• Czech soldiers will serve alongside Austrian contingent in EUFOR mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
    12/28/2004

    A contingent of Czech soldiers will be dispatched this week to Bosnia-Herzegovina to take part in the European Union peacekeeping force EUFOR. The 47 Czech soldiers will be based in the town of Tuzla for six months and serve alongside Austrian units. In addition to keeping the peace in the ethnically divided former Yugoslav republic, EUFOR soldiers are tasked with working to reduce organised crime.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Minister of Culture, Pavel Dostal, released from cancer clinic
    12/28/2004

    The Minister of Culture, Pavel Dostal, has been released from the Masaryk Cancer Clinic in Brno after undergoing chemotherapy for cancer of the pancreas and liver. He is to undergo further treatment to reduce clotting in his veins but is expected to return to work in January.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • RFE/RL is considering four Prague sites to relocate headquarters
    12/28/2004

    A spokesman in Washington for the U.S. government funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has confirmed that the radio is considering four possible sites for its future headquarters. RFE/RL is currently headquartered at the top of Prague's Wenceslas Square. The current site is considered too vulnerable to terrorist attack and the broadcaster is expected to move to a more remote site in Prague.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Mobile operators expect New Year's rush in text messages comparable to Christmas Eve traffic.
    12/28/2004

    Mobile phone users in the Czech Republic spent about 140 million crowns on SMS and MMS greetings this Christmas Eve, and sent about three times as many phone messages as on an average day. Mobile phone companies expect a similar rush on New Year's Eve.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • No Czech known to be among victims of tsunami disaster
    12/27/2004

    It is not yet clear whether any Czechs were among the victims of Sunday's tsunami disaster in Southern Asia. Czech travel agencies say they have established contact with all of their clients but hundreds of Czechs are known to have travelled to the region by themselves. The Foreign Ministry has decided to release ten million crowns (over 300,000 euros) from its budget to aid the affected regions. A crisis committee meeting was also held on Monday morning to coordinate help for stranded Czech tourists. The Ministry has also set up a special information hotline for the families of Czechs who are still missing in Southern Asia: +420 22418 1111, +420 22418 2425, +420 22418 2254, +420 22418 2985.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech economy below EU average but catching up
    12/27/2004

    The Czech economy is below EU average but gradually catching up, the Czech Statistical Office said on Monday. 2003 figures show that the country's GDP was 73 percent of that of the EU average. Prague, however, is well above average with 164 percent.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Ukrainians in Prague cast absentee ballots to elect new president
    12/27/2004

    Some 2,000 Ukrainians living in the Czech Republic cast absentee ballots in the repeated second round of Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday. This is a third less than was the case in November. In the Czech Republic, 7,300 Ukrainians were registered to vote but many chose to go to the polls in their homeland instead. Ukraine attempted to elect their president for the third time in two months after November's second round of the election was confirmed rigged and annulled by the Supreme Court. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner of that vote. Election officials say opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has won the re-run.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czechs send record number of SMS Christmas greetings
    12/27/2004

    Czechs sent a record 53.1 million SMS mobile phone text messages on Christmas Eve. This exceeded last year's record by 16 percent, the Czech phone companies reported. Czech Telecom transferred 5.5 million fixed line calls. Added up, it would have been a 31.5 year-long telephone conversation.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech Republic joins UN Security Council resolution on Iraq
    12/23/2004

    The Czech Republic has joined a UN Security Council resolution lifting the sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1990 and supporting the renewal of the country. The government-proposed bill was signed on Thursday by President Vaclav Klaus. Among other things, the bill bans the import and export of artefacts that are part of the Iraqi cultural heritage, have a historic, cultural, archaeological, scientific or religious significance or have been stolen from Iraqi cultural institutions.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Cardinal lights Bethlehem Light in St Vitus Cathedral
    12/23/2004

    The Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, has taken over the symbolic Bethlehem Light from scouts in St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle. Cardinal Vlk said he believes that along with the flame lit at the birthplace of Jesus Christ, people bring home love and respect for one another. Until Christmas Eve people can come to light their own candles in the cathedral and also in the lobby of the Czech Radio building in Prague. The Bethlehem Light tradition was established by the Austrian radio station ORF in 1986. In the Czech Republic, this tradition started after the collapse of Communism in 1989. The Bethlehem Light is protected and distributed all over the country by scouts and Czech Radio employees.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

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