• Medical Chamber: pharmacies should sell flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine only by prescription
    10/26/2009

    The Czech Medical Chamber has recommended that pharmacies only sell flu and cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine through doctors’ prescriptions – reaction to current criticism by the Office for Personal Data Protection. Under regulations set by the State Institute for Drug Control, pharmacists are required to record personal information when it comes to selling medicines containing pseudoephedrine – a key ingredient in the production of the illegal drug pervetine. Pharmacists are also limited to selling 1,800 milligrams of such medicines per person, per month. The aim is to prevent abuse, such as the buying up in bulk, to curb illegal pervetine production. The Office for Personal Data Protection charged recently that the law on personal data is being broken, and called for sensitive personal data recorded by pharmacies to be esrased.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Dairy farms to pour out thousands of litres of milk to protest low purchase prices
    10/26/2009

    The Agrarian Chamber has said that dairy farmers will pour thousands of litres of milk into selected fields on Thursday in protest of low purchase prices. A list of areas where the protests will take place will be released Tuesday, the head of the chamber Jan Veleba said. A representative for producers in southern Moravia confirmed that around one third of one’s day’s production in one area would be destroyed, with roughly 25,000 litres being poured into the ground.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Culture minister accused of threatening National Theatre performers during Velvet Revolution
    10/26/2009

    In his then post of head of the opera section of the National Theatre, the Czech minister of culture, Václav Riedlbauch, may have threatened striking performers during the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Czech Television reported. The station said Mr Riedlbauch had threatened to fine, expel or even have imprisoned members of the theatre, backing up the assertion with a document from that time. The minister has refused to comment on the allegations.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Football: injured Baroš may travel to Germany for treatment
    10/26/2009

    Galatasaray Istanbul striker Milan Baroš, who suffered a foot injury in the Turkish league on Sunday, may head to Germany for treatment. His agent revealed that he was negotiating treatment on the part of the player with German specialist Hans-Wilelm Muller-Wohlfarht, who in the past attended to Czech players such as midfielder Tomáš Rosický and striker Patrik Berger. According to reports, Baroš suffered a broken bone in his foot, meaning he will likely be out for the next six weeks.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • National Memorial on Prague’s Vítkov hill reopened after extensive renovations
    10/25/2009

    President Václav Klaus was among several dignitaries who took part in a ceremony on Sunday afternoon marking the reopening after extensive renovations of the National Memorial on Prague’s Vítkov hill. The reconstruction project was carried out by the National Museum, which oversees the memorial, and took two years to complete. The National Memorial will now host a museum of Czechoslovak and Czech history, as well as serving as a venue for cultural events. The imposing building was created in the 1930s in honour of the Czech legionnaires who served in World War I. It was used as a parliament before later becoming a mausoleum for communist party leaders. The National Museum reopens to the public on Thursday, with admission free until the end of November.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech TV: Deputy minister for European affairs could become nominee for European commissioner’s post
    10/25/2009

    If Czech political parties do not agree on a new European commissioner, the caretaker government could nominate Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marek Mora for the post, Czech Television reported. However, speaking on a TV debate programme on Sunday, Czech Foreign Minister Pavel Kohout said Mr Mora’s name had not come up in this regard. Mr Kohout said that in any case there were a few weeks in which to find a suitable candidate, given that the make-up of the new European Commission would probably not be on the agenda at an EU summit in Brussels at the end of next week. The caretaker prime minister, Jan Fischer, has urged political parties to reach agreement on a nominee. Otherwise, he said, his government would choose one themselves.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Government to decide Monday on whether to accept sole bid for Czech Airlines
    10/25/2009

    The Czech government is set to decide on Monday whether to accept the only bid it has received for the national carrier Czech Airlines. Finance Minister Eduard Janota has not said whether he will recommend that the cabinet agree to the offer from the Czech-Icelandic consortium of Unimex and Travel Service. It is the sole bidder, after Air France-KLM dropped out. However, there has been speculation that the bid will be rejected and the troubled company will remain in state hands. The government last week installed the head of Prague Airport, Miroslav Dvořák, as Czech Airlines’ CEO. He has secured an agreement with unions to cut salaries at the airline, which has seen record losses this year.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Police forced to stop using sub-standard cells
    10/25/2009

    Czech police have had to stop using hundreds of cells at stations around the country because they do not meet international guidelines, Czech Television reported. The president of the Czech Republic’s police force, Oldřich Martinů, said that the police had to guarantee respect for the dignity of those they apprehend. However, some rank and file officers have criticised the cell closures, saying it could be dangerous not to have offenders behind bars at police stations. Mr Martinů said improvements on sub-standard cells would gradually be carried out, explaining the police did not have resources to modernise all the inadequate cells immediately.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Woman comes forward to reclaim child left in babybox
    10/25/2009

    A woman who left her seven-month-old son in a babybox in the Prague district of Hloubětín on Wednesday has come forward saying she wants the child back, the website of TV Nova reported. The founder of the Czech Republic’s network of babyboxs, Ludvík Hess, said the mother had had problems with money and accommodation when she decided to abandon her son. A court will decide next week whether to return the child, the website said. Since the system was launched in 2005, 26 infants have been left anonymously in babyboxes, 13 of them in Hloubětín.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Aneta Vignerová, 21, named Miss Czech Republic
    10/25/2009

    Aneta Vignerová, a 21-year-old model from Havířov, has been named Miss Czech Republic 2009. Heading the panel of judges at Saturday night’s ceremony in Prague was Taťána Kuchařová, a former Miss Czech Republic who went on to become Miss World in 2006. This year’s Miss Czech Republic was broadcast live on Czech Television, the first time in 15 years that the public service broadcaster screened the event.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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