• Havel ill, cancels schedule for 10 days
    03/25/2004

    Former Czech President Vaclav Havel has been forced to cancel all engagements for the next 10 days after falling ill with respiratory problems, his spokeswoman said on Thursday. Mr Havel, who is 67, is resting at home and is under the care of his personal physician. His spokeswoman did not say how serious his illness was, but added that Mr Havel had cancelled his programme as a precaution based on his doctor's advice. The playwright, the most prominent symbol of the Czech Republic and its "Velvet Revolution", was elected president after the 1989 overthrow of the Soviet-backed regime. He left his seat at Prague castle last year.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech-Slovak Kosovo unit to remain at full strength
    03/24/2004

    Defence Ministry officials have said the four hundred-strong Czech-Slovak K-FOR contingent in Kosovo will most likely remain at full strength for an extra two months, in the wake of the recent unrest in the province. The Defence Ministry had planned to reduce the contingent. The Czech Army has received a request from K-FOR commanders not to reduce the number of troops serving in Kosovo.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Government to complete first privatisation after almost two years in office
    03/24/2004

    The government has decided to sell its stakes in the Sokolovska uhelna and OKD coal mines, in what is the first major privatisation it has achieved in almost two years in office. Sokolovska uhelna is to be bought by Sokolovska tezebni, which is controlled by managers of its mines. The government's minority stake in the black coal company OKD is being bought by majority shareholder Karbon Invest.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Slovaks living in Czech Rep unable to vote in presidential election
    03/24/2004

    Slovak citizens living in the Czech Republic will not be able to vote in the forthcoming presidential election in Slovakia. The Slovak Embassy says Slovak citizens will have to travel home to Slovakia if they want to take part in the election, the first round of which is held on April 3rd. Slovaks make up the largest minority in the Czech Republic, with almost 200,000 people claiming Slovak nationality in the 2001 census. However not all of them have Slovak citizenship, meaning not all of them are eligible to vote.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • 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

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