• Hoffmann, 80, begins four-year term for 1968 collaboration
    08/09/2004

    Former Communist Party functionary Karel Hoffmann has begun serving a four-year sentence at Prague's Pankrac prison, after being found guilty of disrupting Czech Radio broadcasts during the Soviet-led invasion of August 1968. On Sunday, President Vaclav Klaus said he was considering granting a pardon to Mr Hoffmann, who is 80 years old and in poor health. Mr Klaus said it would be strange to send someone to prison 36 years after they had broken the law on telecommunications. Karel Hoffmann remains the only senior communist to have been sentenced in connection with the events of 1968.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech Republic to seek extradition of controversial businessman Viktor Kozeny
    08/09/2004

    The Czech Republic is preparing to seek the extradition of former Czech businessman Viktor Kozeny, from his home in the Bahamas. Until now, extradition had not been an option since the Czech Republic and the Bahamas do not enjoy diplomatic ties. However, on Monday the director for international affairs of the Supreme State Attorney's Office, Svetlana Klouckova, revealed that the office had uncovered a treaty between the Bahamas and former Czechoslovakia dating back to 1925. The 79-year-old treaty allegedly outlines strict terms for the extradition of criminals. Should Mr Kozeny, who now has Irish citizenship, be released to Czech authorities on the basis of the treaty, he will be tried in the Czech Republic for large-scale fraud. An international warrant for his arrest was first issued in February this year.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Body of third Czech climber recovered in Kyrgyzstan
    08/09/2004

    Rescuers have recovered the body of a third Czech mountaineer lost in an avalanche last Thursday on a mountain in Kyrgyzstan. Two more Czech climbers remain missing and are assumed dead; the search for their bodies was complicated on Monday by severe weather conditions. The climbers, part of a fourteen member team also including Russians and Ukrainians were struck by the avalanche at 5, 000 metres on Kyrgyzstan's 7000-metre high Mount Khan-Tengri.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Unemployment level rises in July
    08/09/2004

    The Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs has reported that the Czech unemployment level in July rose from 9.9 to 10.1 percent, meaning that some 532, 000 people at the end of the month were officially without work. But, say some Czech economists the labour market is slowly but surely improving - as higher unemployment numbers for July were originally expected. Meanwhile, new tabulation methods used by the majority of EU states, now being adopted by the Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, ranks Czech unemployment lower at 9.2 percent.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech Radio: chairman of commission monitoring Czech intelligence likely to have not passed security vetting
    08/09/2004

    According to Czech Radio's Radiozurnal service Jan Klas - the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' committee monitoring the Czech intelligence service (BIS) - has failed to pass new security vetting allowing him to access top secret information. Czech Radio reported on Monday that Mr Klas had already received the announcement on the decision by the National Security Office. However, Mr Klas has denied his failure to pass and told the station that the matter had not yet been decided and that a final decision would be made public within a number of days.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Results of audit on the drawing of EU funds to be available in October
    08/09/2004

    Finance Ministry spokesman Marek Zeman has said that the results of an audit of the Czech Republic's readiness to draw money from EU funds will be available in October. On the basis of the results the Finance Ministry will then check each programme separately and decide whether the application for the funds can be sent. Some sources said last week that the Czech Republic was threatened with the suspension of payments from EU funds, if the results of the audit were as bad as interim results had suggested.

    On August 4th the European Commission suspended the payment of some 2 billion crowns to the Czech Republic from the pre-accession Phare fund.

    Spokeswoman for the EC representation in the Czech Republic Katharina von Schnurbein said the Czech Republic failed to supply all required information.

    If the results of the audit prove poor, Brussels could react by suspending advance and further payments, some sources have told the country's news agency CTK. However, the Finance Ministry has denied this.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Nedved still not recovered from injury
    08/09/2004

    Star Czech football midfielder Pavel Nedved has not yet recovered from a knee injury he suffered in the semi-final of the Euro 2004 championship in July. Mr Nedved, who plays for Italy's Juventus Turin, will therefore be unable to help his side in an upcoming qualification game for the Champions League. Meanwhile, Czech striker, Milan Baros, is not likely to start in his side's bid against Austria's AK Graz in a qualification game for the Champions League on Tuesday. Baros, who plays for Liverpool, scored the most goals at Euro 2004, but is reportedly being overshadowed by newly-acquired striker Djibril Cisse.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Mountain biker Prokop wins gold in World Cup 4-cross event at Rokytnice nad Jizerou
    08/09/2004

    This year's World Cup winner in mountain biking's 4-cross event, Michal Prokop, has clinched a gold finish the north Bohemian town of Rokytnice nad Jizerou. Prokop, where he beat riders Lukas Tamm and Michal Pribyl in the local event. In all a record 39 riders took part in the Rokytnice race.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • President Klaus criticises government, opposition, choice of Euro Commissioner
    08/08/2004

    President Vaclav Klaus has criticised as "toothless" the policies outlined in the coalition agreement between the three parties in the new government. Speaking on Czech Television on Sunday, Mr Klaus said the agreement was vague and did not make the government's top policy priorities clear.

    The President also took the opportunity to take a swipe at the opposition Civic Democrats, saying they should have reacted to the new government more quickly. Mr Klaus said the party, of which he is honorary chairman, should be more concerned with the present than possible future developments.

    On the issue of former prime minister Vladimir Spidla being chosen as the Czech Republic's next European commissioner, President Klaus was highly critical, saying it was a "con" and a "mistake". Mr Spidla was given the job ahead of Pavel Telicka, the man he himself had chosen to represent the country on the European Commission. The former prime minister will take over from Mr Telicka in November.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President considering pardon for 1968 collaborator Hoffmann
    08/08/2004

    And the President said he was considering granting a pardon to Karel Hoffmann, who is due to start a four-year jail term on Monday, after being found guilty of disrupting Czech Radio broadcasts during the Soviet-led invasion of 1968. Mr Klaus said he had not yet reached a decision on whether to pardon the former Communist Party official, who is elderly and in poor health.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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