• Government human rights official beaten, arrested by riot police
    05/01/2006

    Meanwhile a senior official from the government's human rights section says she was beaten and arrested by police during the demonstration. Katerina Jacques, a candidate for the opposition Green Party in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, had to be treated in hospital after the incident. Mrs Jacques, who was with her two young children, says she was thrown to the ground, kicked and beaten with a truncheon before being handcuffed and taken away for questioning. Police have refused to comment.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Ministry - Hyundai plant to go ahead despite Chung arrest
    05/01/2006

    In other news, the Czech Trade and Industry ministry says the South Korean car-maker Hyundai still intends to go ahead with a new assembly plant in North Moravia despite the arrest last week of the company's chairman Chung Mong-Koo on embezzlement charges. Minister Milan Urban said the signing ceremony would now be held in Seoul, and not the town of Nosovice, where the one-billion-plant will be built. Mr Chung and Hyundai are accused of creating slush funds to pay politicians and officials for business favours.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Youth killed in maypole tragedy
    05/01/2006

    A centuries-old May Day tradition ended in tragedy on Monday when a 20-year-old man was killed by a falling maypole after he and other youths from a neighbouring village cut it down. The tragedy took place in the village of Volduchy, West Bohemia, at around 7am. So far it is unclear whether anyone will be charged with the young man's death.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Saturday's heavy rain raises water levels
    04/30/2006

    Water levels of some rivers in Moravia have risen extensively following heavy rain on Saturday. Some areas in southern Moravia were put on the highest degree of flood alert. Meteorologists say the worst is over in most parts of the country, where only light showers are expected in the next few days. The Czech Republic is still recovering from a week of heavy flooding, which paralysed many regions earlier this month.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Forced administration at VZP to end on Tuesday
    04/30/2006

    The forced administration that was put in place last November at the country's biggest state-owned health insurer, VZP, will be terminated on Tuesday, says Health Minister David Rath. In a televised debate on Sunday, Mr Rath said VZP's close to 14 billion crown debt has now been reduced to under 7 billion crowns. The insurer will also have a new director, Pavel Horak, as of Tuesday May 2.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Government sponsors Yemen development projects
    04/30/2006

    Yemen has received one million US dollars from the Czech government to help sponsor two development projects. The donation was presented by Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda, who is currently on an official visit to the Arab state. The money will be used to supply clean water to Abdal Kuri Island and to recycle water for a hospital on the island of Sokotra.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Two coach accidents with Polish tourists in one day
    04/30/2006

    Two coaches with Polish tourists on board had accidents independent from each other in the Czech Republic on Saturday. Six people were injured - the driver seriously - when one coach crashed into a stationary lorry on the D5 motorway near Rokycany, western Bohemia. The cause of the accident has yet to be determined. In the second accident in eastern Bohemia, the coach driver fell asleep and the vehicle overturned into a ditch. Seven passengers were injured; two of them are still in hospital.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Thousands still at open-air techno party despite cold night; one raver hit by car
    04/30/2006

    Rain, light snow, and freezing night temperatures have resulted in around one thousand ravers leaving the CzaroTekk techno party that is taking place this weekend. Over one thousand people, though, are still enjoying the open-air festival, which is being held on private property close to the Bohemian town of Krasna. One man, who visited the party, has ended up in hospital. He was hit by a car nearby the venue and suffered fractures of the leg and several minor injuries. The event has attracted techno fans from the Czech Republic and other European countries and is being monitored by the police.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Bambini di Praga open 43rd Golden Prague (Zlata Praha) television festival
    04/30/2006

    The 43rd international television festival, Golden Prague, opened in the Czech capital's Congress Centre with a concert by the prestigious Bambini di Praga choir on Saturday. The festival will run until May 5 and focuses on music and dance on the television screen. Some 130 contributions from 24 countries are participating this year. Golden Prague is one of the oldest television festivals in the world.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech pop icon Karel Gott celebrates birth of third daughter
    04/30/2006

    Sixty-six year old singer Karel Gott is the proud father of a healthy newborn baby girl. Charlotte Ella was born early on Sunday morning. The Czech pop icon, who has never been married, already has two daughters from previous relationships. Mr Gott's 30-year old partner, Ivana Machackova, is two years younger than his oldest daughter.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

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