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02/28/2007
Tests have revealed that nine professional soldiers at the Caslav Airbase - home base of the country's Gripen fighter jets - use drugs. The Defense Ministry ordered that all soldiers at the base be tested following the arrest of two soldiers in January on suspicion of drug dealing. Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova has said she is considering introducing obligatory blood tests for all applicants who want to join the military and random tests for those in service.
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02/28/2007
President Klaus has announced he will run for a second term in office in the 2008 presidential elections. After exactly four years in office, Mr. Klaus enjoys a high rate of public support and political analysts say his chances of getting reelected are considerable. In the Czech Republic the president is elected by both houses of Parliament.
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02/28/2007
The Czech government has begun preparing for the country's presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2009. Members of the government committee for EU matters, led by Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, on Wednesday discussed the future priorities of the country's EU presidency, laying emphasis on the freedom of movement of people, services, capital and goods. Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexander Vondra said the motto of the Czech EU presidency could be "Europe without barriers".
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02/28/2007
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development Jiri Cunek who is suspected of corruption has said he will not resign from his government posts despite the fact that the state attorney on Wednesday rejected his complaint against the accusation, opening the way for prosecution. Mr. Cunek is suspected of having taken a half a million crown bribe when he was mayor of Vsetin in 2002 and has failed to give a satisfactory explanation as to where he got the money. Although the prime minister has not asked Mr. Cunek to resign, several cabinet ministers have indicated that he should do so.
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02/28/2007
Miroslav Grebenicek, the former head of the Communist Party, does not need to apologize to anti-communist activist Jan Sinagl for having called him a primitive, the Olomouc High Court ruled on Wednesday. The court overturned an earlier ruling by the regional court which ordered Mr. Grebenicek to apologize in two nationwide papers.
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02/28/2007
Austrian media have welcomed the outcome of talks between Chancellor Alfred Grusenbauer and his Czech counterpart Mirek Toplanek with regard to the drawn-out controversy over the Temelin nuclear power plant in south Bohemia. Kronen Zeitung, the most popular Austrian daily, writes that the decision to set up a joint parliamentary commission to assess the plant's safety is the first real sign of progress in years. However Austrian opponents of the plant have dismissed the talks and effected three more border blockades on Wednesday, demanding that the plant be closed down.
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02/28/2007
One of the country's four leading banks Komercni Banka has announced a 2.3 percent rise in 2006 net group profits to 9.12 billion crowns (424.7 million dollars). A spokesman for the bank said the group performance was supported by the rapid growth of the Czech economy. French-based Societe Generale has a 60.35 percent stake in the bank. A dividend payment of 5.7 billion crowns, or 150 crowns per share, will be recommended.
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02/27/2007
Members of a new Czech-Austrian joint commission should visit the Czech Temelin power station to determine whether it is safe, the Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolanek, said after a meeting with his Austrian counterpart, Alfred Gusenbauer, in Prague. Mr Gusenbauer said greater transparency over Temelin could lead to a reduction in animosity on both sides. Critics in Austria say the nuclear station in south Bohemia is unsafe.
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02/27/2007
The minister of defence, Vlasta Parkanova, says the biggest problems she has encountered in her short period in office are linked to corruption and the awarding of public tenders. Minister Parkanova, who was appointed last month, made the comments after a meeting with President Vaclav Klaus at Prague Castle on Tuesday. She said she wanted to make the Czech army's spending more transparent and effective.
The minister also called for the thorough investigation of alleged bribery connected with the planned purchase and subsequent lease of Gripen fighter jets from Sweden's Saab and Britain's BAE Systems. Police in the Czech Republic, Sweden and the UK are currently looking into the matter.
Meanwhile, Swedish TV is due to broadcast on Tuesday a secretly recorded interview with former Czech foreign minister Jan Kavan, in which he seems to indicate bribes were given to Czech politicians in connection with the deal. Mr Kavan has dismissed the recording, saying he had merely relayed gossip and speculation to the reporters.
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02/27/2007
An estimated 1,500 Czech police officers, fire officers and other members of the security forces have held a protest in Prague against changes to their working conditions. The protest has been organised under the name Initiative 361, after the number of a new law which reduces their overtime for working at weekends, public holidays and at night. It also increases officers' holiday time and shortens their working week.
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