• Communist MP wants resolution against Kosovo independence
    01/07/2008

    Opposition MP Kateřina Konečná, of the Communist Party, wants the Czech Parliament’s lower house to pass a resolution rejecting the independence of the Serbian province of Kosovo. Ms Konečná said on Monday that even some coalition MPs are strongly opposed to the Serbian province declaring independence. Meanwhile, the deputy chief of the Chamber of Deputies’ Foreign Committee Tomáš Dub, of the coalition Civic Democrats, said that it would be impossible for the Czech Republic not to side with the European Union and the United States if they recognize an independent Kosovo.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Aristocrat looses Supreme Court battle over chateau inventory
    01/07/2008

    Jerome Colloredo-Mansfeld, member of an old Bohemian aristocratic family, has lost his plea at the Supreme Court for the return of almost 3000 objects in the inventory of his chateau in Dobříš, some 40 km south-west of Prague. Mr Colloredo-Mansfeld received the chateau in a property restitution in 1998, after a six-year legal feud with the Czech State, but was not given back any items in the inventory. He then filed another lawsuit against the state but the Supreme Court has confirmed the ruling of lower courts in the dispute.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Prague Mayor to meet PM Topolánek over Olympics
    01/07/2008

    The Mayor of Prague Pavel Bém wants to meet PM Mirek Topolánek to ask for governmental guarantees for holding the 2016 Olympic Games in the Czech capital. The guarantee of the Czech government should be a part of the city’s application to the International Olympic Committee. The position of the cabinet on holding the Olympic Games in Prague in 2016 is ambivalent. The two smaller coalition parties, the Christian Democrats and the Greens, have been critical of the idea stressing the financial risks associated with the project.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Budvar brewed most beer since 2000
    01/07/2008

    In the course of 2007 the Budweiser Budvar brewery in České Budějovice, South Bohemia, produced the largest volume of beer in seven years. The South Bohemian brewer produced 1.253 hectolitres, which is 8.7 percent more than in the previous year. While most of Budvar’s beer was consumed in the Czech Republic, its exports also increased last year, especially to Germany, Russia, Slovakia and Austria.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Fotballer Marek Matějovský signs with Reading
    01/07/2008

    Midfielder Marek Matějovský, who has been with the Czech club of Mlada Boleslav for most of his career, has signed a 3.5 year contract with Reading in the English Premier League. Matějovský has played over a hundred games in the top Czech division and has appeared on the national team in seven matches, scoring his only goal against Germany in October.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • EU treaty could be ratified by the end of 2008
    01/06/2008

    Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexander Vondra has rejected claims that the ruling Civic Democratic Party would try to delay the ratification of the European treaty for as long as possible in the hope that some other state would be the first to reject it. Speaking in a televised debate on Sunday, Mr. Vondra said his party had no such intentions and predicted that the new EU treaty could be ratified by Parliament within a matter of months – most likely by the end of the year. A number of senators and deputies for the Civic Democratic Party have criticized the treaty and said they would file a complaint with the Constitutional Court on the grounds that it was in violation of the Czech Constitution.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Civic Democrats want secret ballot in presidential election
    01/06/2008

    The ruling Civic Democratic Party says it will push for a secret ballot in the February presidential election. This is in line with Czech legislation, but opposition deputy David Rath has said he would table a proposal for a vote by acclamation, saying it would be more honest and transparent. Civic Democratic deputy Petr Tluchoř said on Sunday that there was no reason to change the tradition of a secret ballot. This was justified in one case only – in the turbulent days of 1989 when a parliament of Communist deputies elected Václav Havel president according to the will of the people, Tluchoř said.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Snow and icy roads causing traffic problems
    01/06/2008

    Heavy snow and icy roads have caused serious traffic problems across the country. Five to ten centimeters of fresh snow fell overnight, covering icy roads in places. Although road maintenance crews have been working around the clock some roads are still impassable and the police have advised extreme caution. Hundreds of accidents have been reported in the past 24 hours, a number of them fatal.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Police on the lookout for Chechen refugees
    01/06/2008

    The foreign police has launched a special operation to try to prevent a large group of refugees from crossing the country illegally. Late this week the police was alerted to the fact that some 3,000 Chechens were trying to cross Poland and the Czech Republic illegally on their way to a better life in Western Europe. Officers have been out in force doing routine checks on trains, busses and cars. It is the first large-scale operation of this kind since the Czech Republic joined the Schengen border-free zone on December 21.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Crisis at Karlovy Vary hospital
    01/06/2008

    The Karlovy Vary Hospital is facing a crisis following a mass resignation of its medical staff. Fourteen of its seventeen chief physicians and heads of department resigned on Friday followed by most of the hospital’s nursing staff. The employees are protesting against the hospital’s management and have demanded a financial audit for 2007. Crisis meetings are now taking place to try to resolve the situation.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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