• Gang arrested with explosives, mobile phone detonators
    03/20/2004

    The police have arrested a six-member gang equipped with 10 kilogrammes of explosives and detonators which can be set off by mobile telephones. The gang were also in possession of pistols, machine gun parts and over 7,000 pieces of ammunition, a police spokesperson said on Friday. The six - all Czech nationals - were arrested in west Bohemia on Wednesday. The interior minister, Stanislav Gross, said he did not believe there was any connection between the cache of explosives and weapons and international terrorism.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Demonstrations against war on Iraq held in Prague
    03/20/2004

    As demonstrations against the United States-led war on Iraq were held around the world, around 300 people gathered on Prague's Wenceslas Square on Saturday afternoon to express their opposition. After several anti-war speeches the demonstrators marched to the US embassy, where they held a minute's silence for the victims of the war.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czechs understand problems of Belarus, says Havel
    03/20/2004

    Speaking at a conference about the position of Belarus after European Union enlargement, former Czech president Vaclav Havel said Czech people had a special understanding of the type of problems being experienced in the country, which is known for human rights violations. Also attending the conference at the Czech Senate on Saturday was the Belarusian opposition leader Ivonka Surville; she said the Czech Republic was the leading promoter of her country's opposition on the international scene.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Foreign trade in military goods rose 8 percent last year
    03/20/2004

    Czech foreign trade in military goods rose by almost 8 percent year-on-year in 2003, according to figures released by the Industry and Trade Ministry on Friday. As in previous years imports exceeded exports, with aircraft components making up 75 percent of imported goods.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Antonin Jaroslav Liehm receives award for services to Czech culture
    03/20/2004

    Culture Minister Pavel Dostal has presented the journalist and translator Antonin Jaroslav Liehm with the Artis Bohemiae Amicis award for services to Czech culture. Mr Liehm, who is 80, left Czechoslovakia in 1968 and worked with many international radio stations, as well as giving lectures at universities around Europe and the United States.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech football league hots up as Ostrava lose to Slavia Prague
    03/20/2004

    The Czech football league leaders Banik Ostrava have been beaten 2:0 at home by Slavia Prague, who move into second place, six points behind Ostrava. It was Ostrava's first home defeat in 11 months. Reigning champions Sparta Prague can go second on Monday, if they beat Liberec.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Government to establish expert group to revise anti-drug policy
    03/19/2004

    The government is to establish an expert group to revise the state's anti-drug policy, Christian Democrat leader Miroslav Kalousek told reporters after talks late on Thursday. His party, the second biggest in the governing coalition, has made the fight against drugs one of its key policies. Mr Kalousek said his proposal that no distinction be made between soft and hard drugs had been accepted by the coalition partners.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Government drug policy not effective, says expert
    03/19/2004

    Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prague's Drop In centre, which helps drug addicts, has said that most of the measures proposed by the government in its fight against drugs would not prove effective. Drop In's Ivan Douda said on Friday dividing drugs into different categories was standard practice around the world.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • New EU countries agree on need to maintain ceiling on expenditure in budget
    03/19/2004

    The Czech finance minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, and representatives of eight other new European Union countries agreed at a meeting in Bratislava on Friday that the current ceiling on expenditure in the EU budget should be maintained. The officials also said conditions set in the stability and growth pact should not be loosened. The Czech Republic is one of ten countries joining the EU on May 1.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Former Komercni banka managers under investigation for fraud
    03/19/2004

    Five former managers of one of the Czech Republic's biggest banks, Komercni banka, are being investigated for fraud, police said on Friday. The five are accused of helping Austrian businessman Baraka Alona defraud the bank of over a billion crowns between 1996 and 2000. Nine former members of Komercni banka's board of directors have been under investigation for fraud of eight billion crowns, also involving Mr Alona, since May 2001.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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