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10/05/2007
The Environment Ministry has released a report on the state of the Czech environment for 2006 which says that the Czech Republic is lagging behind other European countries in a number of environmental areas. The Minister for the Environment Martin Bursik called the results of the report "alarming" on Friday. According to the information, sixty-two percent of Czechs breathe air containing excess levels of soft dust particles and air pollution is increasing. Mr Bursik has pointed to a dramatic increase in the number of children suffering from allergies. The situation could improve through EU funds, as the government intends to replace incinerators that are not environment-friendly. Also, in the future, drivers' vehicles will have to undergo stricter technical controls, and a road tax amendment will give preferential treatment to cars using cleaner types of fuel. The report reveals the most serious levels of air pollution are found in parts of North Moravia, where large industrial companies are concentrated, as well as in the Czech capital.
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10/05/2007
Prague Town Hall has decided to ban a planned neo-Nazi march through Prague's Jewish quarter; it was originally announced to take place on the 10th of November. That date marks the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom against Jews that took place in Germany in 1938. Town Hall officials have said such a march would promote hatred and intolerance towards citizens on the basis of religion or ethnicity. The march was previously given permission as it was officially put forward as a protest against the Czech mission in Iraq. Organizers of the march said earlier this week they planned to postpone the event until November 17th; but the site on that date has already been booked by the Jewish Liberal Union.
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10/05/2007
Two little girls, who were accidentally switched shortly after birth nine months ago at a Trebic hospital, will be returned to their proper biological parents. The babies' parents met at an undisclosed location on Thursday, agreeing that such a solution - although difficult - would be best for both families. Before the plan goes into effect the couples and children will reportedly spend time together, including going on holiday, to help the little girls grow accustomed to their real parents. The couples have agreed on exchanging the children shortly before the girls' birthdays in early December.
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10/05/2007
A Prague district court has ruled that former police officer Tomas Cermak did not commit a crime during an incident last year involving himself and Katerina Jacques, then head of the Government Office human rights section, now MP for the Green Party. On Friday the court ruled to halt Mr Cermak's prosecution. The state attorney has filed a complaint against the verdict with a higher-instance court. A May Day neo-Nazi demonstration in Prague in 2006 saw conflict ensue between police monitoring the event and several Green Party members including Mrs Jacques, there to protest the rally. Images of Mr Cermak subduing Jacques were caught on tape. The officer was dismissed from the police force and charged with abuse of power of a public official, bodily harm and restriction of personal freedom.
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10/05/2007
The Czech Helsinki Committee has criticised a planned amendment to the law on foreigners and asylum being proposed by the government. The organisation has made clear that - in its view - the implementation of the bill will serve to strengthen xenophobia among parts of the populace. According to the organisation, the amendment will "criminalise" migrants as a group. The committee has also criticised a tougher approach to asylum seekers or stricter conditions for foreigners marrying Czech nationals. The Interior Ministry has so far defended the draft by indicating that tougher legislation was needed for the Czech Republic to meet all requirements for the Schengen zone.
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10/05/2007
Two Czech football sides, Sparta Prague and Mlada Boleslav, squeaked past their opponents on Thursday to make it through to the second stage of the UEFA Cup. Both teams won on penalties. Sparta defeated Danish side Odense 4:3 on spot kicks, with the winning goal coming from Michal Kadlec. Mlada Boleslav, meanwhile, downed Palermo 4:2 on penalties in an equally dramatic match in Italy.
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10/05/2007
The Czech women's basketball team will not have a chance to repeat last year's European Championship triumph after losing in a shock upset to Belarus on Thursday. The women's team was beaten by a score of 52:46, despite getting off to a strong start and leading 10:2 in the opening minutes. But Belarus fought back to take the match. The Czechs will now play to secure and 8th to 5th spot in the overall standings. The team needs to win its next two matches in order to earn a qualification spot for next year's Olympic Games.
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10/04/2007
Czech president Vaclav Klaus has accepted the resignation of Education Minister Dana Kuchtova of the Green Party. The minister has stepped down after being accused of failing to draw sufficient money from European Union funds. Ms Kuchtova said at a press conference on Thursday that the ministry became more open under her management and cited the postponement of state unified school-leaving exams and the secondary school system reform as her biggest successes. The Green Party is entitled to the post of education minister under the coalition agreement but has not yet selected a candidate.
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10/04/2007
Some members of the Green Party don't want Karel Schwarzenberg to continue as foreign minister, as "he has not taken a single green step in his post", according to the Internet server aktualne.cz. They have also criticised Mr Schwarzenberg's support of the planned U.S. missile defence radar on Czech territory.
Earlier this week, the heads of five regional branches of the Greens called for talks on whether the party should remain in the coalition government. They criticised the party's leadership for not supporting the Education Minister Dana Kuchtova. They want the conditions under which the Green Party would remain in government to be on the agenda at a forthcoming national conference. The Greens are the smallest party in the coalition, which also features the Civic Democrats and Christian Democrats.
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10/04/2007
The Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek has warned the country would be unable to adopt single European currency in 2010 without undertaking far-reaching reforms of the health insurance and pension systems. Mr Kalousek said on Thursday that the country's public deficit is expected to drop this year to 3.6 percent of GDP and it should reach below 3 percent in 2008. The country won't be able to maintain its public deficit under this level without the reforms, which is one of the criteria for euro adoption, the finance minister added.
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