Czech morning news in brief: Top headlines for August 27, 2021

Several people who helped the Czech Republic have still not been evacuated from Afghanistan, including two men with permanent residencies in the Czech Republic, according to Miroslava Pašková, head of the Poppies NGO. Four men who helped the Czech military are also trying to get out of the country. After the end of the Czech Republic’s evacuation mission with three rescue flights, the Foreign Ministry promised to deal with the further transfer of other individuals through cooperation with allies. Last week, the Czech Republic evacuated 195 people, including 170 Afghans, who worked with the Foreign Ministry or the military, along with their families. The allies have a deadline of August 31 to complete their withdrawal from the country. Poppies is working to help get remaining people out of the country in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry,

The reopened Czech embassy in Singapore will support Czech firms in their expansion in the island country, Czech ambassador Michaela Froňková, said. Froňková said Singapore is a key trade center allowing access to other markets throughout Southeast Asia. Singapore is the fifth largest financial center in the world, and has the world’s second largest container port. The Czech embassy will seek partners for Czech firms, helping them to deliver their products to Singapore and other countries. The key areas for potential cooperation are the Czech glass industry, food industry and technology industries. Trade with Singapore benefits from the EU-Singapore trade agreement, thanks to which no customs duty is imposed on European products entering the country.

American actor and film producer Johnny Depp arrived in Karlovy Vary on Thursday evening. He was greeted by dozens of fans at the airport. Depp will present two films at the film festival: The Pot of Gold: A Few Drinks with Shane MacGowan, and Minamata. Along with Michael Caine and Ethan Hawk, Depp is one of the main starts at this year’s Karlovy Vary festival. His attendance has, however, provoked controversy due to allegations of domestic abuse levelled at the star. His presence at the film festival this year focuses mainly on his work as a producer.

A study has shown that the Czech Republic is one of the worst performing nations in the EU when it comes to working conditions for women. The study took into account the number of women in management positions, salaries, and maternity leave as its evaluation criteria. Data for the survey came from the European Institute for Gender Equality, the World Economic Forum, and the World Population Review server. Bulgaria was the highest ranked European nation, according to the study. The Czech Republic scored poorly, only gaining ten points out of a hundred in the criteria of equal opportunities, suggesting that women have a particularly hard time breaking into management positions in the country.

Slavia Prague football club will not play in the Europa League group stages after losing in the second leg of their final qualification tie against Legia Warsaw. The first match of the tie ended in a draw in Prague, while the return leg in Warsaw saw Legia win 2-1. Slavia’s chances in the game were not helped by a red card for Tomáš Holeš in the third minute. Slavia still managed to open the scoring just before half-time, but in the second half Legia scored twice to turn the tie around. The defeat means Slavia will miss out on the group stages of the Europa league, Europe’s second highest international club competition, and will instead only play in the newly created Europa Conference League.