Czech morning news roundup: Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Two large-scale photos of Václav Havel, the late Czechoslovak dissident and first Czech President, were installed on the walls of the Czech Senate today in remembrance of Havel's contribution to the fall of the communist regime in 1989.

Digitally adjusted by artist Jiří David, the photos show Havel with tears in his eyes. The images were created as part of a cycle of David's works aiming to highlight the emotionality and humanity of the world's great figures, aspects of their personalities which usually remain hidden from public eyes. Havel is also being celebrated with a new bust of his head unveiled at Prague's Café Slavia, one of his favorite haunts as a dissident during the communist regime. Google is also commemorating the Czech national holiday, with a special Google Doodle dedicated to the event.

On the occasion of the Czech national holiday today, President Miloš Zeman will deliver an interview to TV Nova in his hospital room, the commercial broadcaster announced. The 15-minute pre-recorded interview will be broadcast at 20:00, hosted by Rey Koranteng.

The interview is expected to cover the President’s health condition and the results of October’s Czech general election. It is unknown whether the interview will be shot before or after Zeman’s meeting with SPOLU coalition leader Petr Fiala, scheduled for 16:00 today. Fiala will present the President with his list of ministerial candidates. TV Nova said the interview would also cover the topic of the controversial behavior of Zeman’s presidential staff during his hospitalization.

The Czech national football team defeated Estonia 2-0 in their final match in the World Cup qualifying group stages. The Czech team will now advance to the play-off stage for qualification for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, with previous success in the Nations League making up for their third-place group finish behind Belgium and Wales.

The Czech team beat Estonia in Prague, with goals from Jakub Brabec and Jan Sýkora. Finishing in third place in the group, the Czechs are now likely to face a tough opponent in the play-off rounds. With one eye on the play-offs, Czech captain Tomáš Souček was left on the bench for the final group stage match, being in danger of missing the next game if he picked up a yellow card.

The Czech Environment Ministry has rejected a Polish proposal to resolve the dispute over ongoing operations at the huge Turów coal mine on the Czech-Polish border. Anna Moskwa said the Polish offer had been rejected on her twitter account, while a spokeswoman for the Czech Environment Ministry said the Polish proposal was unacceptable.

The Polish minister said Czech counterparts had been invited for more urgent talks in Warsaw. The Czech side meanwhile said given the current transfer of power taking place in the Czech government, the next steps will have to be discussed with representatives from the incoming government. Poland is meanwhile refusing to pay fines of half a million euros a day (CZK 12.6 million) levied by the EU for the continued operations at the mine.

Another energy company has followed Bohemia Energy into bankruptcy. Ray Energy, a small provider supplying around 3,000 customers announced the end of its operations supplying electricity and gas supplies.

Ray Energy's bankruptcy follows those of Bohemia Energy, which supplied around 900,000 clients, Kolibrík energie, with around 28,000 clients, and A-PLUS Energie. Ray Energy supplied electricity to 2,498 customers and gas to 478 customers. Customers will be switched to suppliers of last resort, so they will not be left without energy, although experts and the government recommended finding a new permanent energy supplier as quickly as possible to ensure good value.

The Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai hosted the Czech Ambassador to Vietnam and a delegation from Škoda Auto in Hanoi yesterday as part of attempts to build greater links between the two countries in the field of automotive manufacturing.

Škoda Auto is believed to be seeking partners for the construction of a car factory in the southern Vietnamese province of Quang Ninh. Vietnam’s automotive industry has grown rapidly in the last three years, and the Vietnamese minister said Škoda’s presence in the country would help diversify the domestic car market. As of October 2021, the Czech Republic was the 49th biggest foreign investor into the Vietnamese economy.