• Olympics skiing - Neumannova comes fifth in 10 km classical
    02/16/2006

    Czech cross country skier Katerina Neumannova has come fifth in the 10 km classical at the Winter Olympics in Turin. She said afterwards she had run out of energy towards the end of the race, the second of three events she is taking part in. Neumannova took silver in the 15 km pursuit on Sunday, the Czech Republic's only medal so far in Turin.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Cabinet asks Svoboda to propose EU meeting to form common stance on Mohammad cartoons
    02/15/2006

    The government has asked Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda to propose a meeting of European Union foreign ministers to formulate a common position on the controversy surrounding cartoons of Mohammad. The cabinet also expressed solidarity with Denmark, which has come under pressure from some Islamic countries over the caricatures, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Authorities step up measures against possible spread of bird flu
    02/15/2006

    The Czech authorities are stepping up measures to prevent the possible spread of bird flu into the Czech Republic. From Thursday commercial farmers will be banned from allowing birds to move freely outside, while poultry trade fairs and markets will be prohibited from the beginning of next month. The Ministry of Agriculture says there are around 700 large poultry farms in this country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Finance minister, opposition finance spokesman sue each other
    02/15/2006

    The minister of finance, Bohuslav Sobotka, has said he will file slander charges against Vlastimil Tlusty, finance spokesman for the opposition Civic Democrats. Mr Tlusty had earlier filed charges against the minister, who he accused of putting the interests of the bank CSOB before those of the state.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Customs announce seizure of 35 million in fake US dollars last year
    02/15/2006

    Czech customs officials seized 35 million US dollars in counterfeit banknotes in a container from Vietnam last April, a customs spokesperson said on Wednesday. The Czech National Bank this week said the counterfeit notes were of an extremely poor quality. The consignment was addressed to a Vietnamese citizen - he described it as paper for religious purposes. It has not yet been decided whether the police will investigate the matter.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President opens large Czech Gothic art exhibition at Prague Castle
    02/15/2006

    President Vaclav Klaus has opened an extensive exhibition of Czech Gothic art from the 14th and 15th centuries at Prague Castle. Organisers are expecting large numbers of visitors, and have limited viewing times to 90 minutes per person. Around 170,000 people visited the exhibition at its previous venue, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Menzel filming Hrabal again, 40 years after first adaptation
    02/15/2006

    The Czech film director Jiri Menzel has announced plans to begin filming an adaptation of Bohumil Hrabal's novel I Served the King of England next month. He has been working on a screenplay for the film for several years. Forty years ago Mr Menzel filmed Hrabal's Closely Observed Trains, for which he won an Academy Award in 1967.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Svoboda seeks to rally EU support for Denmark
    02/14/2006

    The Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda is seeking to rally EU support for Denmark which faces mounting pressure from Moslem countries following the publication of cartoons featuring the Prophet Mohammad. Mr. Svoboda said that while he considers the caricatures in bad taste, the violent reaction to them is unacceptable. The Czech Foreign Minster would like to see the EU take a united stand in condemning the violence and he has suggested that the EU could provide some form of financial compensation to Denmark for the economic losses it has suffered in connection with the scandal.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Charge d'affaires denies having apologized over cartoon row
    02/14/2006

    Meanwhile, the Czech charge d'affaires in Iran Michal Cerny who was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday denies having apologized for a re-print of one of the satirical cartoons in the Czech press. The Czech official said he had merely received an official note of protest from the Iranian Foreign Ministry, but had not extended any apologies. The Iranian newsagency IRNA said on Monday the Czech charge d'affaires had apologized for the conduct of the Czech press. The Czech Foreign Ministry has said it sees no reason to apologize, citing freedom of the press in a democratic country.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Three hospitals in trouble over late payments
    02/14/2006

    Distributors have warned they will cut medicine supplies to three heavily indebted hospitals as of Wednesday. Two big hospitals in Prague - the Bulovka and Thomayer Teaching Hospital as well as one in south Moravia could soon face a serious crisis. Their current supplies are not expected to last longer than a week or two. The payment deadlines for other hospitals have been cut from the current 90 to 14 days. All three hospitals affected have said they will seek new distributors. Money problems have affected all spheres of the health sector where there is a serious backlog in payments.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

Pages