• Military removes wire fence around “radar” site
    05/21/2009

    The Czech military on Thursday started removing the three-kilometer wire fence around the site of a planned U.S. radar base in Brdy, south-west of Prague. Defense Minister Martin Barták, appointed two weeks ago, ordered the fence be removed on the grounds that it is no longer serving any purpose and the future of the planned radar base is uncertain. The fence was put up in June 2008 after Greenpeace activists blocked the site for six weeks in protest against the base. Six Greenpeace activists turned up on Thursday to celebrate its removal.

    It emerged this week that the interim government due to lead the country until early general elections will not send the issue of a planned US radar base to the lower house of parliament, leaving the matter in the hands of the next administration. While the Senate approved Czech-US treaties allowing for the placing of a radar base in central Bohemia, ex-prime minister Mirek Topolánek withdrew the matter from the agenda of the Chamber of Deputies due to a lack of support. It is not clear whether America plans to go ahead with the construction of an anti-missile shield project developed by the previous administration.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Artists stage protest against President Klaus
    05/21/2009

    A group of Czech artists staged a demonstration at Prague Castle on Thursday to protest against President Václav Klaus, accusing him of harming Czech interests. The protest was aimed in particular against President Klaus’ alleged pro-Russian orientation, his rejection of the Lisbon treaty and his stand on global warming. The event was attended by several dozen people.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Recession curbs road construction
    05/21/2009

    Czech Transport Minister Gustav Slámečka told Parliament’s budget committee on Thursday that, due to cost-cutting measures introduced across the board, road construction in the Czech Republic would have to be severely curbed. This includes halting work on a new stretch of the D1 motorway to Ostrava and the motorway’s planned extension to Vienna. Altogether work will stop on 300 roads and motorways across the country in the coming months and up to 200,000 construction workers could lose their jobs. Conservation work alone is expected to cost five billion crowns.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech Airlines posts heavy losses
    05/21/2009

    National carrier Czech Airlines (ČSA) slated for privatisation by the end of September, on Thursday announced a heavy first-quarter loss caused by a record decline in passenger numbers. The company posted pre-tax losses of 1.318 billion crowns (68.2 million dollars) as passenger numbers shrank by an annual 12 percent to 945,000 amid the global crisis. Company president Radomír Lasák said management had revised the company's financial plan for this year as well as for 2010.

    ČSA has implemented cost-cutting measures in recent months, shedding its cargo terminal near Prague and its catering unit. It has a fleet of 51 planes and travels to 68 destinations in 40 countries.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czechs lukewarm about EP elections
    05/21/2009

    Czechs consider elections to the European Parliament less important than general, regional and local elections, according to a poll conducted by the STEM agency. The poll shows that two-thirds of Czechs consider local elections the most significant, followed by general elections. Czechs elected their MEPs for the first time in June 2004, a month after the country joined the EU. The election turnout was only 28.3 percent. The EP election turnout has been dropping in all member states. The average turnout in the previous elections was 46 percent.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Tereza Maxová gives birth to a daughter
    05/21/2009

    Czech top model Tereza Maxová gave birth to a daughter in Prague on Thursday, the CTK news agency reported. Maxová has appeared on the cover of Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire. She has modelled for designers such as Chanel, Dior, Prada, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Ralph Lauren. In 1997, she set up the Tereza Maxová Foundation to support underprivileged children brought up in children’s homes and foster families. Since its formation, the foundation has distributed more than 130 million crowns in aid of this cause. Maxová divides her time between Prague and Monaco.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • EU and China sign several deals at Prague summit
    05/20/2009

    The European Union and China have agreed to increase co-operation in the field of environmentally friendly development with a view to decreasing greenhouse gases. At a summit at Prague Castle on Wednesday afternoon, held as part of the Czech Republic’s six-month presidency of the EU, the two sides also signed a science and technology partnership that European officials hope will reduce copyright piracy in China, and a joint statement on an EU-China clean energy centre. The meeting, chaired by Czech President Václav Klaus, was attended by China’s prime minister, Wen Jiabao, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

    The last scheduled EU-China meeting was cancelled in December over Beijing’s opposition to a meeting between Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, when France held the rotating EU presidency.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Human rights to be part of EU-China dialogue, says Klaus
    05/20/2009

    At a news conference after Wednesday’s summit, Czech President Václav Klaus said human rights would be part of the “strategic dialogue” between the EU and China. For his part, Prime Minister Wen said the most important thing was to preserve the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in one another’s internal affairs.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prague summit accompanied by protests against human rights abuses in China
    05/20/2009

    Protests against the human rights record of the Chinese regime were held in the Czech capital on Wednesday. A small demonstration took place at China’s embassy in Prague, while human rights watchdog Amnesty International organised a “parallel summit” to discuss abuses in the country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Official campaigning begins ahead of European Parliament elections
    05/20/2009

    Official campaigning has begun in the Czech Republic ahead of elections to the European Parliament being held on June 5 and 6. The 33 parties standing have been presenting their manifestos, while public broadcasters Czech Television and Czech Radio will feature the groups’ campaign ads between now and June 2. A poll conducted by STEM for Czech Television suggested that parties’ ability to deal with the financial crisis will be the main criterion for voters in the June polls. Meanwhile, another survey by the same agency indicated 24.2 percent of voters would cast their ballots for the Social Democrats, while 20.9 percent would back their biggest rivals, the Civic Democrats.

    Some 27 percent of Czech voters turned out in elections to the European Parliament in 2004, soon after the Czech Republic joined the EU.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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