Morning Briefing | Wednesday, January 24th, 2024

* LAWS:

Several dozen Czech experts from the fields of law, medicine, and psychology have publicly called for the tightening of legislation surrounding the possession of firearms.

In an online petition with the title “Nesmí se to opakovat” (It must not happen again), the signatories call not only for a fundamental reduction in the number of legally held weapons, but also for the simplification of the rules governing the permanent withdrawal of a firearms license.

* INFLATION:

The price of draught beer in Czech pubs, restaurants, and bars has significantly increased, with an average rise of ten percent year-on-year in mid-January.

The price hike between December and January alone saw an average four percent increase, equating to more than two crowns.

* CULTURE:

The Year of Forman project, launched this week, reaches its pinnacle with the June 18 premiere of a performance about the life of director Miloš Forman at Museum Kampa’s courtyard. Patrik Děrgel and Marek Adamczyk portray the renowned filmmaker.

The forthcoming Forman theater production will run from June 18 to late July on the Summer Stage of the Kampa Museum. In addition to the live performance, selected cinemas will participate in the Year of Forman by screening his well-known films.

* POLITICS:

The Czech Republic asks the EU to consider restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats across the Schengen area. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavsky offered to include the restriction in the next package of EU sanctions targeting Russia.

In November, the Czech government decided to freeze Russian state assets, now Russian property in Czechia cannot be transferred or sold.

* LOCAL NEWS:

On Monday, 22 January, a fire broke out at a local poultry farm in the village of Lany (Central Bohemian Region). One of the poultry houses containing 9,000 ducklings caught fire and unfortunately, only about 300 of them survived.

The cause of the fire was identified by the investigator as a technical malfunction of one of the diesel heat guns used to heat the poultry house.