• 10/23/2007

    A Czech national has been deported from Cuba for taking part in a conference organized by Cuban dissidents. According to the Spanish news agency EFE -two Europeans - a Czech and a Slovak - who participated in a conference on free and fair elections on the island were arrested in Santa Clara on Sunday morning and shortly after put on a plane to Paris. The Czech Embassy in Havana said it had learnt about the incident from dissident sources but had received no official information.

  • 10/23/2007

    Clients of the travel agency Sunny Days who failed to return home from a holiday in Egypt on Sunday because of a plane defect were brought home on a charter flight early on Tuesday. Close to 180 holiday makers were stuck at Hurghada Airport for close to 48 hours after the Egyptian air company Coral Blue cancelled their flight, citing an engine defect. Many of them have said they are prepared to file complaints because they received little or no help from either the airline of the Sunny Days travel agency.

  • 10/23/2007

    Dagmar Havlova, wife of the former Czech president Vaclav Havel, is to play the lead role in a film directed by Zdenek Zelenka. Mrs. Havlova who was a prominent film and stage actress before she married the former president has already made a successful theatre come-back appearing in a comedy called Park Your Car in Harvard Yard. Her new role in film is based on the real life story of a mother who lost her son in a tragic accident.

  • 10/22/2007

    The head of the Social Democratic Party's deputies' club Michal Hasek has put forward a complaint to the Constitutional Court regarding the government's public finance reforms. The reforms, passed in parliament and signed by the president, are to take effect on January 1st, 2008. The opposition Social Democrats have been critical of the government's reform package for months, not least of changes in the health care and social sectors; the party is of the view that the manner in which the proposal was debated in the lower house, including an amendment motion put forward by the prime minister, was itself "unconstitutional". The fifteen-member court has the authority to strike down legislation passed in contradiction to the constitution.

    Author: Jan Velinger
  • 10/22/2007

    Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has reacted to the preliminary results of early elections in Poland by saying he expects the new Polish government will push through needed reforms and will cooperate more with the EU. Mr Schwarzenberg also said he expects the new administration to be less confrontational regarding relations with Germany. According to preliminary results in Poland's election, the opposition Civic Platform (headed by Donald Tusk) won Poland's election far in front of the Law and Justice party of the Kaczynski brothers. Mr Schwarzenberg congratulated the victors, saying the result in Poland showed a shift back towards the centre on the part of voters.

    Author: Jan Velinger
  • 10/22/2007

    The government has approved a plan to reduce the number of Czech troops in Iraq from about 100 to 20 next year, Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova has announced. The reduction in forces should take effect from July 2008. The decision by the centre-right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek must still be approved by both chambers of parliament. Most of the current Czech contingent is deployed around Basra in southern Iraq, where one of its main tasks is to guard the international base not far from the city. The proposal to cut the number of Czech troops was raised earlier this month by Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.

    Author: Jan Velinger
  • 10/22/2007

    The US Embassy in Prague has reported that US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has arrived in the Czech capital ahead of meetings with the president, prime minister and others. His plane touched down in the capital on Monday evening. On Tuesday Mr Gates will meet with Czech representatives to discuss the possibility of a US radar base on Czech soil - part of a broader US defense shield in Europe - as well as future Czech military involvement in international missions.

    Author: Jan Velinger
  • 10/22/2007

    The recent failure by the Czech Republic to secure a non-permanent UN Security Council post could impact humanitarian and development aid by the Czech Republic in the future. Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told journalists on Monday that the government might have to reassess some projects, based on the recent results. Prague withdrew its candidacy for the council post after the country lost ground in two rounds of voting. The post was eventually won by Croatia. The opposition has blamed the Czech government for the failure. Meanwhile, last year alone the Czech Republic spent 3.6 billion crowns in foreign development aid, to countries like Angola, Montenegro, Vietnam, Zambia and many others. Afghanistan and Iraq are also top priorities. Mr Topolanek said Croatia had been underestimated and he pointed to "insufficient" intelligence work on the part of Czech diplomatic offices.

    Author: Jan Velinger
  • 10/22/2007

    The Czech government has approved a plan to introduce green cards for non-EU foreigners in selected professions. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Necas revealed the news on Monday. Mr Necas said that the cards, which will provide a stay permit along with labour permit, should be introduced as quickly as possible. The government would like the cards to attract foreigners to areas short of labour. The local market lacks skilled manual workers as well as experts with university educations, Mr Necas stressed. According to the minister around 220,000 foreign workers legally work in the Czech Republic now. But a large number of them come from EU countries. the Czech Republic would like to attract more workers from outside the EU and the government expects the green cards will simplify the current work permit system.

    Author: Jan Velinger
  • 10/22/2007

    Vaclav Klaus has come out in defence of city hall representatives from the Civic Democratic Party, criticised in recent days for opposition to an avant garde proposal for the new National Library. The design, by Czech-born British architect Jan Kaplicky, was the winning entry in an international competition earlier this year. Mr Kaplicky himself has stated the proposal - nicknamed "The Blob" - has been politicised. He has also complained that developments concerning the proposal were reminiscent of practices under the communist regime. Mr Klaus has countered in Monday's edition of Mlada Fronta Dnes by suggesting that Mr Kaplicky had "degraded" others' opinions, making clear in his view that assembly representatives on the issue of the library building have been criticised unfairly.

    Author: Jan Velinger

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