• Snow causes road closures and power outages
    01/11/2010

    The situation was worst in Moravia, the eastern part of the Czech Republic, where some roads had to be closed and trains were delayed or cancelled, while thousands of households suffered power outages. Some regions have declared a state of emergency. On Sunday morning, a 62-year-old man was found frozen to death on the street, bringing the death toll resulting from the cold snap to two.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Insurance companies brace themselves for weather-related damages
    01/11/2010

    Insurance companies in the Czech Republic are expecting to pay hundreds of millions of crowns in damages related to the cold snap and heavy snow that the country has seen in the past four days. A spokesman for the country’s largest insurance company Česká Pojištovna told the daily newspaper Právo that since Friday, 150 claims related to ground freezes and snowfall had been filed. He added that the number of minor traffic accidents that are resolved without police assistance had tripled in the last few days.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Unemployment reaches nine percent
    01/11/2010

    According to figures published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on Monday, the national unemployment rate increased by 0.6 percent in December as compared to November, bringing the overall unemployment figure to nine percent. Over 530,000 Czechs are currently unemployed, that’s about 180,000 more than in 2008, when only six percent of the population was out of work. The increase in unemployment affects all regions of the Czech Republic. A ministry spokesperson said that a rise in unemployment towards the end of the year is not altogether unusual. He explained that often seasonal work and employment contracts end around that time of the year.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • President appoints new judges
    01/11/2010

    On Monday, President Vaclav Klaus appointed 50 new judges. For the first time, he also appointed the head of Central Bohemia’s regional court. Of all courts in the country, the Prague 1 district court will see the biggest increase in staff. According to the latest data, which is from December 2008, there are 3042 judges in the Czech Republic.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • New center for cancer research opens in Brno
    01/11/2010

    A new cancer research center has opened in Brno which should develop medication tailored to the specific needs of each cancer patient based on their DNA. Fifty-eight experts will be employed at the research center, which will focus on the most severe types of cancer and operate on a yearly budget of 50 million crowns. Researchers will also work on developing a vaccine against cancer.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Health insurance provider loses millions of crowns to con artist
    01/11/2010

    According to a police report, a 32-year-old male has caused damages of about two million crowns to his health insurance company by faking illness for six years. Between 2002 and 2008, the man was hospitalized for short periods of time or sought out-patient treatment without actually being sick. By doing so, the man received free meals, accommodation and prescriptions for drugs that he did not need. Police have so far registered a total of 349 offenses by the perpetrator.
    Author: Sarah Borufka

  • Czech Republic sees third straight day of heavy snow
    01/10/2010

    A third straight day of heavy snow (more than 20 centimetres since Saturday) combined with freezing rain and cold in parts of the Czech Republic, has complicated conditions on roads and seen continued power outages. Most major roads were reportedly drivable, having been gritted with snow-melting chemicals, but motorists are being advised to proceed with caution. In the region of Hradec Králové a number of smaller roads remain closed due to snow drifts or icy conditions. Elsewhere, motorists have suffered poor visibility due to continued snowfall.

    One driver, who exited his car near Příbram, was knocked unconscious by a tree falling under the weight of snow; he was taken to hospital and is reportedly in serious condition.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Freezing rain, power outages
    01/10/2010

    In parts of Moravia, ice downing power lines meanwhile contributed to power outages that have left thousands without electricity. Crews are working around the clock to restore power. Inhabitants in some villages have complained of being snowed-under even after three days, saying routes in their area had not yet been cleared by snowploughs.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Situation in Moravia
    01/10/2010

    Over the course of Sunday, conditions in Moravia worsened, with freezing rain and 10 centimetres of new snow complicating traffic. Some parts of the D1 highway were reportedly only partly cleared by snowploughs. Also, the main train route from Moravia to neighbouring Slovakia was blocked for six hours.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Two women charged with murder of south Bohemian goldsmith
    01/10/2010

    Police have charged two women from the south Bohemian town of Tábor with the murder of a 54-year-old goldsmith in České Budějovice in December. The man was found dead in his home on December 15th; he had been stabbed repeatedly but the murder weapon was not recovered. It is thought that theft was the main motive, as a suitcase filled with money and gold disappeared from the man’s home, where he kept a professional workshop. The suspects – 38 and 43 years of age – will remain in custody ahead of trial; if found guilty they could face exceptional sentences for unusual brutality in the killing, the police said. Neither of the suspects has a previous criminal record.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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