• Civic Democrats put EU Constitution referendum proposal to parliament
    01/13/2005

    The right-of-centre opposition Civic Democrats officially forwarded their proposed European constitution referendum bill to the Senate on Thursday. The bill counts on a referendum on the European Union's first ever constitution being held by the end of this year.

    The bill is opposed by the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats who would like to see the referendum held at the same time as the parliamentary elections in 2006. They argue that a separate referendum would cost the state a further 380 million Czech crowns (just under 16 million US dollars).
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Police break up drug ring
    01/13/2005

    The Czech Police say they have broken up an organised gang, which was planning to create a new route to smuggle drugs into the Czech Republic. One of the five arrested gang members is a Serbian national who used to be a judge in former Yugoslavia and was granted asylum in the Czech Republic in 1994. The group was allegedly dealing in cocaine and the locally-produced amphetamine pervitine. If found guilty of drug dealing they can each face up to fifteen years in prison.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Brno prison inmates donate pocket money to Tsunami victims
    01/13/2005

    A group of forty prisoners at a prison near Brno, South Moravia, have begun collecting money from their fellow inmates to help the Tsunami victims in Southeast Asia. Donations, amounting to 10,000 Czech crowns (a little over 400 US dollars), have already been sent to the accounts of various Czech humanitarian organisations. A prison spokeswoman said on Thursday the inmates were donating some of their pocket money, which they use to buy food at the prison canteen.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech Republic almost doubles immediate aid to Southeast Asia
    01/12/2005

    The Czech government is to release another half a million US dollars in immediate aid for Southeast Asia, on top of the 650,000 dollars already approved. It made the announcement at a United Nations donor conference in Geneva on Tuesday.

    Almost nine million dollars has also been earmarked for long-term reconstruction projects. Meanwhile, the Czech public has donated nearly 9.5 million US dollars towards relief in the devastated region.

    The number of Czechs still missing in Southeast Asia now stands at 11, with seven of them believed to have died. Only one Czech casualty has been confirmed so far.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Government discussing extending Czech Army stay in Iraq by another year
    01/12/2005

    The government is discussing extending the stay of Czech military police in Iraq by one more year. The Defence Ministry says the Czech contingent would continue to train Iraqi police, and would remain at its present size of around 90 officers. Under their current mandate, the Czech soldiers would return home at the end of February.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Press: New ID numbers to replace 'birth number'
    01/12/2005

    Czechs are to be given new identification numbers to replace the currently used 'rodne cislo' (birth number), under a new plan put forward by the Information Technology Ministry, the daily Hospodarske noviny reported on Wednesday. Unlike the birth number, the new ID - which will be introduced in around ten years' time - will not reflect the bearer's age or gender.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Ombudsman approved by half of population, poll suggests
    01/12/2005

    Four years after the introduction of the institution of ombudsman in the Czech Republic, two thirds of Czechs can say who the ombudsman is, while half the population trusts the institution, according to a poll by the CVVM agency just released. Otakar Motejl, who has occupied the post since it was created, said he was pleased by the poll results.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Incumbent Jirasek defeats javelin legend Zelezny in Olympic Committee vote
    01/12/2005

    Milan Jirasek has been re-elected chairman of the Czech Olympic Committee, defeating athlete Jan Zelezny 58:33 in a vote on Tuesday evening. Mr Jirasek said he was glad to have won a strong mandate, after campaigning had been marked by recriminations on both sides.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has denied that he formed special police teams as Interior Minister for political purposes.
    01/11/2005

    Prime Minister Stanislav Gross acknowledged on Tuesday that several special police teams reported directly to him during his tenure as Czech interior minister, but denied suggestions in the media that he formed or exploited the teams for political gain. The daily Hospodarske noviny reported that one such police team, known as "Mlyn," or "the Mill," operated for two years in absolute secrecy and reported only to Mr Gross. Formed ahead of the 2002 general elections, the Mill team collected information about people close to former TV Nova director Vladimir Zelezny, for example, and to those handling finances for the national railways operator, Ceske drahy. Prime Minister Gross said that any suggestion he had used police teams to gather compromising information on rival politicians was "absolute nonsense."
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Czech charities have collected over 200m crowns from the general public to aid Tsunami survivors, Southeast Asia relief effort.
    01/11/2005

    Czech humanitarian organisations so far have collected over 200 million crowns in public drives to aid survivors of the deadly Tsunami that hit Southeast Asia three weeks ago. A representative from the People in Need foundation said they were receiving more and more donations now from large businesses, which, due to internal approval processes, had been slower react than individuals and smaller organisations. Czech-run charities are now mainly focussing on helping orphans, supplying hospitals and rebuilding fishing villages in the devastated region. Over 150,000 people died in the Tsunami; one Czech woman died; 12 others remain unaccounted for.
    Author: Brian Kenety

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