• City names streets after discoverers of America
    06/23/2008

    City Hall in Olomouc, central Moravia, has agreed to name two new streets in its neighbourhood of Nový Svět, or New World, after the discoverers of America. The streets will be called Kolumbova, or Columbus’ Street, and Vikingská, or Viking Street. The Columbus Street will be only the second street in the country to bear the name of the Italian seafarer.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Head of Czech-Afghan Chamber of Commerce accused of extortion
    06/23/2008

    Prague police have accused the head of the Czech-Afghan Chamber of Commerce Fawad Nadri of extortion, a Czech TV station reported on Sunday. Mr Nadri was allegedly one of several people who organized extortion of a Czech entrepreneur; they were trying to force him to sing a bill for 850,000 crowns, or more than 50,000 U.S. dollars.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Czech tourist dies in Romania
    06/23/2008

    A 36-year-old Czech tourist died in the Romanian mountains of Faragas, the news website Novinky.cz reported on Monday. The woman set out on a hike in the mountains with her husband but slipped in the snow and pulled her husband with her to an abyss. While the woman died immediately, the 32-year old man was taken to a hospital; his condition is reported to be stable.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Vaidišová advances to second round at Wimbledon
    06/23/2008

    Czech number one Nicole Vaidišová, seeded 18th, beat fellow Czech Zuzana Ondášková 6:2, 6:2 in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships in tennis on Monday and advanced to the tournament’s second round.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • MP Wolf quitting Social Democrats completely
    06/22/2008

    MP Petr Wolf is quitting the opposition Social Democratic Party completely, the news website novinky.cz reported. The move comes a day after Mr Wolf became the fourth MP to leave the Social Democrats group in the Chamber of Deputies since the last elections in 2006. He recently received threats over his positive position on a planned US radar base, a project the Social Democrats are firmly against. They deny being responsible for the threats, saying Mr Wolf’s resignation was coordinated with the governing Civic Democrats, who back the radar base. For his part, the MP says the Civic Democrats played no role in his decision.

    This comes against a backdrop of tension between the government and the opposition in Parliament; the Social Democrats have recently been obstructing business in the Chamber of Deputies and have been refusing to pair with government MPs, putting pressure on them to attend all votes.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Memorial service held at spot where Ležáky stood before Nazi atrocity
    06/22/2008

    A memorial service was held on Sunday at the spot where the village of Ležáky stood in east Bohemia before it was razed to the ground by the Nazis on June 24, 1942. Hundreds of people turned out to pay tribute to 52 inhabitants of Ležáky murdered following the assassination of the German governor of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich. The same fate had befallen the central Bohemian village of Lidice two weeks earlier. There are plans to invest around 50 million crowns in the next five years in the valley where Ležáky stood; local officials are hoping to attract school groups and are preparing educational programmes.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Štefánik Observatory celebrates 80th anniversary
    06/22/2008

    The Štefánik Observatory on Prague’s Petřín Hill celebrated its 80th anniversary with an open day on Sunday. The Czech Astronomical Society had worked for 11 years to build the observatory before it officially opened on June 22, 1928. It was seriously damaged during the Prague Uprising of May 1945, though within a few months of the end of the war was again open to both scientists and the public.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Report: industrial zones built in last decade 70 percent occupied
    06/22/2008

    The industrial zones built in the Czech Republic over the last decade are 70 percent occupied, according to a report by the government agency CzechInvest. The state has invested nearly 8.9 billion crowns in industrial zones around the country since 1998. Over 500 companies have invested 192 billion crowns in premises in the industrial zones, creating nearly 120,000 jobs, the study says.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Šafránková and Menšík voted most popular Czech film actors
    06/22/2008

    Viewers of Czech Television have voted Libuše Šafránková the most popular Czech film actress and Vladimír Menšík most popular actor. In the poll Dana Medřická came second in the women’s category, followed by Nataša Gollová; Vlasta Burian was runner-up in the men’s poll, with Rudolf Hrušínský third. Libuše Šafránková features in some of the best loved Czech fairytales and won a Czech Lion award for her role in Kolja. Vladimír Menšík, who died in 1988, is regarded as one of the all time great Czech actors.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Hašek turns down post of Czech football manager
    06/22/2008

    Ivan Hašek has refused an offer to manage the Czech national football team. The widely respected coach, who is currently with a club in the United Arab Emirates, announced his decision after a meeting on Sunday with Vlastimil Košťál, the influential deputy chairman of the Czech football association. Mr Košťál was hoping to present a candidate for the post vacated recently by Karel Bruckner at a Czech FA meeting on Tuesday. There has been speculation that a foreign national team coach could be hired for the first time.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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