News

Chamber overturns Klaus veto on European arrest warrant

The Chamber of Deputies has approved the adoption of the European arrest warrant, overturning a veto by President Vaclav Klaus. Meanwhile, the opposition Civic Democrats said Friday they were planning to take the matter to the Constitutional Court; they say the European arrest warrant contravenes the Czech Republic's bill of basic rights and freedoms.

Bill brings end to nearly 140 years of compulsory military service

The lower house also approved a law on Friday doing away with military conscription from 2005, bringing to an end almost 140 years of forced military service. The last conscripts are due to leave the Czech Army just before Christmas.

Chamber votes to make maths optional in school-leaving exams

The Chamber also passed an education bill under which mathematics would not be a compulsory subject in the maturita school-leaving exams. The bill now has to be reviewed by the president. There has been some debate in recent months about whether maths should be a compulsory subject at Czech gymnaziums ('grammar schools').

MP who says Civic Democrats offered him large bribe passes lie detector test

An MP who says the Civic Democrats tried to bribe him to bring down the government in a confidence vote passed a lie detector test during questioning by police on Thursday. Zdenek Koristka of the Freedom Union said last month he had been offered a bribe of 10 million crowns (around 300,000 euros), an allegation strenuously denied by the Civic Democrats. The two men Mr Koristka says approached him have declined to undergo a lie detector test, arguing that the results cannot be used as evidence in Czech courts.

Memorial to Ostrava Jews vandalized by neo-Nazis

A memorial in Ostrava which commemorates the deportation of thousands of Jews from the city during the Holocaust has been vandalised with Nazi inscriptions. The memorial was erected ten years ago to mark the 55th anniversary of the first transport of local Jews to the concentration camp of Nisk in Poland. It was also targeted by vandals last year.

Almost two dozen injured in collision between bus and crane

Twenty-two people were injured, two of them seriously, after a bus collided with a truck crane near Bruntal in north Moravia on Thursday. Witnesses said the side was ripped out of the bus during the crash.

Nedved retires from international football

The captain of the Czech football team, Pavel Nedved, has retired from international football at the age of 32. The Juventus midfielder, who has been suffering from a knee injury in recent months, scored 17 goals in 83 appearances for the Czech Republic. Nedved, currently European Footballer of the Year, is widely regarded as the best Czech player of his generation.

Horem padem Czech choice for Best Foreign Film Oscar category

The film Horem padem (Up and Down) has been selected by the Czech Film and Television Academy as the Czech Republic's candidate for the Best Foreign Film category in the Academy Awards. Director Jan Hrebejk was short listed for an Oscar in 2001 for his film Musime si Pomahat (Divided We Fall).

Weather

Saturday should be cloudy with rain in places. Temperatures are expected to range from 11 to 15 degrees Celsius.