• Budejovicky Budvar loses battle over non-beer products at European court
    06/12/2007

    The Czech brewery Budejovicky Budvar has lost a court battle aimed at preventing America's Anheuser-Busch from using the Budweiser and Budvar brand names on non-beer products such as T-shirts and barbecue sauces. The Czech firm had sought to prevent Anheuser-Busch from registering the brand names as trademarks throughout the European Union. But the European Court of First Instance ruled that the "appellations of origin relied on" by Budejovicky Budvar only applied to beer and other similar products.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prague City Hall wants wrecked cars removed more quickly
    06/12/2007

    Prague City Hall wants to put forward legislation under which owners would be obliged to remove clapped-out cars from the city's streets much more quickly than at present, Czech Television reported. Owners currently have two months to get rid of wrecked cars - City Hall wants to have that period cut to just one week. Deputy mayor Rudolf Blazek said the car wrecks were often stripped within two months, and parts were sometimes strewn about.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Skoda sales up, but radio shortage slowing production
    06/12/2007

    Sales of Skoda cars increased by almost 14 percent in the first five months of this year, Pravo reported, quoting a spokesperson for Skoda Auto. The company says sales have increased in eastern Europe in particular. Meanwhile, a shortage of car radios is holding up production of Fabia and Roomster models for up to two weeks, reported Mlada fronta Dnes.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Culture Ministry to follow UNESCO advice over Pankrac skyscrapers
    06/12/2007

    The Culture Ministry has postponed a decision on whether or not to allow the building of two new skyscrapers in Prague's Pankrac district. The ministry says it will follow the recommendations of a UNESCO committee which is looking into the matter. Some conservationists say a 31-storey office building and a 21-storey hotel would be a blot on the city's horizon. There are already three tall buildings on Pankrac Plain, including a Czech Radio building which was never completed.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Marked increase in attendance at Czech cinemas
    06/12/2007

    Czech cinemas have recorded marked increases in both attendance and receipts so far this year, the Union of Film Distributors said on Tuesday. Almost 3.5 million cinema tickets were sold in the first quarter, up around half a million on the same period last year. The increase has been attributed to the success of Czech films such as I Served the King of England by Jiri Menzel and Jan Sverak's Empties.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech Under 21s draw opening game against England at European Championships
    06/12/2007

    The Czech Republic's footballers drew their opening game against England at the European Under 21 Championships in the Netherlands. Monday's game ended 0:0 after England missed a penalty in the 88th minute, following a hand-ball by Czech captain Roman Hubnik. He and his team-mates face Serbia in their next game on Thursday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Promotion of Bohemians 1905 means four Prague clubs now in Czech top flight
    06/12/2007

    Bohemians 1905 have been promoted to Czech football's first division, four years after exiting the top flight. Bohemians made a remarkable comeback from bankruptcy after an association of fans gathered the resources to revive the historic club, which even in the third and second divisions attracted gates that almost all top tier teams would envy. Viktoria Zizkov were already promoted, which means that with Sparta and Slavia the capital will have four teams in the first division.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • South African court orders re-arrest of Radovan Krejcir
    06/11/2007

    A court in Johannesburg has ruled that fugitive Czech businessman Radovan Krejcir may be arrested again provided that the Czech Republic supplies all the required documents. The prosecutor acting on behalf of the Czech Republic says all materials are already in South Africa and wants to have Mr Krejcir arrested immediately. The businessman, whose whereabouts are unknown at the moment, was arrested in South Africa in April but was released last week because the Czech authorities did not file extradition documents in time. However, both Czech Justice Ministry and South African prosecution claim the period had not expired. Mr Krejcir can move freely in South Africa, but may not leave the country. In the Czech Republic, he is wanted for a number of economic as well as violent crimes.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • International Union of Architects: New National Library building tender was fair
    06/11/2007

    The International Union of Architects says that the tender for a new National Library building in Prague was fair. In an unofficial response to an inquiry by eight Czech architecture studios dissatisfied with the results of the contest, the Union confirmed the position of the international jury that chose the project by Czech-born London-based architect Jan Kaplicky. The results of the tender were published in March and immediately provoked criticism based both on technical and aesthetic objections. The new National Library should be finished by 2010 on Prague's Letna Plain and will cost about two billion Czech crowns.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Ostrava witnesses first divorces of gay couples
    06/11/2007

    The district court in Ostrava has been dealing with first cases of divorces of gay couples. Ales Palkovsky, the vice-chairman of the court, said three lesbian couples have asked the court to cancel their registration, and two of them have already been cancelled. Conditions for the cancellation of registered partnerships are much softer than they are for heterosexual marriages, said Palkovsky. In the Czech Republic, gay couples have been able to contract registered partnerships since last July, after a long-term camping by homosexual advocacy groups.
    Author: Jan Richter

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