• Head of City of Prague preservation department charged with obstruction and neglect
    03/31/2010

    Police have charged the head of the Prague town hall preservation department Jan Knežinek with obstruction and neglect of his office. He faces demotion and up to three years in prison. The police reacted to a decision by the Plzeň Regional Authority, which on Tuesday announced that the City of Prague is to pay a 3.25 billion crown fine for damages that occurred during the repairs of Charles Bridge, The Regional Authority had been appointed by the Ministry of Culture to determine whether repairs of Prague’s Charles Bridge were devaluating the landmark status of the monument, after the City of Prague had failed to take action. The fine was based on damages to original blocks used in the bridge’s construction and the use of modern materials in the repair of the bridge, which is listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The repairs were administered by the company Mott MacDonald, which was found not to be responsible for the damages.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Czech daily claims amnesty for former communist prosecutor is underway
    03/31/2010

    The Office of the President of the Czech Republic is preparing a possible amnesty to be granted to the former communist prosecutor Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, who at 87 is the country’s oldest prisoner, the Czech daily Lidové noviny reported on Wednesday. A spokesman for the office refused to comment on the claim. A regional court decided a month ago that Mrs. Brožová-Polednová, who is currently serving a six year prison sentence for her participation in the 1950s communist show trials, could be released as early as March next year under the terms of several previous presidential amnesties granted between 1953 and 1990. Her prosecutors appealed this verdict. The appeal went before the Prague High Court, which reached a decision last Wednesday but so far, the court has not made the verdict public.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Okamura’s claim he was offered post of human rights minister denied by PM and Greens
    03/31/2010

    The deputy head of the Association of Czech Travel Agents, Tomio Okamura, has said he had been tentatively approached about taking up the post of human rights minister, Czech Television reported. However, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Jan Fischer said he had no knowledge of any such offer having been made. The Green Party, which nominated the previous holder of the human rights portfolio in the interim Czech government, also said it had no knowledge of the post being offered to Mr Okamura. Michael Kocáb recently stepped down as minister of human rights and minorities after the Greens said they would no longer support the caretaker cabinet. Mr Okamura, who was born in Japan, was recently in the news in connection with a project under which owners can send teddy bears and other toys on holiday in Prague and other cities.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Regional court gives out long-term prison sentences to members of international drug ring
    03/31/2010

    A regional court in Brno on Wednesday sentenced five members of an international drug ring, which had attempted to smuggle over ten kilograms of heroin from Turkey into the Czech Republic. The main defendant, a Turkish citizen, received the highest sentence of 14.5 years; the other four gang members were given sentences between 10 and 12.5 years. Police had secured the roughly 150,000 doses of heroin that the men were smuggling in a hidden compartment in a rental car in March of last year.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • National Geographic TV to launch Czech-language programming
    03/31/2010

    The TV channel National Geographic will introduce Czech-language broadcasts in April. The company announced on Wednesday that fresh programming and prime time shows will air in Czech, while repeats would still be shown in the original English language version with Czech subtitles. National Geographic plans to dub all new documentaries that are aired in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Czech and is hoping to gradually increase the number Czech-language programs on its channel, which airs in 166 countries and 34 languages world-wide.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Berdych beats world number one Federer in Miami
    03/31/2010

    The Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych beat world number one Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Miami Masters on Tuesday. Berdych saved a match point in a third set tie-break in the third round match to bring an eight-match losing streak against Federer to an end. The Czech had only beaten Federer once before, at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Berdych is seeded 16th in the tournament.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Mass production of meta-amphetamine still biggest problem for drug police
    03/30/2010

    The mass production of meta-amphetamine in illegal laboratories remains the biggest single problem faced by the Czech police when it comes to drug crime. The head of the police’s anti-drug force, Jakub Frydrych, told reporters on Tuesday the situation was partly caused by the availability of over-the-counter medicines containing pseudo-ephedrine, which is used to make meta-amphetamine. Mr Frydrych said the Czech Republic continued to be Europe’s biggest producer of the drug; he added that the difficulty of securing convictions was a bigger issue than the actual number of illegal labs. Last year 314 labs were uncovered by the police; in 2008 the figure was 434.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech and Slovak leaders discuss energy security and other issues
    03/30/2010

    The Czech and Slovak prime ministers discussed a number of topics in the Czech town of Sezimovo Ústí on Tuesday. Among the main items on the agenda of talks between Jan Fischer and Robert Fico was energy security, in particular the planned completion of a nuclear power station at Jaslovské Bohunice in Slovakia. The two leaders also spoke about road and motorway construction, and their states working together in the European Union and NATO. Mr Fico said relations between Slovaks and Czechs were better than they had been when the two nations were part of one country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President Klaus discusses Czech troop numbers in Afghanistan with NATO military chief
    03/30/2010

    Czech President Václav Klaus met NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, Admiral James Stavridis, at Prague Castle on Tuesday. Their talks were dominated by the issue of the Czech Republic’s military presence in Afghanistan, with Admiral Stavridis reiterating NATO’s request for more soldiers to be sent. The Czech Parliament is set to vote on a proposal to increase the number of Czech soldiers there by around 10 percent. However, the planned troop increase could be blocked by the left-wing parties in the lower house. There are currently 535 Czech troops in Afghanistan; the government wants to send 55 more.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech Post discontinues telegram service after over century and half
    03/30/2010

    After 160 years, Czech Post is to discontinue its telegram service on Wednesday. Czech Post says that following the advent of mobile phone text messaging and email, the number of people who send telegrams in the Czech Republic has dwindled to a few dozen a month and maintaining the service is no longer viable. However, telegrams will not disappear completely; Telefonica O2 says it will continue to offer a version of the service.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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