News

Gross attends ceremony to mark Slovak National Uprising on first trip as PM

The Czech prime minister, Stanislav Gross, was among 2,000 guests who gathered at a memorial to the Slovak National Uprising in Banska Bystrica on Sunday. Mr Gross met his Slovak counterpart Mikulas Dzurinda at the ceremony; it was his first trip abroad since being appointed prime minister at the end of July. Following the anti-fascist Slovak National Uprising which began on August 29, 1944 the Nazis launched a reign of terror in Slovakia, killing approximately 20,000 people.

Black weekend on Czech roads, at least 17 dead

It has been a black weekend on the Czech Republic's roads, with at least 17 people dying in road accidents. In the worst single crash, six people died in the earlier hours of Saturday morning when their car collided head-on with a van. The last weekend of the summer holidays sees high numbers of road deaths every year.

Policeman faces GBH charges after man dies following arrest

A police officer from the Moravian city of Olomouc could face up to eight years in prison if found guilty of grievous bodily harm, after a man he arrested on Wednesday died the next day of injuries sustained during the arrest. A post mortem found the dead man had suffered serious stomach injuries.

Irish opposition calls for "Pirate of Prague" Kozeny to lose Irish passport

An Irish opposition party has called for the rescinding of the Irish citizenship of Viktor Kozeny, a Czech man wanted for large scale fraud in the Czech Republic and the United States. Joe Costello of the Labour Party said the fact people like Mr Kozeny held an Irish passport could create the impression Ireland was a safe haven for "international crooks". Mr Kozeny, who lives in the Bahamas and has been dubbed "the Pirate of Prague", has held an Irish passport since 1995.

Zelezny bows out of Olympics with disappointing ninth place in javelin

Jan Zelezny, who took gold in the javelin at the last three Olympics, came a disappointing ninth at the Athens Games on Saturday evening. The 38-year-old, who is widely regarded as the greatest athlete in the history of the javelin, threw 80.59 metres, some way short of the world record of 98.48 metres he set in 1996. The Czech team has won a total of eight medals in Athens, including one gold, for Roman Sebrle in the decathlon.

Galasek likely to miss first World Cup qualifier

Footballer Tomas Galasek is injured and likely to miss the Czech Republic's first qualifying game for the 2006 World Cup, which is away to Holland on September 6. The 31-year-old midfielder injured an ankle during training for his club Ajax Amsterdam on Saturday.

Weather

Monday is expected to be cloudy with rain in places. Temperatures should range from 19 to 23 degrees Celsius.