• 06/21/2004

    Coalition party representatives meeting in four hours of talks on Monday have agreed on a proposed state budget deficit of some 90 billion crowns for 2005. That number does not include a loss of 19 billion crowns covered by the CKA, the state bail-out agency. Compared to this year's projected deficit, the 2005 budget gap, in real terms, amounts to about 6 billion crowns less.

    Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said that the coalition had decided on the outline for next year's state budget, following reform guidelines put forward by Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.

    Author: Jan Velinger
  • 06/21/2004

    Czech-born tennis legend Martina Navratilova has won her opening singles match in the first stage of this year's Wimbledon tournament. Earlier in the day the 47-year old Navratilova, a naturalised American, eliminated Catalina Castanova of Columbia 6:0, 6:1.

    The win was an impressive one for Navratilova: although she is the holder of nine Wimbledon singles titles, she last appeared in the singles tournament ten years ago.

    Author: Jan Velinger
  • 06/20/2004

    Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla will remain chairman of the Social Democrats at least until the party's next central committee meeting, to be held on this coming Saturday, when he and other party leaders face a no-confidence motion. Although the junior parties in the ruling coalition, the Freedom Union and the Christian Democrats, have said they will remain in the government, Mr Spidla has come under fire from regional party leaders to step down as chairman. The Social Democrats were routed in the European Parliament elections held the last weekend, placing fifth overall, and popular support for the coalition government has plummeted in recent months. Before Social Democrat party leaders decide on his fate, Mr Spidla may face a vote of confidence in the parliament.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 06/20/2004

    The Czech national football team on Saturday night staged a second-half comeback to beat the Dutch side 3:2. It was the Czech sides' second win in a row and the Czech Republic have become the first to qualify for the quarter-final round of Euro 2004, the European football championship games now underway in Portugal. The Czech squad conceded two goals to the Netherlands in the first half of the match, but rallied with goals from strikers Jan Koller and Milan Baros to equalise. Then, in the 88th minute, Vladimir Shmicer scored again and the Dutch were unable to respond before the clock ran out. At the time of the third goal, the Dutch side was playing with just 10 men after a player was sent off for a red card foul. The Czech team will face Germany on Wednesday in their last match in the group stage of the Euro 2004 championship. After a dismal 0-0 draw with Latvia on Saturday, Germany need to beat the Czech Republic to guarantee themselves a place in the knock-out stages.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 06/20/2004

    Czech Republic - 6 pts Germany - 2 pts Netherlands - 1 pt Latvia - 1 pt

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 06/20/2004

    In related news, the Czech Republic football coach Karel Bruckner has been offered free beer for the rest of his life if his team wins Euro 2004. The Bernard brewery is offering him 60 litres of beer per year - the equivalent amount an average Czech drinks annually -- as an incentive to bring the football trophy home. Each player on the Czech squaw will receive 160 litres of beer for one year if they win the final.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 06/20/2004

    Prague is hot on the heels of Paris as the top weekend-break destination for Britons. Eleven percent of Britons are set to head for Paris over the coming months, according to a new survey by Morgan Stanley Credit Card, the British press association reports that the French capital narrowly clung onto its position as Britons' preferred city break destination. It is closely followed by Prague, where 10 percent of the 2,000 people interviewed said they intended to go in the next three months. Architecture, palaces and cheap beer were cited as some of the top attractions that entice visitors to the Czech Republic's capital city. Prague was the only Eastern European city to make the survey's Top Ten.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 06/19/2004

    European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday night agreed on the draft text of a new European Constitution. Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said they were pleased with the final draft, while the main opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) have criticised it saying the voting system spelt out in the text weakens the position of small states like the Czech Republic. Under the new voting scheme spelt out in the draft European Constitution, in order to take decisions, at least 15 of the 25 EU member states, or 60 percent, representing at least 65 percent of the EU population, will have to be in agreement. It will take at least four member states to block a decision.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 06/19/2004

    Meanwhile, the Social Democrat leadership is expected to bring forward the date of the party's central committee meeting to next weekend, when Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla will likely face a no-confidence motion as party leader. The meeting had been scheduled for the 11th of July. Mr Spidla is expected to lose the party chairmanship and may also be pressured to resign as prime minister. The Social Democrat party was routed in the European Parliament elections last weekend, placing fifth overall and popular support of his coalition government has plummeted in recent months.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 06/19/2004

    The right-of-centre Freedom Union and Christian Democrat parties have said they will stay in the coalition government led by the centre-left Social Democrats. The Freedom Union has said, however, that it wants the coalition to set out a clearly defined programme for the next two years, while the Christian Democrat have categorically ruled out cooperating with the Communist party.

    Author: Brian Kenety

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