• Rising Czech tennis star Vaidisova beaten in final of Istanbul Cup
    05/21/2005

    Rising Czech tennis star Nicole Vaidisova has been beaten in the final of the Istanbul Cup by America's Venus Williams. Vaidisova only turned 16 a month ago but is already Czech women's number one. She was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Williams on Saturday, in a competition regarded as a warm-up for the French Open.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech officials react heatedly to Schwarzenberg's expulsion from Cuba
    05/20/2005

    Czech officials and politicians have reacted heatedly to Cuba's expulsion of a Czech senator, demanding an explanation. Senator Karel Schwarzenberg was thrown out of the country late Thursday, soon after arriving to meet with Cuban dissidents. So far, Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has reacted by saying the expulsion was proof the Czech Republic's tough stance on Cuba was justified. Senate chairman Premysl Sobotka, meanwhile, has described the expulsion as "a blatant violation of international rights".

    Karel Schwarzenberg is the former head of the presidential office under former Czech president Vaclav Havel, himself a strong critic of Fidel Castro's regime. The European Union is to decide soon whether to reinstate diplomatic sanctions against Cuba on the basis of human rights violations. The Czech Republic has been pushing the EU not to soften its stance.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Prime minister, health minister & insurance companies fail to reach agreement over doctors' pay
    05/20/2005

    The prime minister, the health minister Milada Emmerova, and the heads of Czech health insurance companies failed to reach an agreement over doctors' pay on Friday, although a decision may come as early as one week's time. Doctors would like to see higher remuneration for their work, something which insurance companies are warning could raise health insurance debt from 10 to 34 billion crowns, approximately 1.5 billion US. Without a raise the head of the Czech Doctors' Association David Rath has suggested doctors could curb the number of patient - doctor meetings without having a negative effect on the quality of individual treatment, lessening the work load. The prime minister, however, has already said he was not interested in the idea of patients receiving less care. All the parties involved are expected to meet again next week to decide the issue.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Paroubek, Gross, deny going head-to-head over elections leader post
    05/20/2005

    Both Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek and the chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Stanislav Gross, have denied they might face each other in an eventual showdown for their party's post of electoral leader. Speaking together with Mr Gross on Friday the prime minister said no conflict existed between himself and Mr Gross, who he considers a personal friend. While he did express an interest in being named his party's election leader, Mr Paroubek stressed the post could fall to a number of highly placed Social Democrats, including Culture Minister Pavel Dostal or Education Minister Petra Buzkova. Both he and Mr Gross said their party would conduct extensive research & analysis to decide on the best person for the job.

    The Social Democrats, along with the Czech Republic's other political parties, have roughly twelve months in which to prepare for national elections next year.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Roma student to receive compensation for racially-motivated attack
    05/20/2005

    A Prague court has ordered four men found guilty of a racially-motivated attack against a Roma student in 2002, to pay the victim compensation of 25, 000 crowns each - the equivalent of around four thousand dollars US. All four have also been ordered to provide written letters of apology. In October 2002 the four youths, the oldest of whom was 19 years of age, attacked the Roma student near a Prague metro station. The student, Marek Polak, suffered cuts, bruises, and a concussion. His attackers all received suspended sentences, the longest: three years in prison.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Woman, boy, treated in hospital after dog attack
    05/20/2005

    A 38-year-old woman and her 13-year-old son had to be treated in hospital on Friday after being attacked at their cottage by their pet dog. For unknown reasons the animal, a Staffordshire bull terrier, went wild and attacked its owners, first the boy, and then his mother as she came to help. Both suffered serious injury to their hands. In the end police arriving at the scene were forced to shoot the animal. The incident took place at a cottage colony near Brno.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Paroubek: Health Ministry's plans to improve state of health sector look promising
    05/19/2005

    Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek held meetings with Health Minister Milada Emmerova and the head of the Czech Medical Chamber David Rath on Thursday to discuss the financial state of the health sector. According to Mr Paroubek the health ministry's most recent plans to solve the financial crisis look promising and could save billions of Czech crowns in the ailing public health-insurance system. The ministry's proposal is to be discussed by the coalition parties within the next two weeks.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • President Klaus signs bill on monitored cash registers
    05/19/2005

    The Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, signed a bill into law on Thursday that requires all cash register activities of small businesses to be recorded and monitored. The lower house of Parliament proposed to monitor cash registers in order to help the government fight against the grey economy. Small retailers and restaurants will be obliged to use the registers as of January 2007. Those who would fail to comply could be fined up to half a million Czech crowns.

    Also on Thursday, the President has refused to sign bills into law with which the government hoped to simplify the work inspection system.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Hungary issues formal complaint against Benes statue
    05/19/2005

    Hungary's Foreign Ministry has made a formal complaint to the Czech Republic against the recent unveiling of a new statue of the former Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes. At the end of the Second World War, president Benes issued the Benes decrees, which sanctioned the confiscation of property and expulsion of some half a million ethnic Hungarians as many of them supported Hitler's occupation of Czechoslovakia. The statue of Edvard Benes was unveiled in front of the Foreign Ministry in Prague on Monday.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • New Zealand raises number of Czechs to benefit from "agreement on short-term work stays"
    05/19/2005

    The government of New Zealand has decided to increase the number of Czechs permitted to work in the country. Under a bilateral agreement on work stays, which took effect in March, one hundred Czechs between the ages of 18 and 30 were to be granted short-term work permits of up to one year in New Zealand. That number is to be raised to one thousand as of July.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

Pages