Czech news in brief for May 27: Wednesday's top afternoon headlines

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Evening Edition. Here what you've missed while you were at work, or otherwise hiding from the heat.

The directors of Czech Television and Czech Radio today sent an open letter to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš criticizing the government's plans to abolish licence fees and fund their organizations directly from the state budget. This is just the latest development in one of the most visible and controversial measures of the new Czech government's first half-year in office.

The wider angle. For months, Czech and international public media watchdogs have warned against the reform, saying it posed a threat to the sustainability of the public broadcasters' funding and, crucially, could undermine their independence. The government, on the other hand, says the reform is needed to increase the transparency and efficiency of their funding.

Attacks against journalists. Meanwhile, the Czech committee of the International Press Institute (IPI) also publicly criticized Babiš' repeated insults and verbal attacks against specific journalists and media outlets, calling such behavior "contrary to a world in which decency applies and the rule of law prevails."

Small crowds of people gathered today at Prague's Anthropoid memorial to commemorate the 84th anniversary of the assassination of former Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich, aka the Butcher of Prague. Officially called the Day of National Defiance, the anniversary pays tribute to paratroopers Jan Kubiš, Jozek Gabčík and all those involved in the operation to take down Hitler's top man in the Protectorate.

Prague police officers are continuing their investigation into the so-called "fake bankers" case, with one raid earlier today turning into something of a mishap. Criminal investigators pounced on a young man and forced him to the ground before realizing the actual suspect was standing just nearby. Caught on video by a bystander, the incident was immediately cleared up, with the mistake accepted in good spirit by the wrongly detained man.

A lucky Czech gambler has just won over CZK 2.9 billion in the Eurojackpot game, a record win exceeding the previous high of nearly CZK 2.5 billion more than ten years ago. The winner now has 365 days to claim his prize, and may benefit from financial and legal advice as well as from psychological support - as is customary in those situations.

A win for the Czech state, too. The Czech state imposes a 15 percent tax on such winnings, meaning state coffers will receive upwards of CZK 430 million.

The Czech ice hockey national team will face off against Finland in Zurich tomorrow in the quarterfinals of the World Championships. At the same time, Canada will play the US, while Switzerland vs. Sweden and Norway vs. Latvia later in the evening will conclude the high-stakes round.

What to expect. Finns have seemed in better shape in this year's tournament, earning 18 points versus Czechia's 13 in the group stages. But Czechs emerged victorious 1-0 the last time the two teams faced each other at the world championships in Prague two years ago. Out of 109 total matches between Czechs and Finns, however, Finland has a small lead, having won 56 of them.