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06/18/2010
The number of Czech citizens in foreign prisons decreased last year, while the percentage of those convicted of drug smuggling increased. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Friday that there were 623 Czechs either in custody or serving prison sentences abroad at the end of 2009, which marks a decrease of 125 people compared with the previous year. Of those, 103 were jailed for drug-related offences, particularly in Latin America. The largest single group of Czech prisoners was in Peru, where there were 19. According to the ministry, the true number of Czechs in foreign detention may be as much as five times higher, as consulates are not necessarily informed of each case.
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06/18/2010
The same report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that 414 lost their lives abroad in 2009, 18 less than the year before. Most of the deaths occurred in Slovakia, where there were 132 cases, followed at a distance by Germany and Austria. The number of Czechs hospitalised abroad also decreased to 347 from 422 in 2008. The number of car accidents involving Czechs in other countries also dropped.
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06/18/2010
The Association Entente Florale – Souznění has awarded its annual title of most beautiful train station to the depot in the central town of Choceň. The station, which lies on the track between Prague and Česká Třebová, was chosen from ten finalists on the basis of a public poll that gave it 900 of 3500 votes. The organizers of the prize say that the station was appreciated for the reconstruction of its central terminal, which maintained the Neo-Renaissance façade from the late 19th century. There are some 2500 train stations in the Czech Republic; last year’s winner was in the village of Zahrádky in Northern bohemia.
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06/17/2010
The Czech Republic is against the introduction of a new bank tax in the European Union which should serve as a reserve fund for possible liquidity crises. Caretaker prime minister, Jan Fischer, who is attending Thursday’s EU summit on economic policy, said that in its present form the proposal was too rigid and too many questions remained unanswered. The EC is pushing for a common stand on the issue ahead of a G20 finance ministers meeting at the end of June, where it hopes to persuade other countries to adopt similar measures. Another controversial issue discussed is whether the EC should have the right to review member states’ budgets before they are presented to national parliaments for approval.
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06/17/2010
The caretaker government of Jan Fischer is considering naming a commissioner who would oversee the planned completion of the Temelín nuclear power plant in south Bohemia. According to the news site Aktualne.cz the government wants to increase the transparency of related tenders and bring the construction process under greater control. The state-owned company CEZ which owns the plant has not specified how much it wants to invest in the plant and how many reactors it is planning to build.
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06/17/2010
The Czech branch of Transparency International has criticized the anti-corruption measures floated by the emerging centre-right coalition government. The head of the Czech branch of TIC Vaclav Liška told the ctk news agency the debate on corruption had shrunk to a discussion of a couple of controversial repressive measures, such as the introduction of an agent provocateur. He called on politicians to adopt a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy that would be primarily based on prevention. The Czech branch of TIC is preparing its own draft proposal.
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06/17/2010
Some 2,500 doctors working in state hospitals are threatening to quit their jobs at the end of the year if they do not get a substantial pay rise. Their ultimatum comes in response to an appeal from the Czech Medical Chamber which has urged physicians to put more pressure on the government. The chamber wants to see the average monthly salary of Czech physicians upped from the current 45 000 crowns to 70 000 – which is triple the average salary in the country. If doctors follow through with their threat some hospitals will face serious problems.
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06/17/2010
Seven Chinese nationals who were detained at Prague’s Ruzyně airport on Tuesday after trying to enter the country with false visas are to be deported to their homeland later today, the ctk news agency reported. The visas were made using the original forms, which were reportedly lost from the German embassy in China. The Chinese nationals tried to circumvent the routine airport check by cutting off the machine-readable zone from their visas, but an officer noticed this and used a computer database to check the visa numbers. The fraud is being investigated.
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06/17/2010
Three candidates have so far been nominated for the post of Ombudsman, left vacant after the death of Otakar Motejl earlier this month. They are former dissident Anna Šabatová, nominated by the Social Democrats, Jitka Seitlová, deputy to the late Ombudsman, nominated by the Civic Democrats, and the head of the National Council for People with Disabilities, Václav Krása. President Klaus is expected to put forward two nominations of his own. The next Ombudsman will be elected by the country’s new Parliament.
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06/17/2010
The police are questioning a snake breeder in the town of Ostrov, west Bohemia, who dumped the bodies of four dead pythons in a local forest. There was a panic among the locals after one of the six-metre long snakes was discovered by a man out walking his dog. The police have now confirmed that the snakes were all dumped dead and presented no danger to the public. The police are investigating the case on suspicion of negligenc e and animal cruelty.
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