Weekend headlines: Snowfall reported in Czech mountain regions

Locations in the Czech Republic's Krkonoše mountain range have reported snowfall and below-freezing temperatures this weekend. While the area saw some early snowfall this year in September, this weekend's snow represents the first in five weeks as the country saw record-high temperatures throughout October.

A recent cold front has brought snow to areas of high elevation throughout the Czech Republic this weekend, with snowfall also reported in Šumava and areas near the German border. Cool temperatures and overcast skies are in the forecast across the Czech Republic heading into the next week.

For the second straight year, javelin thrower Jakub Vadlejch has been named Czech Athlete of the Year by the Czech Athletics Association. Vadlejch, who won a bronze medal at this year's world championships and a silver at the European championships, is the only male to win Czech Athlete of the Year since 2006.

Fellow javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková, who announced her retirement this year at the age of 41, came in second in the poll. Špotáková had previously been named Czech Athlete of the Year a record nine times. Tomáš Staněk, who won a bronze at the European championships in the shot put event, came in third in the poll.

Danuše Nerudová has gained six percentage points in the latest presidential poll conducted by Ipsos ahead of the January presidential election in the Czech Republic. Nerudová, who would be the country's first female president, is now third in the polls behind former NATO military chair Petr Pavel and ex-Czech PM Andrej Babiš.

According to the latest Ipsos poll, Pavel would win the first round of the presidential election with 27.9 percent of the vote, ahead of Babiš at 23.3 percent and Nerudová at 16.9 percent. Only the top two candidates would enter the second round of the vote. According to a recent STEM/MARK survey, 44 percent of Czech voters are still undecided.

About 32 percent of Czech employees would like a raise in the coming months, according to a survey conducted by Up Czech Republic. According to the survey, however, 41 percent of employees who want to ask for a raise or other benefits do not expect their employer to comply.

Roughly a quarter of respondents stated that they would begin looking for a new job if their employer rejects their demands, while five percent stated that they would immediately resign. Around 20 percent stated that they would talk about a raise or other benefits at a later date if initially rejected.

Around 270,000 people in the Czech Republic have used a food bank at least once so far this year, a significant increase over the estimated 200,000 people that used a food bank in 2021, according to information provided by the Czech Food Banks Federation. Veronika Láchová, director of the federation, said she did not expect the number to continue to rise over the final two months of 2022.

Next weekend, people across the Czech Republic will have the opportunity to donate to food banks at major grocery stores and online shops during the country's autumn food drive. Organizers are especially requesting long-lasting milk, baby food, and personal hygiene products.

Markéta Pekarová Adamová, Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies and President of the government coalition party TOP 09, earmarked 2030 as a realistic date for Czech adoption of the euro in a speech at her party's congress in Prague this morning. While euro adoption is not a priority for the current Czech cabinet, she said, it should be outlined by the country's next government.

Pekarová Adamová also spoke of raising the Czech Republic's minimum retirement age, praised the current government's support for Ukraine, and touched on the recent anti-government protests in Prague that have attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators. "The system against which they fight is democracy," she stated.

Czech doubles stars Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková have advanced to semifinal action at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth after defeating Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-1 in the final group stage match on Friday evening. The doubles pair has not lost a single set thus far in the tournament.

Krejčíková and Siniaková, who won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics last year in Tokyo, are also defending their 2021 title at the WTA Finals. "We try to play every match to the fullest. We know how difficult it is to get to this tournament, so we enjoy it here together. I'm happy with how we presented ourselves today," Krejčíková told reporters after the pair's latest victory.

The United States and the Netherlands will foot the bill for the renovation of 90 T-72 tanks that the Czech Republic will donate to the Ukrainian army, U.S. Department of Defense spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told journalists on Friday. The tanks will be sent from the reserves of the Czech defense industry, with the first shipment of renovated tanks expected by the end of the year.

The contract for the renovations is valued at $90 million (roughly 2.2 billion crowns) and will be split between the two countries. "This is a huge success for international talks in regards to helping Ukraine," Czech Defence Ministry spokesperson Jiří Táborský told reporters.

Prague-based energy trading company EP Commodities, owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, will move its offices abroad according to a local spokesperson. The move is in response to a new law approved by the Czech Chamber of Deputies on Friday that introduces a steep 60 percent windfall tax on energy companies and banks.

The new law targets extraordinary profits, and would include the foreign earnings that make up the vast majority of EP Commodities' sales. "We voluntarily paid taxes in the Czech Republic, provided exceptionally qualified job opportunities and used various services from Czech companies," company spokesperson Daniel Častvaj told local reporters. "We informed the government about the situation, yet it decided not to exempt foreign income from the windfall tax."

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc has reportedly nixed a concert by prominent Russian dancer Sergei Polunin, a spokesperson has told Lidovky.cz. Polunin was originally slated to perform at Kroměříž castle, which is managed by the church, this past July, while an injury pushed his staging of Rasputin to next year.

Now, the performance appears unlikely to take place at all, owing to Polunin's vocal support for Russian president Vladimir Putin; the dancer has three portraits of Putin tattooed across his chest. "Before the final confirmation for the new date, we requested the artist's opinion on the situation in Ukraine; we did not receive this statement, and we agreed with the organizing agency to cancel the concert," said Jiří Gračka, a spokesperson for the church.