News | All stories

People who have refused to accept the election of Miloš Zeman have not been invited to a ceremony at Prague Castle on Sunday celebrating the centenary of Czechoslovakia, the president’s spokesman, Jiří Ovčáček, said. His statement confirmed reports that some figures, including the heads of political parties, have not received the usual invitation to such events.

Mr. Ovčáček said the Office of the President had done such people a favour as they would not now need to wrestle with their consciences with regard to whether to attend. He said hundreds of people had been invited to the event at the Vladislav Hall and the number ignored was small.

The Czech National Bank will on Wednesday issue new CZK 20 coins featuring images of politicians Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Edvard Beneš. The three played key roles in the foundation of Czechoslovakia, the centenary of which is currently being celebrated.

They are ordinary coins rather than memorial ones and are intended to circulate normally. However, they will be limited in number and collectors can acquire a maximum of three of each from branches of the Czech National Bank.

The regular CZK 20 coin features a portrait of St. Wenceslas on horseback.

It should be raining in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, with temperatures of up to 9 degrees Celsius. The following days are expected to see daytime highs of up to 12 or 13 degrees Celsius.

Many of Prague’s museums will open their doors free of charge or for a token sum on Saturday and Sunday, when events are being held to mark the centenary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia. Some of the 14 institutions taking part in the weekend’s celebrations are planning to run special programmes in connection with the anniversary.

The most prominent participant in the event Prague Museums 1918–2018 will be the National Museum, which is reopening after major renovations on Saturday. It will host the exhibition Czech-Slovak/Slovak Czech, which has already been shown in Bratislava.

President Miloš Zeman will make a speech in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday at a session where a vote will take place on next year’s state budget, his spokesperson said. Mr. Zeman previously backed the draft budget during negotiations between and ANO and the Social Democrats on forming a government.

The coalition plans for a deficit of CZK 40 billion in next year’s budget, down from the CZK 50 million deficit envisaged for 2018. Some opposition politicians have criticised the maintenance of a deficit at a time of economic growth.

The chief of staff of the Czech Army, Aleš Opata, says an attack that left a Czech soldier dead in Afghanistan was carried out by an Afghan soldier serving alongside NATO troops. Corporal Tomáš Procházka, who was 42, was shot dead on Monday while returning from a routine mission outside his base in Herat Province. His body is due to be flown home on Wednesday.

General Lieutenant Opata said the assailant had fired on the men not primarily because they were Czech, but because they were members of the coalition forces.

The Czech minister of defence, Lubomír Metnar, described the attack as unexpected and unprecedented. Two other Czech soldiers were injured.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to visit the Czech Republic on Friday at the start of a weekend of celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of Czechoslovakia on October 28, 1918.She is to meet with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and other top officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron will also travel to Prague to attend the celebrations, highlighting France´s contribution to the birth of independent Czechoslovakia.

One of the five Czech soldiers injured in a suicide bomb blast in Afghanistan last week is to be flown back to the Czech Republic for further medical treatment.

A spokesperson for the Czech Armed Forces said the soldier’s condition now enabled transport and the army would send out a special plane to bring him home.

He suffered serious injuries in the blast and has already undergone several operations.

Tuesday should be overcast with rain around the country and day temperatures between 9 and 13 degrees Celsius. Snow showers may appear in the mountain regions and meteorologists have issued a high wind warning for the entire country.

The police have charged three people in connection with the drowning of two seven-year-old Vietnamese boys in Lhota Lake, north of Prague.The charges are negligence resulting in death. If convicted they could face between one and six years in prison.

The accident happened in August of this year. The mothers of the two boys later complained that when they reported the children missing the employees of the bathing resort did not take them seriously and a search for the children was only launched several hours later. The lifeguard was reportedly not at his post because of the heat.