• Train accident leaves one dead, five others injured
    05/19/2008

    An accident in which a freight train ploughed into a stationary passenger train early on Monday morning has left one person dead and five others injured. The cause of the accident is still being investigated, but preliminary findings suggest technical failure is to blame. The accident occurred in Pardubice region in east Bohemia.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Klaus appoints new professors
    05/19/2008

    Czech President Václav Klaus has appointed 94 new university professors, including 19 women, who were nominated by academic and artistic councils of various universities. Most of the newly appointed professors are from Charles University.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Foreign ministry wants 520 million crowns for Expo 2010 in China
    05/19/2008

    The Foreign Ministry will ask the cabinet on Wednesday to earmark 520 million crowns (around 32 million US dollars) for the Czech pavilion at Expo 2010, which is to be held in China. The total cost of the Czech participation at Expo 2005 in Japan amounted to CZK 300 million.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech retails sales down 2.1 percent
    05/19/2008

    Czech retail sales in March decreased by 2.1 percent on the year after more than four years of continuous growth, the Czech Statistical office announced on Monday. The figure was affected by a lower number of working days and colder weather. A year-on-year decline in sales was recorded both for foodstuffs and other goods.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • School-leaving exams start on Monday
    05/19/2008

    Czech secondary schools launched their school leaving exams on Monday for nearly 100 000 students this year. A new unified state exam was to be introduced this year but deputies agreed to postpone the date as preparations have been slow. Under current legislation, each secondary school drafts its own school-leaving test. This has come under much criticism as some tests are harder than others.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Ceremony for Holocaust victims held
    05/18/2008

    Around 1,000 visitors including Senate chairman Přemysl Sobotka, met at the National Cemetery at Terezín in northern Bohemia on Sunday for a commemoration service honouring those who died in the Holocaust. In the years 1941 to 1945 the Nazis forced 155,000 Jews from all over Europe into the Terezín ghetto. Of that number, 117,000 did not live to see the end of the war - the majority sent to Nazi extermination camps such as Auschwitz. Sunday’s ceremony came roughly a month after the cemetery was hit by theft: more than 800 bronze plaques were stolen in April, apparently for scrap metal. Damages have been estimated at 2.5 million crowns. Police apprehended a 29-year-old suspect in the case and are looking into whether there were other accomplices. The act of theft has led to a wave of solidarity from donors, including schools, hoping to raise money for the site.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Vojtěch Filip re-elected head of Communist Party
    05/18/2008

    Vojtěch Filip will retain the post of leader of the Communist Party for the next four years: he was re-elected by a majority of delegates at the party’s congress on Saturday. Mr Filip received 176 out of 275 votes. He was rivalled by three challengers: Stanislav Grospič who received 70 votes, MEP Miloslav Ransdorf who tallied 22, and Soňa Marková who received five.Following the results, Mr Ransdorf withdrew his candidacy for the post of deputy chairman. Earlier in the day he had criticised the leadership of the party, comparing it to the former East German automobile, the Trabant, saying “it served but didn’t impress.” Vojtěch Filip, meanwhile, is considered an experienced and pragmatic politician. He was first elected chairman of his party in October 2005, replacing Miroslav Grebeníček.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Deputy leadership complete
    05/18/2008

    In related news, Communist Party delegates have also elected their deputy leaders: elected were Jiří Dolejš, Čeněk Milota, Jana Bystřická, Jiří Maštálka, Leo Luzar a Věra Žežulková.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Filip admits Communists, Social Democrats won’t cooperate on government level
    05/18/2008

    In related news, Vojtěch Filip admitted in a debate programme on Sunday that it was apparent the Communists would not be cooperating with the Social Democrats on the government level in the near future. In the past the Social Democrats pledged not to bring the Communists into any government, a pledge which remains in effect. In a text message, Social Democrat deputy leader Milan Urban confirmed cooperation was out of the question. Ties between the Communists and the Social Democrats cooled in the wake of this year’s presidential election. Most recently, Social Democrat leader Jiří Paroubek turned down an invitation to speak at the Communists’ congress on the grounds he disagreed with the party’s positive stance towards the February 1948 putsch in Czechoslovakia.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Tightrope artist dies from injuries suffered in eight-metre fall
    05/18/2008

    A 41-year-old tightrope artist from the famous Berousek family circus, died on Saturday from injuries suffered in an eight-metre fall. Manuel Berousek lost his balance during a performance in Nový Jičín, suffering heavy injuries and losing consciousness. He died later in hospital. A seven-year-old girl was struck in the accident and also had to be rushed to hospital. She remains in intensive care.
    Author: Jan Velinger

Pages