• Man to serve shorter sentence in Czech Republic for killing in Sweden
    04/12/2007

    A Czech man who received a life sentence in Sweden for the murder of a Czech student is to serve a 15-year term in the Czech Republic, Czech Television reported, citing the Czech Justice Ministry. Patrik Dvorak was found guilty of killing the woman at a student dormitory in the city of Uppsala in 2003. The Swedish authorities requested that he be transferred to a Czech jail and agreed to the reduced sentence, said Czech TV.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Crowns for beauty queens stolen
    04/12/2007

    The organisers of this year's Miss Czech Republic beauty contest have announced that the crowns specially made for the winners of the pageant have been stolen by an unknown perpetrator. The hand-made gilded crowns worth two hundred and fifty thousand crowns (twelve thousand USD) disappeared from the manufacturer's car on Wednesday. Crowns borrowed from last year's winners will be used at Saturday's final to honour this year's beauty queens.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Longest tunnel becomes longer, more expensive
    04/12/2007

    The longest railway tunnel in the Czech Republic will be longer than originally planned, Hospodarske noviny reported. The tunnel between Prague and the town of Beroun was to be 20 kilometres in length, but will now stretch to 25 kilometres, the paper said. Costs, too, have been revised upwards, from 20 billion crowns to 30 billion. The tunnel is set to open in 2016 and will halve the time it takes to get from the capital to Beroun.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Protected status for Czech beer could help save small breweries
    04/12/2007

    Czech brewers are considering registering Czech beer as a protected European trademark in order to get around strict EU regulations, Lidove noviny reported. The EU recommends that brewers use energy-saving, environmentally friendly technology, technology that small breweries in the Czech Republic would have trouble affording. If the EU recommendations become legally binding, such breweries would be threatened, Jan Vesely of the Czech Brewers Union told the daily.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech internationals could face each other in Champions League final
    04/12/2007

    Two Czech internationals could meet in the final of the Champions League, football's most prestigious club competition. Petr Cech's Chelsea play Liverpool in one semi-final, while Marek Jankulovski's AC Milan take on Manchester United in the other. The first legs of those ties take place in two weeks' time. Only two Czechs have ever won the Champions League - Milan Baros and Vladimir Smicer, who took the trophy with Liverpool two years ago.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Roma activists demonstrate against Deputy PM Cunek
    04/11/2007

    Roma activists and representatives of NGOs have held a demonstration against Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek. Over a hundred protesters gathered outside the Office of the Government on Wednesday to call for his departure from cabinet. The controversial politician came out and attempted to hold a discussion with some demonstrators, but was met with whistles.

    Mr Cunek came in for criticism from across the political spectrum after seeming to disparage Romanies in a newspaper interview. He is also under investigation for alleged bribe-taking. However, the Christian Democrats leader has proclaimed his innocence in both instances and has resisted calls for him to step down.

    But Jiri Cunek's affairs have had one "casualty": MP Pavel Severa is stepping down as deputy chairman of the Christian Democrats deputies' club, after his calls for the party leader's departure went unheeded.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Government reforms could hit budget, says defence minister
    04/11/2007

    If a government tax and social welfare reform bill is approved the Czech Army could see a reduction in its budget, said Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova. Budget cuts could result in military spending dropping below this year's level of 1.55 percent of GDP, she said. Minister Parkanova added that plans to purchase new technology may have to be revised, but said the country's participation in missions overseas was not under threat. NATO recommends that member states devote 2 percent of GDP to defence spending.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Government approves euro adoption but does not set date
    04/11/2007

    The government on Wednesday approved a "national plan" to adopt the euro, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told reporters. However, the document does not set a concrete date for the introduction of the common European currency. The prime minister said it made no sense to discuss a date until a package of reforms outlined last week is approved by parliament. Previously the Czech Finance Ministry has given 2012 as a realistic date for euro adoption.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • UK Deputy PM John Prescott discusses climate change in Prague
    04/11/2007

    States can invest in more environmentally friendly technology AND still experience economic growth, Britain's deputy prime minister John Prescott said on a visit to Prague. He spoke on the subject of climate change at a discussion in the Czech capital on Tuesday, before holding talks with the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra. As well as global warming, Mr Prescott also discussed the Czech Republic's presidency of the European Union in 2007 with the two men.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Number of dentists could fall by third in 15 years, warns chamber head
    04/11/2007

    The number of dentists in the Czech Republic could fall by a third within 15 years, the president of Czech Stomatological Chamber warned on Wednesday. Jiri Pekarek said it could happen that many patients would be unable to find a dentist, as few new people enter the profession in this country. He also said that medical faculties were not receiving sufficient funding to train new dentists.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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