• Customs officers seize counterfeit brand goods worth 54 million crowns
    06/14/2007

    Customs officers in the west Bohemian town of Cheb say they have seized 12,000 pairs of counterfeit brand shoes worth over 30 million crowns. The shoes were found in a truck from China. The customs officers have notified the rightful owner of the brand so the company can take legal action against such imports. Earlier this week, customs officers in nearby Chomutov confiscated another 45,000 pairs of counterfeited brand shoes worth over 22 million crowns.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Press: Armenian journalist sues RFE/RL in Prague over dismissal
    06/14/2007

    The daily Lidove noviny writes that Czech courts will probably deal with alleged discrimination against some employees at the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty based in Prague. The paper refers to the case of Armenian reporter Anna Karapetian who says her dismissal from the radio after 12 years is invalid and has filed a lawsuit against her former employer. The paper says that those RFE/RL employees who do not come either from the United States or the Czech Republic find themselves in a legal limbo as regards their employees' rights. While Czechs can rely on the Czech Labour Code, disputes with US employees are solved by the Washington-based Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. RFE/RL did not comment on the case.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech speleologists rescued in Slovenia
    06/14/2007

    Four Czech speleologists have been rescued from a flooded cave in Slovenia, the Czech Embassy to Slovenia said on Thursday. All four are reported to be in good health. While exploring the Crnelskaja Jama cave they were trapped inside far below the surface after an underground river swelled on Monday following heavy rains.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Tennis: Berdych into semis after injury forces out Youzhny
    06/14/2007

    Fourth seed Tomas Berdych has coasted into the last four of the ATP Halle tournament after quarter-final opponent and sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny withdrew through injury. Russia's world number 14 pulled out with a back injury and is unable to play Berdych - last year's beaten finalist at Halle - in Friday's quarter-final, giving the 21-year-old Czech extra rest before Saturday's semi.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Press: StB agents monitored Klaus in 1980s
    06/13/2007

    The current Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, was spied on by the communist StB secret police during the 1980s, Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Wednesday. The StB searched Mr Klaus's office, bugged his home and read his letters, the paper reported. The secret police reportedly developed an interest in Mr Klaus's economics lectures after an informer told them that he had invited "non-Marxists and right-wingers to attend". The president's wife Livia was also monitored.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Male nurse admits to attempting to kill over 40 people
    06/13/2007

    A male nurse who has admitted to using a blood-thinning drug to murder nine patients at a hospital in Havlickuv Brod says he attempted to kill a total of 43 people, the Prima and Nova TV stations reported. Petr Zelenka reportedly made the admission in an extremely detailed written testimony. Police expect to conclude their investigation into the killings this autumn.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Lower house approves amendment making possession of child pornography a crime
    06/13/2007

    The lower house of Parliament has approved an amendment to the Penal Code under which the possession of child pornography is a criminal offence. Under current Czech law, only distributors of such material face legal punishment. The new law, which has yet to be approved by the Senate and signed by the President, has anyone caught in possession of child pornography face up to two years in prison.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Supreme state attorney defends intervention in Cunek case before committee
    06/13/2007

    The supreme state attorney, Renata Vesecka, has defended her removal of the prosecutor overseeing the case of Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek. Speaking before a Chamber of Deputies legal committee, Ms Vesecka denied opposition claims that her intervention had been politically motivated; she also called on politicians not to play power games through the legal system.

    The supreme state attorney on Friday replaced the prosecutor overseeing a case of alleged bribe-taking against Mr Cunek as it was about to come to court. She said he had made procedural errors.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech Republic and Hungary slow on preparations for adoption of euro
    06/13/2007

    The Czech Republic and Hungary will be the only EU member states at the end of 2008 to have a state budget deficit higher than 3 percent of GDP. In this respect, a new European Commission report says, the two countries are the least prepared for the adoption of the euro. The Commission, which polices public finances in the EU, also includes the Czech Republic in a group of six countries with the most risky prospected public finance development.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Ombudsman: Roma rent defaulters in Vsetin should not have been moved to rundown buildings
    06/13/2007

    The Moravian town of Vsetin made a grave error when it evicted a number of Roma rent defaulters last year, Ombudsman Otakar Motejl announced on Wednesday. The move to re-house the Romanies in portacabins and rundown buildings violated their basic human rights, Mr Motejl said. Some of the buildings lacked basic necessities like electricity and running water. Current Christian Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek, who was mayor of Vsetin at the time of the eviction has been facing much criticism for the move.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

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