• 01/19/2005

    The dominant fixed-line operator Cesky Telecom wants to outsource its network maintenance operations to the German electronics giant Siemens, as part of stringent cost-cutting plans. In an interview for the German business daily Handelsblatt, the Cesky Telecom chairman Gabriel Berdar said the company would do a trial run for a couple of months. If it works out, a deal could be sealed in the second or third quarter of this year. The move would cut around 3,300 jobs at Cesky Telecom, in which the Czech government wants to sell a 51-percent stake, the newspaper said.

    Author: Dita Asiedu
  • 01/18/2005

    The number of Czechs missing in the wake of the tsunami disaster in south-east Asia has dropped to nine. In seven cases there are fears that the missing Czechs did not survive the disaster. Thailand has received documents and DNA samples to aid the identification process, but the Czech Foreign Ministry has warned friends and relatives that it could be a long process. The Czech Republic has one confirmed casualty to date.

  • 01/18/2005

    The Czech President Vaclav Klaus and the visiting Maltese President Fenech-Adami disagreed over EU matters during talks in Prague on Tuesday. While the Maltese head of state said that further EU integration was a positive thing and would be further improved by the adoption of the European Constitution, President Klaus warned of "dangers ahead" and criticized Brussels for trying to centrally direct people's lives. Similarly as the right wing Civic Democratic Party, which he established, President Klaus believes that the European Constitution would restrict the country's sovereignty.

  • 01/18/2005

    The Czech Finance Ministry has proposed an amendment to the lottery law which would tighten the criteria for licenses-holders and applicants. The proposed amendment should make the business more transparent and prevent casinos and lotteries being used for money-laundering.

  • 01/18/2005

    The opposition Civic Democrats will support parents in a complaint to the Constitutional Court against a new system of applying for secondary school entrance exams. According to an amendment to the education law primary school graduates may send their application to only one secondary school of their choice, rather than applying to several as they did in the past. The Civic Democratic Party has slammed this new restriction, saying that it is in violation of the Charter of Human Rights.

  • 01/18/2005

    Lorry drivers may have to pay more for using Czech highways and main roads as of June 2005. In response to the heightened number of lorries transiting the Czech Republic, the Transport Ministry has proposed introducing a new toll which would take into consideration the weight of the vehicle and the number of kilometres covered. This would be a stopgap measure until the introduction of electronic tolls planned for 2006 or early 2007.

  • 01/17/2005

    The Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has strengthened his position as leader of his Social Democrats ahead of a party congress in March, raising his chances of remaining head of government into 2006. Two regional party chapters backed Mr Gross's leadership at the weekend and another delivered a no preference vote between Mr Gross and his leftist rival, Deputy Prime Minister Zdenek Skromach, who will challenge the incumbent at the congress. Mr Gross's victory would keep in place the Social Democrats' cabinet with two centre-right partners, the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union, before the spring 2006 general election. Stanislav Gross took over from Vladimir Spidla as party chief and prime minister in June after the Social Democrats' poor showing in the European Parliament election, but has so far failed to revive the party's fortunes.

  • 01/17/2005

    A seventeen-member Czech medical team has left for Sri Lanka to set up a mobile children's hospital in the city of Galle in the south of the island. The team will join a group of Czech rescuers who have been working in the tsunami-hit island since last week. The hospital, called Hope from Bohemia, is expected to treat its first patients on Friday. By the end of January the personnel will be joined by gynaecologists and obstetricians. The mobile hospital is expected to work in Sri Lanka for six months.

  • 01/17/2005

    Czech charities have collected around 250 million crowns (or ten million dollars) in individual donations for restoration projects in the tsunami affected regions of South Asia. One Czech national is confirmed to have died in the disaster, ten people are still missing in the area.

  • 01/17/2005

    The former Health Minister Marie Souckova has been accused of breach of trust. Ms Souckova allegedly broke the law when she brokered a controversial contract during her tenure at the ministry, which she left in April 2004. Ms Souckova appointed the lawyer Zdenek Novacek to represent the state in a compensation case launched by the blood plasma company Diag Human. Mr Novacek was to be paid 10 million crowns for taking the case and he was to charge a further 170 million crowns if he won. Experts have found his services highly overpriced. If found guilty, ex-minister Souckova faces two to eight years in prison. Last week, Ms Souckova, a former vice-chairperson of the Social Democrats, left the party reportedly over public statements of fellow party members relating to the Diag Human case.

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