• Vondra: US missile defence base could be decided in January
    12/01/2006

    Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra has said that the issue of a possible stationing of a US missile defence base in Czech territory is likely to be decided in January. He indicated some delay was to be expected given recent changes at the US defense department, with former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld newly replaced by Robert Gates. On Friday, Mr Vondra reported to Czech MPs on negotiations underway at the request of the Communist Party. The Communists are against the construction of a defence base on Czech and on Friday tried unsuccessfully to push through a proposal in the lower house blocking further talks on the US proposal.

    If a base is agreed one solution could be a base could be divided into two parts: defence radar deployed in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech troops officially head command at Kabul airport
    12/01/2006

    Czech military personnel have officially taken command at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Specialists in the Czech contingent will operate there for the next four months. It is the first command held by the Czechs within the ISAF. The Czech contingent is made up 47 members of the Czech Army, including specialists on air control, flight security, and logistics. In all, about 500 soldiers and specialists from about 20 NATO members and Afghanistan are serving under the command at Kabul airport.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Next instalment of Narnia Chronicles to be shot in Czech Republic
    12/01/2006

    The Czech financial newspaper Hospodarske Noviny has written that much of the next film in the Narnia Chronicles, Prince Caspian based on a series of books by C.S. Lewis, will be shot in the Czech Republic next year. The daily reports that both exteriors and much studio work will be shot in the Czech Republic, many interiors at the famous Barrandov Studios. The first instalment of the series "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" also included a number of scenes filmed in the Czech Republic: namely scenes among famous cliff formations in the area known as Cesky Raj - Czech Paradise.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech Republic settles dispute with Nomura
    11/30/2006

    The Czech Republic has settled a six-year dispute with Japanese investment group Nomura. In 2000, amid rumours of pending collapse, the IPB bank in which Nomura held a 50 percent stake, was placed under forced administration and sold for a symbolic one crown to another bank, CSOB. Nomura says the Czech state had failed to protect its investment and won a London arbitration decision earlier this year. In a two-page agreement both sides have pledged to file no more complaints, make no more financial demands, and withdraw from any ongoing court proceedings.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Social Democrats "disappointed" by Civic democrat's proposed policy programme
    11/30/2006

    The Social Democrats have expressed disappointment at the content of a government policy programme proposed to them by the Civic Democrats. The party says the manifesto is the exact copy of that of the Civic Democrat's planned three-party coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Greens that was rejected in the autumn. The Civic Democrats say the policy programme is only to serve as a basis for discussion.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Civic Democrats for special lower house meeting on new Labour Code
    11/30/2006

    The Civic Democrats intend to call a special lower house meeting to hold discussion on the date when a new Labour Code is to come into effect. Cabinet has proposed to introduce the Labour Code on January 1. 2008 instead of 2007. But Social Democrat and Communist deputies, who together hold 100 of the 200 seats in the lower house of Parliament, have blocked plans to vote on the proposal in Thursday's regular session.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Pavel Bem re-elected Lord Mayor of Prague
    11/30/2006

    Civic Democrat deputy chairman Pavel Bem has been re-elected Lord Mayor of Prague. With the vote of 49 of 69 town representatives, Mr Bem will serve another six year term.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Police detain eleven suspected people smugglers
    11/30/2006

    Police have detained eleven foreign nationals suspected of people smuggling. The detainees, who include three women, are from five states and have been long term residents of the Czech Republic. Police suspect they issued citizens of Dagestan, Kazakhstan, and Syria official invitations to get them into the Czech Republic and from there smuggle them into Germany and France in trucks. They face up to ten years in prison if found guilty.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech crown reaches new record high to US dollar
    11/30/2006

    The Czech crown reached a new record high to the US dollar with an exchange rate of 21.18 crowns to the dollar on Thursday.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • President Bush and US Ambassador to Prague on visa policy
    11/29/2006

    US President George W. Bush speaking with President Vaclav Klaus at the NATO Summit underway in Riga, has reportedly reiterated conviction that visa requirements for Czechs travelling to the US will eventually be waived. Speaking to reporters after a brief meeting with his US counterpart, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said President Bush anticipated intense debate in Congress, which will have the final word.

    While Czech Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra has put two years as an estimate for changes in visa policy, some US officials are being more cautious. The US Ambassador to Prague Richard Graber on Wednesday reacted by suggesting that while two years was perhaps a good estimate, the timeframe couldn't be guaranteed.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

Pages