• Piano manufacturer Petrof threatened with liquidation over debt claim
    05/13/2007

    The world renowned piano manufacturer Petrof could face liquidation because of a legal dispute with the company's exclusive distributor in the United States, TV Nova reported. Earl Matzkin says the Hradec Kralove based firm owes him money; Petrof, meanwhile, says it owes Mr Matzkin nothing and accuses him of wanting to produce pianos under the Petrof brand in Asia. A court in Hradec Kralove is due to rule on the matter on Tuesday. The company was founded in 1864 and produces 7,000 pianos a year.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prague Spring music festival underway
    05/13/2007

    The 62nd Prague Spring international music festival has got underway in the Czech capital. It will feature around 50 concerts and around a dozen theatre performances between now and June 3. Around 50,000 tickets are sold during the festival, which originally grew out of celebrations marking the end of World War II. Since 1952 the Prague Spring has opened on May 12, the anniversary of the death of Bedrich Smetana, with his cycle of symphonic poems Ma vlast. This year it was performed by the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Zdenek Macal.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Bell tower destroyed by fire
    05/13/2007

    One of the most valuable sites in the town of Zelezny Brod, a wooden bell tower, was destroyed by fire on Saturday night. A spokesperson for the local fire brigade said it was too early to say whether the fire had been started deliberately. As well as destroying the tower, the fire melted a bell dating from 1496. Little damage was done to the rest of the church.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Oldest Czech man dies
    05/13/2007

    The funeral has taken place of the Czech Republic's oldest man, Stanislav Vecera from Brezi nad Oslavou, who was 106. His grandson said Mr Vecera, who was born on November 6 1900, had managed to live so long because of his sober lifestyle and his work in the outdoors as a wood cutter. There are 400 people over the age of 100 in the country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech and US negotiators to resume talks on radar base at end of May
    05/12/2007

    Czech and American negotiators have concluded two days of talks on the possible building of a US radar base in the Czech Republic. They will resume talks at the end of May when the focus will be on the main treaty on the deployment of the radar. A Czech Defence Ministry spokesperson said negotiations would probably last for a year. An opinion poll this week suggested that 61 percent of Czechs were opposed to the US radar base, which would be part of a global anti missile defence system.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Sister of abused boy runs away from children's home
    05/12/2007

    The sister of an 8-year-old boy who was severely abused by his mother has run away from a children's home in Brno. Police have been searching for the girl, who is 13, since she absconded on Thursday night. Carers said they were worried the girl, who displays signs of mental trauma, might try to take her own life. Lidove noviny reported that the authorities had no record of the girl's existence. Earlier this week the children's mother was arrested after a neighbour discovered the boy was being kept naked and bound in the dark in a storage room. The mother, who was studying to be a teacher, has been remanded in custody and could face a jail term of eight years.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Almost 1,000 licenses confiscated since July under points system
    05/12/2007

    Almost 1,000 drivers have had their licenses confiscated since a points system for driving offences was introduced last July, Mlada fronta Dnes reported. Over 400,000 drivers have picked up at least one point, the daily said. Those who receive 12 points are barred from driving for one year. The measure was introduced in an effort to curb the high number of road deaths in the Czech Republic.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Women's group calls for apology from Czech PM Topolanek
    05/12/2007

    The European Women's Lobby has asked Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek for a public apology for remarks he made about gender equality. Speaking at an event launching the European Year of Equal Opportunities, he said women can freely decide whether to have children or not, which means they have the same opportunities as men. In a letter to Mr Topolanek the president of the European Women's Lobby, Kirsti Kolthoff, described his comments as shameful and degrading to women, adding that it was unacceptable for a senior representative of a European Union state to make such remarks.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Interior Minister back pedals over neighbourhood watch idea
    05/12/2007

    Interior Minister Ivan Langer appears to have back-pedalled over the idea of introducing a civilian neighbourhood watch scheme. Its inclusion in an Interior Ministry reform plan raised eyebrows, as it reminded many Czechs of the communist era when some people were recruited to spy on their neighbours. But Mr Langer told Pravo that he had not actually proposed the idea but merely raised it as a topic for discussion. His predecessor Frantisek Bublan described the neighbourhood watch idea as a "return to a police state".
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Strong winds hit many parts of country
    05/12/2007

    Firefighters were called out three times more often than usual on Friday as winds of up to 140 kilometres an hour hit many parts of the Czech Republic. A 71-year-old woman was killed in Dvur Kralove when she was hit by a falling tree in a wooded area. Two people were injured by falling trees in the Karlovy Vary region.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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