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06/28/2006
Customs officers in Melnik, central Bohemia, have seized fake U.S. dollars and Vietnamese dong banknotes worth over 300 million crowns, Prague Customs Authority spokesman Zdenek Malek told the CTK news agency on Wednesday. The notes, stashed among paper towels, were discovered during a routine check of a container from Vietnam. The recipient of the notes said they were just pieces of paper to be used in a religious ceremony. Experts are now analyzing the forgeries.
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06/27/2006
The Czech Republic's newly-elected MPs have held their first meeting in the Chamber of Deputies. Tuesday afternoon's program for the new MPs consisted mainly of nominating candidates for senior posts in the lower house. MPs also decided that Civic Democrat, Petr Tluchor, will head the Chamber of Deputies' election committee, which consists of 12 members and must be formed before Thursday's key vote on the chair and deputy chairs of the lower house.
Tuesday's meeting in the lower house was also important as the new MPs were handed confirmation of their electoral mandates. Most MPs arrived to pick-up their documents, though some were missing—among them Jiri Paroubek, David Rath, and Zdenek Skromach, all senior members of the Social Democratic Party.
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06/27/2006
Despite earlier assertions by the Social Democrats which claimed they would re-nominate Lubomir Zaoralek for chairman of the lower house, they failed to do so in Tuesday's sitting. Reports say this decision came after the Social Democrats failed to secure behind-the-scenes majority support for Mr. Zaoralek's nomination. The deputy chairwoman of the Civic Democratic Party, Miroslava Nemcova, is thus the only nominee for the lead post in the lower house. Her election to the post will depend on the vote of at least one Social Democratic or Communist MP. MPs are scheduled to cast their secret ballots on Thursday morning.
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06/27/2006
Prague's High Court upheld the life sentence of murderer Viktor Kalivoda on Tuesday. The man better known as "the killer in the woods" was sentenced to life behind bars in March, but appealed the original verdict. Mr. Kalivoda killed three people in mid-October 2005, and police arrested him shortly thereafter. The victims were picked randomly and the shooter confessed to his crimes during the first trial. During Tuesday's court proceedings, Mr. Kalivoda said that he had also planned to conduct a shooting spree in Prague's subway system.
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06/27/2006
An anonymous bomb threat called in on Tuesday afternoon stopped train travel on one of the Czech Republic's busiest rail routes. Trains traveling between the Moravian capital of Brno and the city of Breclav were stopped and bomb experts called to the scene. The train route in question is the main throughway from the Czech Republic to neighboring Slovakia and Austria. Buses have temporarily replaced the regular railway connections.
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06/27/2006
The Rolling Stones will not appear in the Czech Republic this summer, after plans to reschedule a date in Brno were abandoned. The British rock band had been due to play in the Moravian capital in mid-June, but pulled out when guitarist Keith Richards underwent an operation. The Rolling Stones have appeared in Prague four times in the past decade and a half.
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06/27/2006
The Czech international football goalkeeper Petr Cech has undergone operations on both shoulders. The 24-year-old Chelsea star had been having problems with his shoulders for some time. A representative said Tuesday's double-operation had been a success.
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06/27/2006
As Czech meteorologists warned, powerful summer storms hit some parts of the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Strong winds have caused serious damage in the south Moravian region surrounding Zlin. Firefighters are dealing with uprooted trees and downed electrical lines. Trees have blocked roads and damaged parked vehicles. Heavy rain in the region has also flooded many cellars, said a spokesman from the local fire department. Storms are expected to strike again in several Moravian regions, bringing heavy rains, winds, and hail.
Subject to similar drastic weather conditions, the chateau of Pohanska near Breclav, has been damaged by a hailstorm. The daily Pravo writes that the chateau looks as though it was the victim of a military firing squad. There is extensive damage to chateau Pohanska's façade, and eight windows were broken as a result of the storm.
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06/26/2006
After three weeks of negotiations representatives of the Civic Democrats, the Christian Democrats, and the Green Party have signed a coalition agreement. Their agreement entails details of a common program which focuses on relations with the European Union, international cooperation, family matters, education, culture, respect for the rule of law, the fight against corruption, a healthy economy, and comfortable rural and urban living standards. The division of ministry posts has also been decided, with the Civic Democrats allotted nine posts, and the Christian Democrats and Greens three each. Mirek Topolanek, the coalition's proposed prime minister, says that all ministers will be required to submit a personal property audit which will be kept in a safe at the office of the government. Such a move is meant to ensure transparency and prevent financing scandals that have befallen previous Czech politicians.
Before the official signing, the leader of the Civic Democrats, Mirek Topolanek, said that the agreement is a compromise for all three participating parties, and that this coalition deserves a chance to govern. The three-party coalition occupies 100 seats in the 200 seat Chamber of Deputies, and it will need the support of at least one Social Democrat or Communist Party member in order to pass a vote of confidence.
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06/26/2006
Reacting to the newly-signed coalition agreement, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Jiri Paroubek, says that the proposed centre-right government will be impossible to tolerate. Mr. Paroubek told reporters that the coalition agreement is a document structured along the lines of "poor journalism," and on the other hand contains details that would dramatically affect the lives of Czechs. According to Mr. Paroubek, the coalition agreement was made without regard for the concerns of the Social Democratic Party, which won the second largest share of votes in the recent elections. The Social Democratic leader is displeased with the chapter on healthcare, as well as what he sees as the coalition's unclear position on the adoption of the Euro. Meanwhile, deputy Social Democratic leader Bohuslav Sobotka says that his party can not sign a "blank cheque" for the proposed coalition.
In recent days the Civic Democratic and Social Democratic leaders met several times to try and find common ground for support of the new government. Their efforts have been unsuccessful, but Green Party leader Martin Bursik says that Monday's coalition agreement should be a new starting point for dialogue with the Social Democrats.
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