech Film and Television Academy, are being presented for the 24th time. This year's nominees include Julius Ševčík's Masaryk, with 14 nominations, focusing on the life and times of diplomat Jan Masaryk, and Anthropoid by Sean Ellis, about the assassination of the high-ranking German Nazi official Reinhard Heyrich, with nine.

Marshmallow building gets green light

Construction plans for a controversial six-story apartment building in Prague 1 dubbed "the Marshmallow House" have gotten the green light, spokeswoman for the local city council Veronika Blažková confirmed. The project first received approval in 2015, but then stalled after Prague City Hall and the Culture Ministry got involved. Some critics opposed construction of the design on the grounds that the building looked like marshmallow faces and the fact that individual units were depicted in pastel colours. Investor Praga Progetti e Investimenti will have to launch construction by June of this year, as a two-year deadline has been running uninterrupted since the project was initially approved.

Weather

Mostly cloudy conditions are expected on Sunday. Daytime highs should reach temperatures of around 11 degrees Celsius.

Meteorologists have warned that beginning on Saturday afternoon parts of Moravia-Silesia will be hit by strong winds of around 70 km/h in lower-laying areas and as 90 km/h in the mountains.