• Mayor: Prague to take over running of Opencard from current operator
    06/13/2014

    Prague plans to take over operation of the Opencard electronic card system from the middle of this month, Mayor Tomáš Hudeček told the Czech News Agency. City Hall has been locked in a dispute with the company eMoneyServices over the figures quoted by the latter for extending a service contract for the Opencard, which is used for public transport and other services. Mr. Hudeček said Prague would begin operating the Opencard itself once its current contracts end with eMoneyServices; it holds the copyright on the system but could not be contacted by the Czech News Agency on Thursday. The Opencard cost CZK 1.35 billion to implement and has been mired in controversy.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Štěpánek causes upset with win over Murray in London
    06/12/2014

    The Czech tennis player Radek Štěpánek has caused an upset by beating Scotland's Andy Murray 7-6 6-2 in the third round of a grass court competition at London's Queen's Club. The tournament is seen as a warm up for Wimbledon, of which Murray is resigning men's champion. Tomáš Berdych is also into the fourth round after a win over Adrian Mannarin of France.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech FA fines Plzeň CZK 100,000 over crowd trouble
    06/12/2014

    The Czech Football Association’s disciplinary commission has fined Viktoria Plzeň CZK 100,000 over crowd trouble at one of the top flight club’s final home games of the season. The figure is higher than the usual amount levied for similar offences as it was not the first such occurrence at Plzeň’s stadium this year. The referee had to stop a game between the hosts and Brno for five minutes because of vulgar chanting from the crowd. The chanting continued after the match had been resumed.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Police chief apologies over behaviour of police over request to lift MP’s immunity
    06/12/2014

    The head of the Czech police force, Tomáš Tuhý, has apologised for the behaviour of detectives in connection with a request to the Chamber of Deputies to lift the parliamentary immunity of MP Zuzana Kailová, a request rejected in a vote on Tuesday. In a letter to the speaker of the lower house, Jan Hamáček, the police president said officers had not behaved in a polite and correct fashion. Mr. Hamáček complained that he had learned about the police's wish to file charges filed against Ms. Kailová from the media. Ms. Kailová, an MP with the Social Democrats, is accused of breach of trust and abuse of office in a previous function in local politics.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President appoints Vojtěch Šimíček as Constitutional Court judge
    06/12/2014

    President Milos Zeman has appointed Vojtěch Šimíček as a Constitutional Court judge. Justice Šimíček, who previously served at the Supreme Administrative Court, was approved by the Senate at the end of last month. After Thursday’s ceremony Mr. Zeman praised him for brave and unorthodox decisions in the past, but the judge said he felt neither adjective applied to him.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Nine Inch Nails play first concert at new Prague venue Forum Karlín
    06/12/2014

    The American rock band Nine Inch Nails played the first show at a new music venue in Prague on Wednesday night. The Forum Karlín, which has a capacity of 3,000 standing or 2,000 seated, is one of the few concert spaces of its size in the city. The venue’s opening is being seen as another step in the revitalisation of the Karlín district. Among events scheduled for Forum Karlín is a concert by Queens of the Stone Age.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Minister warns Czech tourists could face complications in unstable North African states
    06/12/2014

    Czech holidaymakers may face more complications this summer than in previous years, the minister of foreign affairs, Lubomír Zaorálek, said on Thursday. Mr. Zaorálek said some destinations in North Africa popular with Czechs were not entirely safe at present, adding that would-be tourists should pay close attention to the situation in the states in question. As in previous years, temporary Czech consulates will be opened at resorts in Croatia, Bulgaria and Spain.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Veselý still first overall after third place in javelin at Oslo Diamons League meeting
    06/12/2014

    The Czech athlete Vitězslav Veselý finished third in the javelin at a Diamond League meeting in Oslo on Wednesday night with a throw of 83.55m, his third best of the season. The event was won by Tero Pitkamaki of Finland. The result leaves Veselý, who is 31 and is coached by javelin legend Jan Železný, first overall in the discipline in the Diamond League.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Population rises slightly in first three months of year
    06/12/2014

    The population of the Czech Republic grew by around 5,000 in the first three months of this year, according to figures released on Thursday by the Czech Statistics Office. The slight rise follows a falloff of around 3,700 last year, the first decline recorded in a decade. At the end of March the population of the Czech Republic stood at 10,517,400.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Greens, Christian Democrats, interested in Marvanová for senatorial run
    06/12/2014

    The Greens and Christian Democrats are reportedly both interested in Marvanová for a senatorial run in communal and Senate elections to be held in the autumn. The respected lawyer, who Time Magazine once wrote about as a potential prime minister when she was a member of the now long defunct grouping of centre-right parties called the Four-Coalition, recently stepped down as deputy justice minister, following clashes with her former boss. The head of the ANO movement, Andrej Babiš, also reportedly wanted her as a candidate, but the lawyer has she said she is returning to private practice.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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