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05/11/2007
President Vaclav Klaus and other state officials have paid tribute to the thousands of Russian and Ukrainian émigrés who found refuge in Czechoslovakia after 1917 but were abducted by the Soviet secret police and imprisoned in Soviet labour camps in the 1940s. The short ceremony held at an orthodox Christian cemetery in Prague on Friday morning was also attended by the victims' descendants. The illegal abductions of the Russian émigrés - who were Czechoslovak citizens - began as soon as the Red Army began to liberate Czechoslovakia in 1944, and continued long after the Soviets arrived in Prague in May 1945.
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05/11/2007
The Labour Ministry says that more than 198,700 foreigners legally worked in the Czech Republic in April, almost 14,000 more than at the end of 2006. It is estimated that further tens of thousands of foreigners work in the Czech Republic illegally. The number of foreign workers increases every month. The figure is believed to be rising not only because of the Czech Republic's EU membership but also thanks to the improving working and living conditions and the country's economic growth. The strongest group of foreign workers are Slovaks, followed by Ukrainians and Poles.
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05/11/2007
EU regulators approved on Friday 111 million euros (151 million dollars) in aid from the Czech government to help South Korean car maker Hyundai Motor build a new factory in North Moravia. The European Commission said that the aid consisted of direct cash grant and the sale of land at a reduced price. The European Union's top antitrust watchdog said that the aid met EU competition rules because it would create 4,400 new jobs by 2011 in Nosovice, in the North Moravian region hit by high unemployment. Along with another factory in neighbouring Slovakia, Hyundai aims to use the plant to gain a stronger foothold in Europe, where it is still struggling to win a substantial share of the market and develop a dealership network.
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05/11/2007
A 30-year old woman from the town of Kurim has been taken into custody after a neighbour discovered by accident she had tortured her 8-year old son for months. The boy, who was found naked with his arms and legs bound with adhesive tape, has been placed in a children's home, along with his 10-year-old brother and 13-year old sister. The case only came to light by chance when a neighbour's domestic camera picked up images from a similar device used by the mother to keep tabs on her imprisoned son. Police said the boy, found in a state of dehydration, was shut up for days at a time as a punishment for the most banal naughtiness. His divorced mother, a student of pedagogy, deprived him of regular food and contact with other children and because of his hearing problems kept his way from school, maintaining that she taught him herself, the police said. The mother could face a jail sentence of up to eight years.
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05/10/2007
Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek has said he will press the government in August to set January 1, 2012 as the date for Czech adoption of the single European currency. Mr Kalousek said on Thursday that entry into the eurozone was a political decision and as such should have a fixed deadline. Mr Kalousek described the state of the Czech public deficit as "the only real practical barrier" to euro adoption in 2012. The Czech government in April approved far-reaching reforms slashing taxation and public spending, paving the way for a possible adoption of the single European currency as early as 2012.
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said last month that a euro adoption date could be fixed after the spending reform package is approved by parliament. The lower house is expected to discuss the package in June with the fate of the fragile centre-right coalition government, which does not have a guaranteed majority in the lower house, hanging on the outcome.
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05/10/2007
Negotiations have been officially launched between the United States and the Czech Republic on the possible deployment of a missile defence radar on Czech territory. The first round of talks, which started at the Czech Defence Ministry on Thursday, is focused on an agreement covering the deployment of the US missile radar in the Czech Republic. The second round, planned for May 22 at the country's Foreign Ministry, will focus on the radar's construction, maintenance, and security. The US delegation is headed by State Department special emissary Robert Loftis. The Czech delegation is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar and head of the Defence Ministry's department for defence policy and strategy, Ivan Dvorak.
The United States announced plans in January to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a missile defence radar in the Czech Republic as part of its missile shield aimed to counter possible threats from "rogue states", such as Iran or North Korea. In early June, US President George W. Bush will arrive in Prague to discuss the issue with the Czech authorities.
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05/10/2007
The "No to Bases" civic initiative demands that the talks between the Czech Republic and the United States on the possible stationing of a US radar base on Czech territory, which started on Thursday, be terminated. The initiative's representative Rudolf Prevratil says the centre-right coalition cabinet of Mirek Topolanek has no mandate to conduct the talks. "No to Bases" points out that most Czechs are against the construction of a radar base in the Czech Republic, according to polls. The initiative demands that a referendum be held on the issue. It plans to hold a rally against the radar base on Prague's Wenceslas Square on Saturday, May 26, followed by a march through the city centre.
The radar base opponents claim that the base will stir up new arms races, threaten the Czech Republic's security and cooperation in Europe. They also say the government focuses on technical issues only, while ignoring fundamental questions such as the command of the base and its impact on the international political situation.
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05/10/2007
Anti-nuclear activists from neighbouring Austria have announced they will again stage blockages at 12 out of the 16 border crossings between the Czech Republic and Austria on Friday afternoon. The last such protests took place two weeks ago when the activists blocked 10 border crossings. The protesters want the Austrian government to file an international lawsuit against the Czech Republic over an alleged breach of agreements on the safety of the Czech nuclear power station Temelin.
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05/10/2007
Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has said that if the blockades do take place on Friday and traffic is halted at the border crossings, he will raise the matter with his Austrian counterpart Ursula Plassnik, most likely at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Czech officials have repeatedly said the blockades amount to breach free movement of persons - one of the fundamental freedoms granted by the EU.
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05/10/2007
The ruling Civic Democratic Party has announced it will support the re-election of President Vaclav Klaus in next year's elections. Mr Klaus, the Civic Democrats' honorary chairman, founded the party in 1991 and chaired it until late 2002. He was elected president in 2003. The Civic Democrats, however, do not command enough votes in parliament to secure Mr Klaus's re-election and will have to seek support from their coalition partners. The coalition Greens have made it clear that they do not want Mr Klaus's re-election and will field their own candidate.
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