• Carmaker Škoda set to resume production
    01/12/2009

    The Škoda carmaker is going to resume production later on Monday after a three-week halt due to a sharp drop in sales caused by the economic slowdown. For the next six months, all three Škoda plants in the Czech Republic will limit production to four days a week. Despite the global crisis, Škoda sold a record of more than 674,000 cars last year. Meanwhile, the car manufacturer Hyundai announced on Monday that its plant Nošovice, northern Moravia, would halt this week’s production on Wednesday; next week, it would also adopt a four-day working week.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Fewer road deaths and accidents in 2008
    01/12/2009

    Last year saw fewer people killed in road accidents than in 2007 as well as a lower number of traffic accidents, with 998 people dying in car crashes, which is the second lowest number since 1990. More than 160,000 traffic accidents occurred on Czech roads last year, down by 12 percent compared to 2007.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Czech scientist finds unique fossils in Antarctica
    01/12/2009

    Czech palaeontologist Radek Vodrážka found a large number of unique fossils near the Czech Mendel Polar Station on the coast of Antarctica’s James Ross Island. Experts say the collection, which includes fossilized corals, shark teeth and skeletal remains of extinct sea reptiles, is unique in its scale and quantity.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Gas deliveries to Europe to be resumed within hours
    01/11/2009

    The stage is set for a resumption of Russian natural gas supplies to Europe after shuttle diplomacy by the Czech prime minister Mirek Topolánek secured both sides’ agreement to a deal on deploying international monitors as a means of preventing foul play in the transit system. Russia put its signature to the agreement on Saturday, Ukraine on Sunday. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said supplies to Europe could begin immediately after monitoring began, but it could take up to three days to restore gas supplies to full volume across Europe. Prime Minister Topolánek said deployment of the monitoring team would take no more than a few of hours. A raging pricing and payment dispute between Moscow and Kiev resulted in a complete halt of supplies to Europe last Wednesday, sparking a serious energy crisis in states that are fully dependent on Russian natural gas.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech PM says Europe needs to ensure energy security
    01/11/2009

    Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, on Sunday refused to denounce Slovakia's decision to relaunch an ageing Soviet-era nuclear reactor saying that he saw it as a decision made in an emergency, when the country was threatened by a looming blackout. The Czech prime minister said that the gravity of the crisis showed how badly Europe needed mechanisms to ensure energy security, stressing that it was one of the Czech presidency's top priorities.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech troops leave for Afghanistan
    01/11/2009

    Over thirty Czech soldiers left for Afghanistan on Sunday where they are to join the Czech military contingent tasked with protecting Camp Haridan in Uruzgan province. The Czech military contingent is to remain there until the end of March when they are to be replaced by Slovak troops. However the future of all 400 Czech troops in Afghanistan is now hanging in the balance after Parliament rejected a bill on the army’s foreign missions in 2009. Their mandate in the country was temporarily extended by the government and a new vote is expected in the lower house shortly. The government has had to cut back on plans to extend the country’s forces abroad, promising to cut back on the number of troops serving in ISAF and to end Czech participation in the US-led operation Enduring Freedom by the end of the year.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • PM says cabinet reshuffle not a priority
    01/11/2009

    Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has hinted that a planned cabinet reshuffle might not happen, saying that the EU presidency had presented him with far more important priorities. In an interview for Czech television on Sunday the prime minister told journalists that the reshuffle was complicated by the need to get on with the business at hand and admitted that he should have made changes in the cabinet ahead of the EU presidency, ideally immediately after the coalitions poor showing in October’s regional and Senate elections.

    The planned reshuffle is being complicated by the Christian Democratic Party, which has been unable to agree on which of its ministers should leave the government. Following a heated dispute over whether it should be party leader and Local Development Minister Jiří Čunek or Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, the Christian Democrat leadership changed tack on Saturday, insisting that both men be allowed to remain in the cabinet. The prime minister who has his own ideas about who he wants to replace, but is bound by a coalition agreement to debate the matter with his partners. If the prime minister were to force the Christian Democrats’ hand over this the party could walk out and bring down the government.

    Meanwhile, the Green Party of the ruling coalition would like to see the reshuffle take place. Party leader Martin Bursík said on Sunday that the party proposed replacing the minister for human rights, Džamila Stehlikova, with rock musician and former MP Michal Kocáb.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian supporters demonstrate in Prague
    01/11/2009

    Some 200 people assembled on Prague’s Franz Kafka square on Sunday to demonstrate support for the Israeli military operation in Gaza, calling Hamas a terrorist organization which used women and children as live shields. The gathering was disrupted when some thirty pro-Palestinian activists appeared on the scene shouting anti-Israeli slogans but a cordon of police officers prevented any physical clashes between the two groups.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • TV Barrandov goes on air
    01/11/2009

    TV Barrandov, a new Czech commercial TV station, went on air on Sunday, promising viewers a mix of news and entertainment. It is to be financed primarily by sponsors and advertisement revenues, expected to total 50 million crowns in its first year. The launch of the station cost a billion crown and it is expected to start making a profit within three years.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Štepánek wins Brisbane International
    01/11/2009

    Radek Štepánek of the Czech Republic upset Spain's Fernando Verdasco 3-6 6-3 6-4 on Sunday to claim the men's singles title at the inaugural Brisbane International. Verdasco looked to have the edge after winning the first set but Štepánek, who had won his quarter-final and semi-final after being a set down, clawed back to win in three. The victory provided the 30-year-old Štepánek with his third ATP title after his previous wins at Rotterdam in 2006 and Los Angeles in 2007.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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