Daily news summary

Contestants for Pirate Party chairman announced ahead of January conference

Three contestants will be vying for the position of chairman of the Pirate Party at the party's January statewide conference. According to Czech Television, current Pirates leader Ivan Bartoš will be challenged by Chamber of Deputies members Vojtěch Pikal and Mikuláš Ferjenčík. Members were able to nominate candidates on the party's forum website by the end of Friday.

Ivan Bartoš has led the Pirate Party since 2016, but was chairman during two stints between 2009 and 2014.

Judoka Lukáš Krpálek named Czech sportsman of the year

Lukáš Krpálek has won the annual Czech Sportsman of the Year competition. The Judo world champion beat second placed basketball player Tomáš Satoránský by 74 points. The Boston Bruins's ice hockey right winger David Pastrňák placed third. The winners in the collective category were the Czech national basketball team, who placed sixth in this year's FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Aside from ice hockey star Jaromír Jágr, Mr Krpálek is one of only two men to win the award in the past 14 years.

Police arrest man suspected of attacking people with an axe

Czech police arrested a man who is suspected of carrying out an axe attack in the western Bohemian town of Aš, which left two people seriously injured. The attack took place on Friday morning and one of the victims was a postman, Czech Radio's iRozhlas news site reports. The suspect, who has a criminal record, was arrested after a coordinated police search during the night from Friday to Saturday.

Interior ministry offers regions CZK 52 million in funding for defence of "soft targets"

Czechia's regions and its capital Prague will be able to draw on CZK 52 million of funding from the Ministry of Interior to use on protection of their "soft targets", a 30 percent increase compared to the previous year, Czech Television reported on Friday. Largest investments in this area are expected from Prague, as well as the Vysočina and Olomouc regions.

The subsidy program of the Ministry of the Interior is intended to increase the protection of schools and public spaces from armed attacks. The grant can be used for the reimbursement of expert studies, the creation of security plans, but also educational and training events.

A soft target is an individual or object that is not heavily protected, but can be especially vulnerable to a military or terrorist attack.

Singer Karel Gott's grave in Prague's Malvaziny Cemetery complete

Fans of the legendary Czech pop star Karel Gott can now visit his grave in Prague's Malvazinky Cemetery, the singer's widow Ivana Gottová informed via the website karelgott.com, which also features a map on how to reach the location. Mrs Gottová worked on the grave's design with architect Jiří Deýl and engineer Pavel Štrunc.

The signer died of acute leukemia on October 1, a the age of 80. Some 49,000 people paid there respects to the singer at his coffin displayed in Prague's Žofín Palace.

Weather

Temperatures during the weekend are expected to hover around 6 to 7 degrees Celsius. Rainfall will be common across the east and south of the country on Saturday.