News
Former IPB bank managers face further charges over huge losses
Six former managers of the collapsed bank IPB have been charged with being responsible for losses of nine billion crowns, the newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Saturday. The six, who were already facing similar charges, face up to eight years in prison if found guilty. IPB was put under forced administration in the summer of 2000 and was bought by CSOB bank three days later. The state took on IPB's losses at a cost of around 100 billion crowns.
First group of Greeks complete anti-chemical training in Czech Republic ahead of Olympics
The first group of Greek anti-chemical soldiers taking part in exercises in the Czech Republic ahead of the Athens Olympics in August have completed their training and returned home. Some 48 Greek soldiers underwent training with a variety of deadly gases at a specialist camp in Vyskov, south Moravia. There have been reports that NATO may ask the Czech authorities to send Czech anti-chemical troops to Athens for the Olympics, though no such request has been made as yet.
Jarab calls Chinese statement on Tiananmen Square evasive, trivialising
The head of the Senate's foreign affairs committee, Josef Jarab, has expressed disappointment with a statement Chinese deputies made about the Tiananmen Square massacre. In a response to a request from the Czech Senate to outline their position on the event, which took place 15 years ago on Friday, the deputy chairman of the Chinese foreign affairs committee said it had been necessary to clear the square in order to allow normal traffic to resume. Mr Jarab described the statement as evasive and trivialising.
Deliberate contamination of water supply being investigated
Police in the south Moravian district of Znojmo are investigating an incident in which somebody allowed 15,000 litres of a liquid believed to be either oil or diesel to escape into the local water supply. According to a report on Czech Television, the incident is also being investigated by environmental inspectors.
Traffic policemen taking superiors to court over disciplining
Two traffic policemen who were punished for publicly criticising superior officers have said they will take their superiors to court. One of the officers had his wages cut and the other was reprimanded when they criticised the luxurious fittings of 18 new police cars in front of journalists earlier this year. However, both police president Jiri Kolar and a spokesperson for the central Bohemian police force said the two had not fulfilled their duties as police officers.
Slovak referee being questioned over Czech football bribery scandal
Czech police are questioning a Slovak football referee in connection with a bribery scandal involving the Czech club Synot, the Slovak football association announced on Friday. Several Czech referees and a senior official from Synot have already been arrested over the alleged match-fixing affair, which has been described as the biggest scandal in the history of Czech football. Several Slovak referees officiate in the Czech league.
Children's film festival in Zlin ends with awards ceremony
The 44th annual International Children's Film Festival held in the south Moravian town of Zlin ended with an awards ceremony on Friday evening. The main "Golden Baby Shoe" prize went to Swedish director Manne Landwall for the film "Strong as a Lion", while the children's jury prize went to Catherine Hardwicke for "Thirteen".
Czech football team preparing for last warm-up game before Euro 2004
The Czech football team have travelled to the north Bohemian town of Teplice for a match against Estonia on Sunday evening, their last warm-up game before the European Football championships in Portugal. The Czech Republic's first game at Euro 2004 is against Latvia on June 15; the other teams in Group D are Germany and the Netherlands.
Weather
Sunday should be cloudy with clear spells and the chance of rain in places. The maximum temperature will be 21 degrees Celsius.
