Czech morning news in brief: top stories for Nov. 13, 2020

INTERNATIONAL – One of the seven members of multinational forces who died in a helicopter that crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula due to a technical defect Wednesday is a Czech female staff sergeant, Michaela Ticha, the Czech military has said on Twitter. Czech Chief-of-Staff Ales Opata and Defense Minister Lubomir Metnar (for ANO) expressed their condolences to the family of the 27-year-old Czech soldier who was a member of the 8th task force of the Czech military in Sinai. There were eight soldiers aboard the helicopter. One is in a critical condition. The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) and the local authorities are investigating the fatal accident, the Czech military said.

COVID – Health Minister Jan Blatny (ANO) will suggest on Monday that the government asks the Chamber of Deputies for another state of emergency extension by 30 days until December 20, as the current state expires on November 20, Blatny said during the question time in the lower house today. The extension because of the coronavirus epidemic needs to be approved by the lower house members. The extension request is guided by the PES evaluation scheme for the loosening or tightening of lockdown rules in the Czech Republic that should be unveiled on Friday, Blatny said.

CULTURE – Czech contemporary art succeeded at a Sotheby's auction in London that ended on Wednesday. Mikulas Medek's (1926-74) painting "Explosion" sold for an equivalent of CZK two million and two works by architect Jan Kaplicky (1937-2009) for CZK 180,000. The auction "20th Century Art: A Different Perspective" also offered works by Prague-based Kodl Gallery artists Ondrej Basjuk, Josef Bolf, Jan Kalab, Kristof Kintera, Sarka Koudelova, Pasta Oner, Jan Pistek, Miroslav Polach, Jakub Spanhel and Lubomir Typlt. Kaplicky works on offer included his "Octopus" model of the new Czech National Library building, which remained unsold.

CULTURE – The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra will play Bedrich Smetana's "My Country" cycle of symphonic poems in Prague's Rudolfinum Hall on November 17 but with no audience due to COVID-19. The concert is being live broadcast by Czech Television. November 17 is a national holiday marking the anniversary of 1939 and 1989 events linked to the struggle of Czechs for freedom and democracy. The forthcoming concert will be played under strict sanitary measures. By playing the piece, CF recalls its own performance of the cycle at Prague's Old Town Square in 1990 on the occasion of the first free elections after the late 1989 collapse of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The concert will also be streamed on CF's Facebook profile.

SPORTS – Chief public health official Jarmila Razova granted an exemption from the ban on collective sport events to the Czech top-level volleyball and basketball leagues Wednesday. They can restart after a month, National Sport Agency head Milan Hnilicka said on Twitter. All sport leagues were halted on October 12 as part of the measures that the government introduced to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Teams must be tested for COVID-19 twice a week and no spectators can watch the matches. Last week, professional football and ice hockey league resumed after a four-week pause.

POLITICS – US president-elect Joe Biden is expected to change the country's way of communication with Europe in the fields of trade and security, Czech Deputy PM and Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlicek said at the conference Multiple Challenges for Transatlantic Partnerships today. According to Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, the US, with its new administration, will become more open to a discussion not only about trade. It will also consider rejoining the world climate deal, but no 180-degree U-turn of the US policy can be expected, Petricek said at an online conference organized by the Institute for Politics and Society.