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One of the Czech Republic’s biggest publishers, Albatros, has boosted its position on the market, taking over rival Panteon, which has the rights to the international bestseller the 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.

According the Czech Statistical Office’s estimate, this year’s grain harvest is 7.9 percent lower than that of the previous year. While the yield of several major crops including potatoes, peas and sugar beet has gone down, harvested rapeseed has increased by over 20 percent in comparison to last year.

A number of companies are in the running for lucrative contracts to build new nuclear units in the Czech Republic. Now the head of the State Office for Nuclear Safety says that a South Korean firm looks best placed to get the job. Dana Drábová says KHNP currently has the best references in regards to finishing construction on time and on budget.

Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody on Friday officially presented its new aircraft, L-39NG, a next generation model of the legendary L-39 Albatros, produced by the company since the 1960.

The Olomouc tax office has come under fire for asking close to one hundred newlywed couples to provide financial details regarding their wedding feast and number of guests who attended. The case has thrown a negative light on the law on electronic cash registers which has already been criticized by the opposition for invading people’s privacy and putting an excessive administrative burden on entrepreneurs.

Another five companies and one institution have joined the campaign of the Czech Ministry of Environment called #dostbyloplastu or “Enough of Plastics,” which aims to prevent and reduce the use of single-use plastic products. The news was announced by environment Minister Richard Brabec at a press conference on Monday.

This year’s potato harvest is expected to be one of the poorest in decades, the daily e15. reported on Tuesday. Due to the prolonged period of drought, the total potato harvest this season will be around 20 percent lower than in the previous year.

The PPF Group controlled by Czech billionaire Petr Kellner is looking to sell its commercial lender Air Bank and consumer loans arm Home Credit to the Prague-listed lender Moneta Money Bank. The deal would create the third-largest bank by network in the Czech Republic, and the fifth largest by assets.

Vegetable imports to the Czech Republic continue to grow, the Czech News Agency reported this week. According to data from the Czech Statistics Office, the foreign vegetable trade currently shows a deficit of 11 billion crowns.

The Australian-based mining company European Metals Holdings is continuing with preparations for lithium mining in the Czech Republic, despite the fact that the Czech government does not consider the memorandum on the extraction and processing of lithium, signed with EMH last year, legally binding and wants a Czech state-run company to mine and process the deposits. The company Geomet, which is part of EMH, has begun preparations for a series of drills near Cínovec in order to ascertain the economic viability of the project.