Islamic countries united against France and are calling for a boycott of its products. Meanwhile, the Czech government is trying to combat the growing number of COVID-19 infections among the elderly. And because of the epidemic, the entire content of the White Mountain 1620 exhibition is now available on your computer...
By defending caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, French President Emmanuel Macron created a stir in some parts of the Muslim world. In Islam, such drawings are considered blasphemy. The 42-year-old statesman opened the subject last week in response to the murder of a high school teacher in a Paris suburb. Teacher Samuel Paty was brutally beheaded after showing his students cartoon caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad during a lesson. Macron condemned the attack and pledged to fight the manifestations of extreme Islamism in the country. And he didn't have to wait long for the backlash.
"I call on my people here. Never give credit to French-labelled goods, don’t buy them. European politicians should say 'stop' to the hate campaign led by French President Macron,"
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan galvanized people in Ankara. There were also protests in Iraq, and Pakistan summoned the French ambassador for a dressing-down.
Blanket testing for coronavirus in Czech nursing homes
Open in gallery (6)
Senior s rouškouSource: Pixabay.com/geralt
At last night's press conference, Health Minister Roman Prymula revealed the strategy for combating coronavirus in retirement homes. As of next week, blanket testing using antigen tests should begin. The results of this sampling are known within 15 minutes. If there is a larger number of positive people in one retirement home, PCR testing will follow, since nasopharyngeal swabs have more reliable results. The government sees in the measure a promise to expedite the isolation of infected patients in these facilities. The spread of the disease in retirement homes is one of the biggest problems of the current epidemic. On average, we have more than 1,500 infected seniors a day, many of whom are accommodated in facilities of this type.
Senate confirms Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee
Open in gallery (6)
Úřadující americký prezident Donald TrumpSource: Instagram.com/realdonaldtrump
The US president is celebrating a political victory just a week before the election. The Senate approved his nominee for a new Supreme Court judge, Amy Coney Barrett. The 48-year-old native of New Orleans was confirmed in office by an absolute majority of senators, more accurately 52 of them. One Republican senator voted against, but could not reverse the result. In September, Trump was criticized for having proposed the successor to the late judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, too quickly. The Democrats wanted the new candidate for Supreme Court Justice to be chosen by the winner of the November election race. Trump therefore celebrates a small victory right before the election, but it's not an unexpected one.
Prodej bytu s balkónem, Smetanovo nábřeží, Praha 1
Show property
The exhibition dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the Battle of White Mountain is also available online
Open in gallery (6)
Expozice Bílá hora v PrazeSource: Bilahora1620.cz
There are some positive aspects to the widespread coronavirus epidemic. Thanks to the current development, the exhibition White Mountain 1620: A Fateful Milestone of Our History is now also available online. This year, we commemorate 400 years since the decisive battle, which may have lasted only an hour and a half, but its consequences for the development in the Czech lands were fundamental. The comprehensive exhibition can be seen not only on the Old Town Square in Prague, but also on the Bilahora1620.cz website. It provides a well-balanced view not only of the clash of troops itself, but also of the events that preceded the battle and its consequences.
Reebok and JUUN.J present futuristic sneakers
Open in gallery (6)
Teniska z kolaborace Reebok a JUUN.JSource: Reebok
The Asian high-fashion company JUUN.J joined forces with the footwear giant Reebok, and their collaboration resulted in a very unique model: the Pump Court in four elegant colors. The shoe is inspired by Steve Smith's never-released prototype from 1995, which gives it a quirky retro touch. Distinctive finishes, a mesh upper and the use of premium metallic leather land these shoes in the realm of high fashion. They will certainly be an integral part of many outfits in post-coronavirus fashion weeks. The sneakers will be available online on November 5 at the Reebok e-shop. The price was set at 280 US dollars (approximately 6,500 Czech crowns).
Kazakhstan no longer distances itself from "its" Borat
Open in gallery (6)
BoratSource: Instagram.com/boratsagdiyev
After a fourteen-year break, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen revived "one of the most famous" inhabitants of Kazakhstan - Borat. This fictitious television reporter for the Kazakh State Television took the world by storm in 2006. However, the ruling state officials in Central Asia were not too enthusiastic about the film's great popularity and quickly banned it in their country. In 2020, however, they took a completely different approach. The Kazakh Tourism Council seized the opportunity and used one of Borat's most famous phrases, "very nice" as a slogan for their campaign.
"In COVID times, when tourism spending is on hold, it was good to see the country mentioned in the media. Not in the nicest way, but it's good to be out there.,"
said Kairat Sadvakassov, deputy chairman of the Kazakhstan tourism board.
And that's all from us this morning. Enjoy tomorrow's holiday in the comfort of your own home and connect with your family at least online. Fortunately, the Internet allows us to do this in many ways. Even the Russian writer Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy knew that:
"The family is one of the inevitable conditions of happiness."
