• Hockey: Pardubice retire Hašek’s No. 9
    12/02/2013

    In a special ceremony on Sunday, the Czech hockey club Pardubice retired legendarygoalie Dominik Hašek’s No. 9, lifting his jersey to the rafters. Hašek, an Olympic gold medal champion, two-time Stanley Cup winner and six-time holder of the Vezina trophy, attended. Hašek began his career with HC Pardubice in the 1981/1982 season. In the NHL, Hašek first wore the number 34 and later 39 with which he was most associated.
    Author: Masha Volynsky

  • Authorities suggest gondola may have been illegal
    12/01/2013

    An aerial lift which plummeted 20 metres to the ground on Friday, killing one person on board and injuring four others, may have been operated without a permit, the authorities suggest. On Monday, investigators will look into records at city hall in Špindleruv Mlýn to see if the lift was legally registered and approved and whether it fulfilled technical requirements. Without a permit, the owner of a the mountain cottage Bumbálka could face a fine of up to 10 million crowns. The question of why anyone was on board at all - when the gondola was designed only for transporting baggage, skis and ski equipment - has also not yet been answered. According to some reports, people using the lift in the area may have been common practice.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Interior minister to decide on Lessy's return
    12/01/2013

    The outgoing interior minister, Martin Pecina, will decide in the coming week on the possible return of former police president Petr Lessý, who was cleared recently of slander and abuse of office charges. Theoretically, a decision to reinstate Mr Lessý would leave the country with two police presidents. After his dismissal last year, Lessý was succeeded by the current police president Martin Červíček. Should it come to two presidents, the interior minister said he would launch administrative proceedings to determine who should head the police force.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Okamura backs Babiš for ministerial post
    12/01/2013

    Newly-elected MP Tomio Okamura, the head of the parliamentary group Dawn of Direct Democracy, has said fellow politician and ANO 2011 leader Andrej Babiš should be the country's next finance minister regardless of whether he failed or passed a screening law blocking those who cooperated with the communist era secret police, the StB, from holding public office. Speaking on a TV debate programme, Mr Okamura stressed that almost 20 percent of the electorate voted for ANO 2011 and that voters "expected" its leader to take up a ministerial post. Mr Babiš, a billionaire magnate, is listed in Slovakia as having collaborated with the secret police under the former regime. He has categorically denied such cooperation and has gone to court over the issue.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Christmas markets open on first day of Advent
    12/01/2013

    Christmas markets officially opened and Christmas trees were lit in many areas, namely public squares, on Sunday, the first day of Advent, the season marked by Christians preparing for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The weekend saw a marked interest by both locals and tourists, for example, at Prague's Old Town Square, a traditional site for Christmas markets, where mulled wine and roasted chestnuts are sold as well as other food and drink and where various attractions can be viewed.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Highway permits for 2014 in effect
    12/01/2013

    Highway vignettes or stickers for 2014, permitting driving on the country's main highways, can be used a month early - as of December 1. The price of the annual permit, last hiked in 2012, remains 1,500 crowns. A Transport Ministry official confirmed the sticker for 2014 could be bought at most gas stations as well as post offices: a total of around 7,000 outlets.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Police charge Bechyně man with murder
    12/01/2013

    Police have charged a 44-year-old suspect with the fatal stabbing of a woman in the south Bohemian town of Bechyně on Saturday. The two are believed to have lived together and to have gotten into an argument. If found guilty, the man could face a sentence of at least 10 years behind bars.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • NHL action: Plekanec helps sink Leafs
    12/01/2013

    The Boston Bruin's David Krejčí picked up two assists on Saturday as his team downed Columbus; the final score was 3:1.Tomáš Plekanec, meanwhile, scored for Montreal in the Habs' win 4:2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Justice Ministry entrusted with deciding presidential pardons
    11/30/2013

    President Miloš Zeman has entrusted the country's Justice Ministry with the right to decide on presidential pardons expect for exceptional cases, (applicants suffering from incurable disease or filing on humanitarian grounds). Outgoing Justice Minister Marie Benešová confirmed the ministry would take over in the role and would pass certain cases on to the head-of-state. The move will require the creation of new posts at the ministry to be discussed on Monday. Mr Zeman pledged to give up pardons soon after he was elected, calling them a "monarchistic hold-over".
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech PM: Ukraine’s decision based on economic, political situation
    11/29/2013

    Ukraine’s refusal to sign a trade deal with the EU stems from the country’s present political and economic situation, Czech Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok said at the close of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Friday. Prime Minister Rusnok said that Ukraine had made the decision based on a short-term rather than long-term perspective. He said that in his view the EU could have been more flexible as well, but what was important was the EU’s doors remained open. The Czech head of government said the Czech Republic was ready to help keep the process of Eastern partnership in motion by organizing a conference on the issue in Prague next spring.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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