• Investigation of assault on Communist MP postponed
    06/19/2006

    The police have postponed an investigation into an assault on a Communist Party representative. In Late April, several attackers beat Jiri Dolejs to the ground and kicked him in the head, while chanting anti-Communist slogans. Mr Dolejs suffered an injury to his eye and bruises to his face and ribs and he is scheduled to undergo a second operation on his retina in the summer. The police have not been able to identify Mr Dolejs' assailants.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Thailand's King Rama shortens prison sentences for two Czech convicted drug traffickers
    06/19/2006

    Two Czech prisoners, who were found guilty of drug trafficking in Thailand in 1996, have been granted amnesty by King Rama IX and will be serving less time. The 42-year sentence for thirty year-old Emil Novotny has been reduced by six years and Radek Hanykovics' 25-year sentence by 3.5 years. Both men were transferred to Czech prisons in 2003 but Mr Hanykovics has not served his time for reasons of ill health.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Man survives lightning strike
    06/19/2006

    A young man in west Bohemia has miraculously survived a lightning strike. The 20 year old man was at a swimming pool when the sky suddenly turned black and the young man was struck by lightning, witnesses have reported. He complained of pains in his legs and was rushed to a local hospital, where he is still in care.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Memorial held for parachutists who died after Heyrdich assassination operation
    06/18/2006

    A memorial ceremony was held on Sunday in honour of the Czechoslovak parachutists who lost their lives after taking part in an operation to assassinate the Nazi governor of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich. Sergeants Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik and other members of their group were hiding in the crypt of Prague's Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius when they were surrounded by German troops on June 18, 1942. They fought until dawn, but the situation was hopeless and they chose to take their own lives rather than surrender.

    Sunday's memorial was attended by World War II resistance fighters and several politicians, including the prime minister, Jiri Paroubek.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Paroubek: support for Civic Democrats not impossible, depends on concessions
    06/18/2006

    Mr Paroubek, whose Social Democrats came second in recent elections, said on Sunday he would not rule out supporting a government led by the election's winners, the Civic Democrats. He said it depended on what concessions the Civic Democrats would make; their plans for a flat tax and the privatisation of public services are opposed by the Social Democrats.

    The Civic Democrats are trying to form a coalition with two smaller parties, but the three would be one seat short of a majority in the lower house.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech football team face uphill battle to reach knock-out stage at World Cup
    06/18/2006

    The Czech Republic are facing an uphill battle to reach the knock-out stage at the football World Cup. After losing against Ghana on Saturday, the Czechs need to at least draw with Italy on Thursday and hope for a favourable outcome in a game between Ghana and the USA.

    Defender Tomas Ujfalusi and forward Vratislav Lokvenc will be suspended for the Italy match, while first choice strikers Milan Baros and Jan Koller remain doubtful.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Defence minister visits Czech troops in Afghanistan
    06/18/2006

    The minister of defence, Karel Kuhnl, has visited Czech soldiers serving in the city of Kandahar in the south of Afghanistan. The Czech special forces are taking part in a large operation there against Taliban fighters. Earlier on Saturday Mr Kuhnl visited a group of Czech bomb disposal experts and meteorologists at Kabul international airport.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Fines for abuse of Czech state symbols triple
    06/18/2006

    Fines for misusing, deliberately damaging or "grossly disparaging" Czech state symbols have tripled, under an amendment which has just come into effect. The new penalty for abusing the country's flag or state emblem is 10,000 crowns (around 450 US dollars). And institutions which do not raise the flag on national holidays can be fined up to 15,000 crowns.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Record numbers attend "museum night" in Prague
    06/18/2006

    A record 135,000 people visited museums and galleries in Prague during the third annual "museum night" on Saturday. Admission was free at all venues between 5 pm and midnight, and the capital's transport authority laid on extra buses for visitors.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech tennis player Tomas Berdych loses to Roger Federer in Halle final
    06/18/2006

    The Czech tennis player Tomas Berdych has been beaten by world number one Roger Federer in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. After losing the first set of Sunday's match 6-0, Berdych fought back to take the second in a tie-break, before losing the third and final set 6-2. Berdych recently lost to the Swiss star in the French Open.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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