• Golden Prague festival underway in Prague
    06/15/2008

    The 45th international television festival, Golden Prague, opened in at Prague's Žofín island with a concert on Saturday night. The festival will run until June 18 and focuses on music and dance on the television screen. Golden Prague is one of the oldest television festivals in the world. Some 100 contributions from 22 countries are participating this year.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czechs face Turkey in winner-takes-all match at Euro 2008
    06/15/2008

    The Czech national football team will face Turkey in their final group A match at Euro 2008 in Geneva on Sunday. The Czech Republic will have to beat Turkey to advance to the quarter-finals. In case of a draw, the match will be decided by penalties, as both teams currently have the same amount of points and the exact same goal record.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech President welcomes Ireland’s rejection of the Lisbon treaty
    06/14/2008

    Czech President Václav Klaus has welcomed Ireland’s rejection of the Lisbon treaty in a referendum held on Thursday, calling it “the victory of freedom and reason over artificial elitist projects and European bureaucracy.” Mr Klaus noted that Ireland was the only EU country to allow its citizens to express their opinion and said the result should be a clear message to everybody. “The Lisbon treaty project ended today with the decision of the Irish voters and its ratification cannot be continued,” he said in a statement. The Czech head of state has repeatedly expressed his reservations about the text of the Lisbon treaty and his doubts about further development of the EU.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • PM: Irish rejection will not threaten standard functioning of EU
    06/14/2008

    Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek said on Friday that Ireland’s rejection of the Lisbon treaty was a complication for the European Union. He added, however, that it would not threaten the standard functioning of the union. Mr Topolánek stressed that the final results and further steps would need to be discussed at the European Council meeting in Brussels next week. He also made it clear that the Czech Republic would continue preparing for its EU presidency as planned for January 1 next year.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Memorial ceremony marks 66 years since Nazi massacre in Lidice
    06/14/2008

    Hundreds of people, including high-ranking politicians and cultural figures, attended a memorial ceremony on Saturday morning on the site of Lidice, the Czech village razed to the ground by the Nazis. The chairman of the Senate Přemysl Sobotka in his speech warned against the underestimation of present-day conflicts that don’t seem to concern the Czech Republic. On June 10th 1942, 173 men were shot and the women and children were transported to concentration camps as a reprisal for the assassination of Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich. Of the children only seventeen survived.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech and Slovak Museum in Iowa hit by floods
    06/14/2008

    The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been hit by devastating floods after the River Cedar broke its bank. The historical part of the town, known as the Czech Village, is under water well. The building, located by the river, was officially opened in 1995 by three heads of state, America’s Bill Clinton, Slovakia’s Michal Kováč and Czech president Václav Havel. It is dedicated to Czech and Slovak history and immigration.

    The American Midwest region was hit by a series of tornadoes this week, causing the worst flooding since 1993. Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s second largest city, is one of the worst flooded areas. About 8,000 people had to be evacuated so far. Weather forecasters predict new rains in the next few days.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Over 5,000 people attend march to raise awareness of breast cancer
    06/14/2008

    Around 5,000 people marched through the centre of Prague on Saturday to raise awareness of breast cancer. The march, which was attended mostly by young women, culminated in an outdoor cultural event at Žluté Lázně. Some 6,000 women contract breast cancer in the Czech Republic each year, and around a third die of the disease. Organisers said the aim of today's march was to remind women that women over the age of 45 can be tested for breast cancer free of charge and to raise money for health and education projects.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Nationalists protest in Děčín
    06/14/2008

    A group of nationalists gathered in the north Bohemian town of Děčín on Saturday afternoon. The demonstration was officially announced as a protest against legalization of drugs. More than one hundred nationalists marched from the railway station to the city centre, carrying black flags and banners. The march was accompanied by several dozen police officers to prevent any clashes with anarchists. The event had been approved by the town authorities.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Cardinal Vlk to resume office on Monday
    06/14/2008

    Czech Cardinal Miloslav Vlk will resume his office on Monday after spending two weeks in a spa town in southern Bohemia. Cardinal Vlk, who is 76, collapsed last month after suffering heavy exhaustion and he had to be hospitalised. The head of the Czech Catholic Church was diagnosed with a heart problem last year and underwent surgery to have a pacemaker fitted. He has recently released a statement on his website, saying he though it highly likely that he would be standing down from his function at the end of the year.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Site of planned US radar base fenced off
    06/14/2008

    The Czech military has fenced off the site of the planned US radar base in the Brdy military zone, which was occupied until recently by Greenpeace activists in protest against the base. From now on the area will be permanently guarded by the military police. The spot height 718, which was chosen as a site for the radar, has been surrounded with a three km long wire fence.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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