• Roads in North Bohemia blocked as skiers arrive and leave
    02/25/2006

    Roads around the northern town of Liberec were blocked on Saturday morning as hundreds of tourists were leaving the Jizerske Mountains and new holidaymakers were arriving at the ski resorts. Local hotel managers say the past week was one of the busiest in the season as children from the Czech Republic as well as some neighbouring countries had come to spend their school break in the mountains.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Health Minister calls on Pharmos to submit evidence of corruption
    02/25/2006

    Health Minister David Rath has called on the pharmaceutical wholesaler Pharmos to submit evidence proving alleged corruption practices at the Health Ministry, otherwise the ministry will take legal action against it. Pharmos initially agreed to resume supplies of medicines to three indebted teaching hospitals after it had stopped deliveries along with three other distributors. The company has now finally decided to end supplies because of alleged corruption at the ministry.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Far-right activists gather in Bruntal
    02/25/2006

    A few dozen far-right activists staged a protest against drugs, a growing influence of communism and what they called "foreign crime" in the town of Bruntal in North Moravia on Saturday afternoon. Some twenty left-wing activists also arrived in the town but police managed to keep the two groups apart.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Havel opposes sending giant neon heart to Kabul
    02/25/2006

    Former Czech president Vaclav Havel opposes plans to send a giant neon heart which temporarily adorned Prague Castle to the Afghan capital Kabul, warning that it might cause religious offence, the newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Saturday. The heart, by artist Jiri David, became a highly visible landmark in the Czech capital at the end of Mr Havel's last term in 2002. The former president's secretary, Jakub Hladik, told the paper that there were indications that the heart could be viewed as a religious symbol and cause conflict. The heart had been bought by the World Development Organisation which came up with the idea of displaying it in Kabul.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Cross-country skier Neumannova takes first gold in final Olympics race of career...
    02/24/2006

    Cross-country skier Katerina Neumannova has taken the Czech Republic's first gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Turin. She won the women's 30 km freestyle on Friday with an incredible surge just before the finish line, finally taking the Olympic gold medal that had eluded her so many times in the past. As Neumannova crossed the line she raised her arms aloft and screamed with joy before hugging her two-year-old daughter, who had been allowed onto the snow to greet her mother. Neumannova, taking part in her final Olympics also has a silver medal from Turin, in the 15 km pursuit.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • ...though Czech ice hockey team are knocked out in semi-finals
    02/24/2006

    But it wasn't all good news for the Czech Republic on Friday: the country's ice hockey team were beaten 7:3 by Sweden in the semi-finals; that result ended dreams of a repeat of the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, when a gold medal for the Czechs led to euphoria around the country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Doctors hold large protest against Health Minister Rath
    02/24/2006

    Around 5,000 doctors and other health professionals protested against the policies of Health Minister David Rath on Prague's Old Town Square on Friday. They called for the sacking of Mr Rath, saying changes he wants to introduce would harm patients and return the Czech health care system to pre-1989 standards. The doctors say they fear the privatisation of their practices; they chose this date for their protest because it is the eve of the anniversary of the 1948 Communist takeover known as "victorious February".
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Number of women in parliament likely to decrease, says pressure group
    02/24/2006

    A pressure group called Forum 50% says it expects there will be fewer women in the next Czech parliament. Women currently hold 17 percent of seats in the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies: based on candidate lists Forum 50% says that figure could drop to 14 percent after elections in June. They point out that countries such as Afghanistan and Vietnam have a higher percentage of women in parliament.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • PM ordered issuing of arrest warrant, says daily
    02/24/2006

    A senior figure in the Czech secret services allegedly urged a Prague court to issue a warrant for the arrest of a controversial businessman at the request of the prime minister, Jiri Paroubek, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Friday. The paper says it has a copy of a letter from Vladislav Novak to the court in which he says the prime minister requested that a warrant be issued for Tomas Pitr, who is facing a jail term for tax fraud. Both Mr Paroubek and the Interior Ministry have denied the allegation.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prague embassies of Arab countries protest about Czech TV documentary
    02/24/2006

    The Prague embassies of a number of Arab countries have protested about a documentary on the life of Muslims in the Czech Republic shown on state broadcaster Czech Television, Hospodarske noviny reported. The film features material shot on a hidden camera and accompanies testimony by Muslims with footage of terrorist attacks. The Czech Broadcasting Council is assessing whether the documentary was in breach of broadcasting regulations.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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