Thursday News Briefing

The Syndicate of Journalists is critical of President Miloš Zeman's inauguration speech, in which he placed a "substantial part of the Czech media" on the same footing as organized crime and neo-Nazi commandos, the organization writes in a letter sent to Zeman. 

"This categorization of a substantial part of the Czech media is startling particularly since a majority of [the media]…warn of the danger tied to organized crime and its infiltration into politics, as well as of the threat posed to democracy in the Czech Republic by extremist movements," says the letter, signed by syndicate chairman Adam Černý. 

In a separate letter initiated by political commentator Bohumil Doležal, prominent writers and academics call the president's attitude "unprecedented in the whole post-Communist period. He applies the principle of collective guilt to the 'substantial part of the Czech media'; the global condemnation is reminiscent of various exclamations of the pre-1989 Communist politicians."   

Pakistani authorities have confirmed to the Czech embassy in Islamabad that two Czech female tourists have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen, the embassy announced today, adding that it has already contacted the abducted women's relatives. Pakistani media reported that the police are trying to find and free the Czech tourists who were abducted in the southwestern Baluchistan province near the Iranian border on Wednesday. The two women were reportedly going in an off-road vehicle, accompanied by a local police officer, when the incident occurred. 

Prague's two Michelin-star establishments, La Degustation Boheme Bourgoise and Alcron, run by executive chefs Oldřich Sahajdák and Roman Paulus, respectively, both held on to their single stars for the second year, iDnes.cz reported. In its guide Main Cities of Europe, published today, the French gastronomical ratings company also announced the winners of its Bib Gourmand status, which recognizes quality and value for money. Last year, Divinis, Aromi, SaSaZu, Le Terroir, Sansho and Lichfield were given Bib Gourmands, and this year all were renewed except for Lichfield, which dropped from the list.  

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