• Hospital killings investigation may not conclude until later in year
    02/08/2007

    The police say they will not conclude an investigation into the killing of several patients at a hospital in east Bohemia until September or October. Former orderly Petr Zelenka has admitted to using a blood-thinning drug to kill eight patients at the hospital in Havlickuv Brod. But the Health Ministry has said the real figure could be as high as 13. Police said they were waiting for the results of a ministry inquiry, as well as expert analyses.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Former Justice Ministry man cleared of trying to blackmail journalist
    02/08/2007

    Police have concluded that former Justice Ministry spokesman Petr Dimun did not try to blackmail a journalist. Mr Dimun was accused of trying to pressure TV Nova reporter Jana Peterkova into give false testimony against her former boyfriend, convicted fraudster Tomas Pitr. The journalist said she would lodge a complaint against the shelving of the case.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Radio Impuls most popular station in Czech Republic
    02/08/2007

    Radio Impuls was the most listened to radio station in the Czech Republic in the second half of last year, according to a study called Radio Projekt prepared by two polling agencies. Evropa 2 was second most popular, followed by Frekvence 1. Czech Radio's Radiozurnal and Praha stations were in fourth and firth place.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech footballers beat Belgians 2:0 in first game of 2007
    02/08/2007

    The Czech Republic's footballers got their year off to a winning start on Wednesday, beating Belgium 2:0 in a friendly in Brussels. The Czechs' goals came from Jan Koller and Marek Kulic. Goalkeeper Petr Cech made a number of fine saves in his first international game since sustaining a skull fracture in October.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Record-breaking striker Koller to retire completely in 2008
    02/08/2007

    Meanwhile, Jan Koller - who stretched his own record to 48 international goals on Wednesday - has said he will retire completely after next year's European Championships. The giant striker, who is 34 next month, said he will return to the live in the Czech Republic after 12 years playing abroad.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Ski-jumper Mazoch tells fans he is on road to recovery
    02/08/2007

    Czech ski-jumper Jan Mazoch, who crashed badly during a competition last month, has issued a message to fans, saying he is on the road to recovery, and may even return to ski-jumping. Mazoch, undergoing rehabilitation at a hospital in Prague, says he is still suffering from short-term memory lapses.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech senate strips Christian Democrat leader Jiri Cunek of parliamentary immunity
    02/07/2007

    The Czech senate has stripped Christian Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek of his parliamentary immunity so that he can face criminal prosecution on corruption charges. Police suspect Mr Cunek of taking a bribe of half-a-million crowns from a real estate company five years ago when he was mayor of the east Moravian town of Vsetin. Mr Cunek denies the charges, but has so far issued conflicting statements regarding the origin of the money.
    Author: Coilin O'Connor

  • Government blocks parliamentary discussion of EU constitution and proposed radar base
    02/07/2007

    An extraordinary session of parliament, which was meant to discuss the draft European constitution and a proposed US radar base in the Czech Republic, has been cancelled. The scheduled sitting ended in acrimony after the centre-right governing coalition blocked the approval of the meeting agenda. Opposition Social Democrat and Communist MPs say the development is proof that the government is trying to stifle debate in parliament. Civic Democrat prime minister Mirek Topolanek has rejected the accusation, saying that it was simply too early to begin discussions on the EU constitution and the proposed radar base.
    Author: Coilin O'Connor

  • One in two Czechs opposed to radar base even in exchange for cancellation of US visas
    02/07/2007

    Around half of all Czechs are against the construction of a US radar base in the Czech Republic even in return for visa-free travel to America, according to a new poll. The survey carried out by the RCA research agency says that 31% of the population would accept the base on Czech territory if it meant they no longer had to apply for visas to go to the US. In South Bohemia where proposed base would be located, only 12% of the local population are in favour of the facility.
    Author: Coilin O'Connor

  • Judge suspended for drunkenness returns to work
    02/07/2007

    A Czech judge who had been relieved of her duties for repeated drunkenness will be allowed to return to work again Mlada fronta Dnes reports. The daily says that disciplinary proceedings against Judge Jana Sladkova - who had been suspended from her job for coming to work in a drunken state on a number of occasions - have been discontinued. The reason the proceedings have been stopped is because Judge Sladkova has now voluntarily tendered her own resignation. Under Czech law, she is entitled to return to the court where she works in Rokycany, west Bohemia and hear cases while she is seeing out her notice period of three months. Ms Sladkova will also receive one half of the wages she was deprived of during the disciplinary process.
    Author: Coilin O'Connor

Pages