• Police team uncovers tax fraud to the tune of 300 million crowns
    02/06/2015

    A special police team set up in 2014 to fight tax-evasion has uncovered tax fraud to the tune of 300 million crowns, the ctk news agency reported. According to information made available on Friday police in the town of Kladno arrested 29 people earlier this week. Three of them are being detained in custody on a court order. Among those charged is an influential local entrepreneur who is suspected of having created a virtual corporation in order to facilitate the tax fraud.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Supreme Audit Office uncovers dubious subsidies in the area of sport
    02/06/2015

    The Supreme Audit Office has filed three criminal complaints with regard to dubious subsidies in the area of sport, allocated by the Education Ministry in the years between 2011 and 2013. According to the office’s spokeswoman the ministry distributed 800 million crowns in a highly questionable manner. In other cases, subsidies were sent without a formal request for them from the respective benefactor. Police are investigating the complaints on suspicion of abuse of office and mismanagement of public funds.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Kalousek will run for party chair after TOP 09 leader Karel Schwarzenberg retires
    02/06/2015

    The deputy chair of TOP 09 Miroslav Kalousek has confirmed that he will make a bid for the party’s top post when its present leader, Karel Schwarzenberg, retires from politics. Mr. Kalousek made the statement in an interview for Radio Impulse. Mr. Schwarzenberg, 77, recently said he would remain at the helm at least until the party’s next election conference which is due to be held at the end of this year.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • President Zeman to visit Jordan and the United Arab Emirates
    02/06/2015

    President Miloš Zeman is to visit Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in the course of next week, the president’s spokesman Jiří Ovčáček told journalists in Prague. In Jordan the Czech head of state is scheduled to meet with King Abdallah II and also speak with Czech doctors active in the country within the humanitarian programme Medevac. In the United Arab Emirates President Zeman will be received by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Justice Ministry wants to give 15-year-olds the right to start work
    02/06/2015

    The Justice Ministry is preparing an amendment to the civil code which would enable 15-year-olds to start work without their parents’ consent, the internet daily novinky.cz reports. Under the present legislation teenagers need parental consent to start work up until the age of 16 and only come of age when they are 18-years-old. The amendment is to allow those who finish primary school at the age of 15 to decide about their own future.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czechs beat Russia 3:0 in Euro Hockey Tour
    02/06/2015

    The Czech national ice hockey team beat Russia 3:0 in the Euro Hockey Tour in Karlovy Vary on Thursday, marking their first victory in the season. The goals were scored by Petr Koukal, Dominik Simon and Michal Vondrka. The second duel against Russia is set to take place on Saturday in Prague’s O2 Arena.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Peroutka awards for outstanding journalism handed out
    02/06/2015

    The Ferdinand Peroutka Awards for outstanding journalism were handed out in the pantheon of the National Museum in Prague on Thursday evening. Among this year’s recipients were Martin Veselovský from DVTV and Petr Třešňák from the weekly Respekt. Mr Veselovský used to host a respected news and analysis programme on Czech TV. Last year, he became part of a new current affairs online interview programme, DVTV. Petr Třešňák, deputy-editor-in-chief of the weekly Respekt, has covered mainly social topics and health issues and last year received the EU Health Prize for Journalists. The awards are named after Ferdinand Peroutka, one of the most significant figures of Czech journalism in the 20th century.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Poll: 64 percent of Czechs approve direct presidential election
    02/05/2015

    Majority of Czechs believe that the introduction of direct presidential elections was a good move, according to a new survey by the CVVM agency released on Thursday. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they preferred the president to be elected by the people, while 14 percent said the decision-making should be left to the parliament. Support for direct presidential election dropped by nine percentage points compared to the results from May 2013. Direct presidential vote was introduced in 2012 after years of debates, with Miloš Zeman becoming the first directly elected Czech president.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech Amnesty International supports Saudi blogger
    02/05/2015

    The Czech branch of Amnesty International on Thursday handed over a petition with some 7,500 signatures in support of the imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi to officials at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Prague. Mr Badawi was sentenced to ten years in prison and a thousand lashes in public last May for insulting Islam on an online forum he created. The blogger has already undergone the first round of flogging, but the second round of 50 lashes had to be postponed due to concerns over his health.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • EC economic outlook for Czech Republic expects 2.5 growth
    02/05/2015

    The European Commission has released its latest economic growth forecast for the Czech Republic, which predicts a growth of 2.5 percent for 2015 and 2.6 for the following year. The deficit in public financing is expected to reach two percent of GDP and drop to 1.5 in 2016. The forecast is slightly more pessimistic in comparison to the latest EC outlook released in autumn.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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