• 06/02/2008

    The opposition Social Democrats would like an early general election to be held in the spring of 2009, the party’s vice-chairman Bohuslav Sobotka told journalists on Monday, noting that the early election could be held simultaneously with elections to the European Parliament. Mr Sobotka said the current coalition government was on the verge of disintegration. The centre-right government of Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and the Greens has recently been dealing with a number of controversial issues including fiscal reform and the plan to site a U.S. radar base on Czech territory. Its regular mandate will expire in the middle of 2010.

    Author: Jan Richter
  • 06/02/2008

    Five Czech doctors’ associations with about 17,000 members have called on the five parliamentary political parties not to abolish medical fees, introduced early this year as part of the government’s fiscal reforms. The doctors say the fees have been successful in limiting the numbers of patients seeking medical help, which allows the medics more time for treating each patient. They also claim that hardly any patients complain about the amount they have to pay per visit, which is 30 crowns, or less than two U.S. dollars.

    The fees have been criticized by the opposition Social Democrats and Communists as well as by some MPs of the coalition Christian Democrats and Greens. Last week, however, the Constitutional Court ruled that the fees do not contradict the Czech Constitution.

    Author: Jan Richter
  • 06/02/2008

    The Association of Czech Muslim Communities denounced on Monday caricatures of Prophet Mohammad which recently appeared in Prague and Brno. Leaders of the Czech Muslim community Vladimír Sáňka and Muníb Hasan said the authors of the caricatures abused freedom of speech and wanted to incite civic intolerance; Mr Sáňka and Mr Hasan also called on Czech Muslims to keep “behaving in the Islamic way” and protecting public order in the Czech Republic.

    Author: Jan Richter
  • 06/02/2008

    The Czech government decided on Monday that Prague’s Ruzyně airport will be sold directly to a strategic partner. The Finance Ministry expects the state to cash in more than 100 billion crowns, or 6.2 billion U.S. dollars, for the air hub. So far, the Vienna airport operator, two German firms and French, Australian and Spanish companies have expressed interest in investing into one of Central Europe’s largest airports.

    Author: Jan Richter
  • 06/02/2008

    Europe has a particular responsibility for the two totalitarian regimes that originated on the Old Continent, Nazism and communism, as well as for their consequences, former Czech president Václav Havel said Monday at a conference on communism held at the Czech Senate. Mr Havel also said that the European Union should provide greater support to those who strive for freedom in countries such as Cuba, Burma and Belarus.

    Author: Jan Richter
  • 06/02/2008

    The 17th year of the Mezi Ploty, or “Within the Fences” arts festival, held inside Prague’s Bohnice mental hospital over the weekend, attracted over 30,000 visitors. The festival featured around 160 bands and theatre ensembles on nine stages and it is aimed at bringing together people from inside and outside the mental institution. The proceeds from the festival, estimated at one million crowns, or nearly 62,000 dollars, will be donated to the hospital.

    Author: Jan Richter
  • 06/02/2008

    The average monthly salary in the Czech Republic has risen to 22.531 crowns, or almost 1.400 U.S. dollars, in the first three months of 2008, the Czech Statistical Office reported on Monday. While the average gross monthly salary has increased by more than 10 percent, the real wage, which that includes inflation, has risen by 2.8 percent.

    Author: Jan Richter
  • 06/02/2008

    A police officer in Cheb, western Bohemia, has been accused of illegal cultivation and sale of marihuana. The policeman allegedly grew plants of marihuana in his home for his own use as well as for other people. He even sent dried cannabis to his girlfriend in Ireland. The police said that the accused officer possessed 126 grams of the illicit drug.

    Author: Jan Richter
  • 06/01/2008

    Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has distanced himself from a book by American writer Paul Polansky which alleges that Mr. Schwarzenberg’s aristocratic parents used prisoners from the Lety concentration camp as a cheap labor source on their estate. In his book The Storm, Mr. Polansky claims that in the early years of the war, when the German-controlled Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was still under Czech administration, though based on German directives, the Schwarzenberg family contacted the Interior Ministry and requested that one of the labour camps being built should be located near their estate, so that they might have cheap laborers to work in their blizzard-decimated forests. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalová said that Mr. Schwarzenberg had read Paul Polansky’s book and found it contained basic errors and false information. The statements about Lety are a case in point, she said.

  • 06/01/2008

    Caricatures of the prophet Mohammed have appeared in Prague, together with slogans stressing the importance of freedom of speech. According to the news website Novinky, the billboards were seen in a number of Prague locations. They are said to be copies of the original Danish caricature with slogans such as “Freedom of speech comes at a price” and a link to a web page which is still under construction. Its authors allegedly want to condemn Islamic fundamentalism and stress the importance of upholding freedom of speech. Similar billboards appeared overnight in Brno, Moravia at the end of March. Muslims in the Czech Republic have condemned these actions but say they will not respond to provocation.

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