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The Czech Republic will not manage to introduce a European Union directive tightening gun controls by the deadline of 14 September, the speaker of the lower house, Radek Vondráček, said on Thursday. A number of Czech agencies had objections to a draft government decree meant to implement the directive into Czech law. These must now be dealt with by Ministry of the Interior.

The European Parliament passed the directive, aimed at preventing terrorists getting their hands on arms, in spring last year. A number of Czech politicians objected to the provision as it would affect around 300,000 holders of gun licenses in this country.

Three new versions of Bedřich Smetana’s opera Libuše are being performed in the Czech Republic in the near future in connection with next month’s centenary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia, Novinky.cz reported on Thursday.

The first of the productions will be performed by the opera of the National Theatre in Brno at the city’s Central European Exhibition Centre on Friday.

The second will premiere at Prague’s National Theatre at the end of next week and the third will get its first airing at the Theatre of North Bohemia in Ústí nad Labem on September 28.

In July and August the Czech police investigated almost 18,000 traffic accidents in which 119 people lost their lives. While the number of road deaths was 18 higher than in summer 2017, the general trend is declining and this year’s numbers were the second lowest since 1990, the police said on Thursday.

Unlike deaths, accident numbers have been constantly rising for several years, not just in summer but all year round. Police attribute the trend to a rise in vehicle numbers and heavier traffic.

Fire officers in Plzeň have removed the wreck of a helicopter that crashed onto a factory building on Wednesday. Three men and one woman on board the aircraft were killed. The wreck was partly caught by the roof of the hall and partly landed inside the structure, which was unused.

The victims are reported to have included one Czech and three people from Thailand. Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

Friday should be mainly bright in the Czech Republic with the chance of rain. Temperatures are expected to reach up to 24 degrees Celsius. The weekend should see similar weather.

The Czech Republic’s footballers will on Thursday night take part in their first game in the Nations League, a new competition intended in large part to replace friendly matches. The Czechs’ opponents in Uherské Hradiště will be Ukraine. The other member of their Nations League group is Slovakia and all teams face one another twice.

Success in the Nations League can help teams reach the European Championships. The Czechs face Russia away in a friendly on Monday.

The Czech women’s doubles pairing of Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková have advanced to the semi-finals at US Open, after defeating Elise Merten and Demi Schurs 2-6, 7-7 and 6-3.

The Czech team is just two wins away from a third straight Grand Slam title, after clinching victories at Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier this year.

Prague saw the hottest summer since records began back in 1775, the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute reported on its website on Thursday.

The oldest Czech meteorological station at Prague’s Klementinum recorded an average temperature of 22.7 degrees Celsisu, the highest in the past 244 years.

Until this year, the summer of 2003 was the hottest in history, with an average temperature of 22.4 degrees Celsius.

Czechs who suffer from rare and serious diseases should have easier access to modern and expensive medicines in the future.

The Czech Ministry of Health is planning to change the rules in the reimbursement of health care costs to make the medicines available for more patients.

Health Minister Adam Vojtěch made the announcement on Wednesday on the occasion of the World Duchenne Awareness Day. The Duchenne Muscular Dytsrophy, a rare muscle-wasting condition, affects around 250,000 people worldwide.

Czech javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková is set to inherit the 2011 World Champion title, after the Russian athlete Maria Abakumov was stripped of her gold because of doping. It is third World Championship gold medal for the 36-year-old Czech athlete.