• Kladno mayor remanded in custody for fraud
    03/24/2004

    The mayor of the central Bohemian town of Kladno, Milan Volf, has been remanded in custody on charges of abuse of office. Prosecutors accuse Mr Volf, a member of the right-of-centre Civic Democrats, of illegally transferring 40 million crowns from the town's budget to Kladno's ice hockey club. He also stands accused of buying himself an expensive Audi car without seeking the council's permission. Mr Volf could face three years in prison if found guilty of abuse of office.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Branch of Komercni Banka robbed for third time in five years
    03/24/2004

    A branch of Komercni Banka in Prague's 10th district has been robbed for the third time in five years. A man robbed the bank on Wednesday, making away with hundreds of thousands of crowns after threatening staff with explosives. The bank was robbed in September last year.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Klaus names "Prague Avenue" in Lisbon
    03/24/2004

    President Vaclav Klaus has taken part in a ceremony in the Portuguese capital Lisbon naming a local street "Prague Avenue". President Klaus is on the second day of his state visit to Portugal.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Klaus offended by chairman of Christian Democrats in European Parliament
    03/23/2004

    Vaclav Klaus has criticised the chairman of the Christian Democrat group in the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, for statements he made after the Czech president cancelled a meeting with him while he was on a visit to Prague. Mr Poettering told Czech and German journalists that such things would only happen in a dictatorship. Mr Klaus has written a letter of protest to Mr Poettering, the president's spokesman said on Tuesday. Mr Klaus, who is sceptical about European Union integration, said such behaviour would not give an encouraging signal to the Czech public or politicians as the country prepares for imminent accession to the Union.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Nine presidential pardons granted
    03/23/2004

    Meanwhile, President Klaus - who is currently on an official visit to Portugal - has granted pardons to nine people, among them a young man who killed his aggressive and bullying father. The pardons have been granted on humanitarian grounds, the president's spokesman said on Tuesday. Mr Klaus has pardoned 16 people since being appointed just over a year ago. He had previously been critical of the number of pardons granted by his predecessor, Vaclav Havel.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Police arrest gang accused of smuggling Chinese people into Europe
    03/23/2004

    The police have arrested a gang of nine Czechs and other nationals who they say organised the smuggling of Chinese people into Europe. The arrests followed co-operation with police in Italy, Germany and Austria. During the time the gang were under surveillance they smuggled around 800 people through the Czech Republic, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Polish police release three suspected of planning attack on Czech Embassy
    03/23/2004

    Polish police have released three men suspected of planning terrorist attacks on the Czech Embassy and other targets in the Polish capital Warsaw. The street where the city's Czech Embassy is located was marked on a map found in the flat of the three men, two Palestinians and a Ukrainian. A spokesperson for the Czech Embassy said on Tuesday that there was no evidence the three had been planning a terrorist attack.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Usti region handing out leaflets in effort to combat child prostitution on border
    03/23/2004

    The Usti nad Labem regional authority has begun handing out leaflets in German alerting tourists who cross the border from the neighbouring state of Saxony of the fact that child prostitution is a crime. Regional governor Jiri Sulc took part in the campaign on Tuesday, handing out leaflets at a border crossing, the website Novinky reported. The German branch of UNICEF published a report in November saying the Czech-German border region was rife with child prostitution, though Czech authorities say it is not a common problem.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Hasek to get off with fine for in-line hockey attack
    03/23/2004

    The Czech ice hockey player Dominik Hasek is likely to escape with a fine after attacking an opponent in a game of in-line hockey last May. According to press reports, Mr Hasek will not appear in court in connection with the incident, because investigators say it was not a crime but a misdemeanour.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Staropramen follow Pilsner Urquell in raising beer prices
    03/23/2004

    The Prague brewery Staropramen is to increase the prices of its draught and bottled beer by around 6 percent from next month, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The price rise follows a similar move by Pilsner Urquell earlier this month. Since the year 2000 Staropramen has been owned by the Belgian group Interbrew. It has a 14 percent share of the Czech beer market.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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