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05/25/2004
Czech soldiers specialised in anti-biological and chemical warfare may train their Greek counterparts, in order to help Greece optimize security during the Olympic Games in Athens this summer. The Greek Army decided to have its own soldiers trained by the specialised Czech units, which were originally meant to be part of security forces at the Olympic Games, but which the Greek government found to be too expensive. The Defence Ministry is currently in talks with the Greek Army and is expected to sign an agreement by the end of the week.
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05/24/2004
The Labour and Social Affairs Minister Zdenek Skromach has said he would resign if he fails to push through higher pensions and family benefits for next year. Under a coalition agreement pensions should grow by 500 to 600 crowns and benefits for families with children should also increase by several hundred crowns. Altogether the higher pensions and benefits should cost the state an additional 13 to 14 billion crowns. According to minister Skromach the state can afford it since state budget revenues are growing.
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05/24/2004
A police spokeswoman has confirmed that last month the Czech police stopped a number of illegal arms and ammunition shipments to Iraq and several Asian and African countries. Two Czechs were arrested and charged with violating laws on trade in weapons and the police confiscated a large number of ammunition and machine guns. Some of the ammunition was apparently destined for Iraq government units but Czech intelligence was afraid it could fall into the hands of anti-government forces.
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05/24/2004
Survivors of traffic accident victims, whose death has been caused by others, will now receive one-off compensation ranging from 80,000 to 240,000 crowns. Under a new insurance law the compensation will be paid out automatically from the insurance of the person who caused the accident. In the past survivors had to laboriously claim the compensation with courts. The highest amount would go to close family members or people living in a common household.
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05/24/2004
A Prague court of appeal has overturned a three year prison sentence for an officer of the former communist secret service to a five year suspended sentence. Petr Zak was involved in the so called Asanace clearance operation aimed against dissidents of the former communist regime. They were persecuted and physically and emotionally abused with the aim of making them flee from their homeland. The former communist interior minister Jaromir Obzina who ordered the operation is dead and was never punished for the deed. Former stb officers, such as Zak claim they were merely obeying orders.
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05/24/2004
The Plzen regional court met on Monday to decide whether to re-open the case of Jiri Kajinek, whom it had sentenced to life for the contract murder of two people in 1998. The court is to decide whether to reopen the case on the basis of new testimonies. Of the three witnesses who testified on Monday, two claimed that they were certain Kajinek was not the killer. There have been allegations in recent months that Kajinek may have been framed by the police. Kajinek himself has never confessed to the murders. His case evoked great public interest, especially after he managed to escape from a top security prison in the year 2,000.
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05/23/2004
Czech President Vaclav Klaus commemorated the 120th anniversary of the birth of Czechoslovakia's second president Edvard Benes, in a more than one hour long ceremony attended by hundreds on Sunday. The ceremony took place in Sezimovo Usti in south Bohemia, where Mr Benes once maintained a personal villa and was later buried. On Sunday President Klaus, criticised his predecessor's treatment by those he said "would like to rewrite history". Similarly, Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said that Mr Benes had been demonised in connection with the expulsion of some two-and-a-half million ethnic Sudeten Germans after World War II. According to Mr Spidla, Mr Benes was a "democratic politician who had done all he could" within the circumstances of his day.
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05/23/2004
The Prague International Marathon was won on Sunday by Kenyan runner Barnabas Koech; among the women Ethiopian runner Leila Amman came in 1st. Mr Koech came in at 2 hours, 12 minutes and 15 seconds, while Ms Amman completed the race in just over 2 hours 30 minutes. The big news for Czech sports fans, meanwhile, was that 3rd place in the men's race was clinched by Robert Stefko, a naturalised Czech from Slovakia who received his citizenship in March. Stefko finished the race in 2 hours 12 minutes 35 seconds, becoming the first Czech to make the winner's podium in the marathon's ten year history. Mr Stefko also automatically qualified for the upcoming Athens Olympic Games.
In all, a little under 4, 500 runners took part in this year's Prague International Marathon, though many of those who took part complained about this weekend's unusually chilly weather.
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05/22/2004
Speaking to a spokeswoman from NATO's supreme European command on Friday public broadcaster Czech TV reported it likely that the Czechs' elite anti-chemical unit, based in Liberec, north Bohemia, will provide protection at this summer's Olympic Games. NATO spokeswoman Michaela Cvanova told Czech TV that Athens - hosting the Games - was counting on Czech support to help protect against potential terrorist threats. The broadcaster reported some 120 specialists from NATO's multi-national battalion - of which the core group is Czech - would serve in Greece during the Games. Czech chief of staff Pavel Stefka also confirmed on Friday that preparations were being made, although the Czech Republic has yet to receive an official request. According to Czech TV, NATO's NBC unit could be in Greece within three weeks; the expected cost of the mission will be 50 million crowns.
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05/22/2004
Following a raid on Monday Czech police have now closed a music bar in Liberec, north Bohemia, said to have been used as an outlet for the distribution of illegal drugs. On Monday some forty officers moved in to arrest the 35-year-old proprietor of the venue, as well as a 20-year-old waiter, allegedly involved in the sale of marijuana and hashish. A sniffer-dog found 120 packages of high-quality marijuana, worth 150, 000 crowns, on the premises, while seventeen customers in the bar discovered to have cannabis and drug paraphernalia and were taken in for questioning. Two-thirds of those were found to be under the age of eighteen while nine had traces of cannabis in their blood. Police are now investigating whether drugs were sold to anyone under the age of fifteen. The owner of the bar has been remanded in custody.
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