Czech news in brief for May 28: Thursday's top afternoon headlines

Good afternoon/evening, and welcome to today's Evening Edition. Czech meteorologists warned today that sunny weather will stay until Friday, with showers and thunderstorms expected over a slightly cooler weekend.

Czech Minister of Agriculture Martin Šebestyán confirmed yesterday that his ministry was still paying out public subsidies to the Agrofert company founded and formerly owned by his boss, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Since he became PM, Agrofert received close to CZK 200 million in subsidies from the State Agricultural Fund (SZIF). The EU recently asked the Czech government to clarify the exact measures taken by Babiš to avoid what many have long criticized as a clear conflict of interest between his political position and business interests.

Extraordinary meeting. Although Babiš formally transfered his stake in Agrofert into a trust fund, many experts and opposition politicians insist the Prime Minister still has a clear financial interest, even if indirect, in the conglomerate. Opposition parties STAN, the Pirates and TOP 09 are now calling for an extraordinary session in Parliament to discuss the issue, and for authorities to stop paying subsidies to Agrofert until the situation is clarified.

The Initiative 0 today launched a new interactive map that allows people to add traffic spots, streets or crossings in Prague where they feel uneasy or unsafe, or where they've witnessed accidents. The goal is to give politicians and municipal authorities detailed information about problematic areas which, they hope, could become a topic in the upcoming municipal elections campaign in the capital.

Traffic accidents in Prague. There were about 135 traffic accidents involving pedestrians in Prague in the first three months of the year. One person died, and more than a dozen were seriously injured.

Tomorrow marks Tax Freedom Day here in the Czech Republic, a fictional and made-up anniversary to mark the day in the year when people, on average, stop working to pay taxes and other social contributions and start earning money for themselves. That this falls on the 149th day of the year may seem like a lot, it's still much sooner than many other European countries. Slovaks, for instance, will have to wait another month to reach that threhold.

Not much rejoicing. Experts at the Prague-based Liberal Institute warn that there isn't much to celebrate, as this year's date is evidently based on last year's data and that greater public spending mixed with a spiralling debt means that Tax Freedom Day is bound to get pushed to a later date in the years to come.

After a 13-year dominance, Eliška (1,125 born last year) is no longer the most popular girl's name in the Czech Republic, topped last year by Viktorie (1,193), according to the latest data from the Czech Statistical Office. Small caveat: Ema/Emma would come in second place if the two different spellings were counted together. For boys, Jakub, Matyáš and Jan are the three top choices, in that order.

Rising stars. While less common, some names are growing in popularity, and fast. For boys, the fastest-rising ones are Oliver, Matteo, Theodor or Sebastian. For girls, that's Lara, Sofia, Vivien, Isabella and Mia.

Eliška (1,125 born last year) was dethroned by Viktorie (1,193) as the most popular girls' name last year. Can you name these famous women who bear the name?