• Zeman supports his former rival
    09/18/2007

    Former Social Democrat leader Milos Zeman has expressed support for his one-time rival Vaclav Klaus in the 2008 presidential elections. Milos Zeman himself was Vaclav Klaus' main rival in the 2003 presidential elections but lost due to a lack of support from his own party deputies. Now he has urged politicians, particularly those of the Social Democratic Party, to support Mr. Klaus' re-election. Zeman said Vaclav Klaus had proved to be a good president and was certainly the best among those being considered. Although Mr. Klaus is the strongest candidate in this race, his re-election is far from certain. The ruling Civic Democratic Party has promised to support him but the other parties in Parliament are still trying to agree on a rival candidate.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Tripartite talks fail
    09/18/2007

    Representatives of the government, trade unions and employers have failed to reach agreement on the draft budget for 2008. The tripartite meeting broke up after both the unions and employers raised serious objections. Trade unions say that the government reform will adversely affect people with a lower income, families with children and pensioners. Employers object mainly to the change in subsidies to firms employing people with a health handicap. The government plans to approve the draft budget on Wednesday. In line with EU recommendations it has been projected with a deficit below 3 percent of the GDP.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech-Austrian commission on Temelin hits dead end
    09/18/2007

    The Czech-Austrian parliamentary commission set up to address nuclear safety concerns in connection with the Temelin nuclear power plant in south Bohemia has run into serious problems. Milan Urban, one of the Czech representatives on the commission, refused to attend its second session after Austrian members of the commission refused to visit the Temelin nuclear power plant. Mr. Urban said the session would be an exercise in futility since the Austrian representatives only used the meetings to criticize the Czech side from afar. Two Austrian representatives walked out of the joint session on Monday after the commission's chairman excluded an anti nuclear activist from the debate on the grounds that it was a forum for experts not protesters. The two countries have been locked in a dispute over the Temelin power plant ever since it went into operation in the year 2,000.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Plaintiff on Horakova case to be tried next month
    09/18/2007

    Former communist prosecutor Ludmila Brozova Polednova who took part in the show trial of Milada Horakova, who was sentenced to death by the communist regime in 1950, will herself face trial next month, the Prague City Court said on Tuesday. Brozova Polednova, now aged 80, was one of the plaintiffs on the Horakova case. According to the police the trial was at variance even with communist laws of the time. Brozova Polednova is charged with aiding and abetting murder and if found guilty could get a sentence of up to 15 years. Horakova was the only woman that the communist regime executed for political reasons. No one has as yet been brought to justice for the crime. Most of the protagonists are already dead.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Prague mayor tops popularity ladder
    09/18/2007

    Prague's mayor Pavel Bem is the most popular politician in the Czech Republic, according to a poll conducted by the STEM polling agency. Sixty percent of respondents said he was the most trustworthy politician on the scene. Bohuslav Sobotka, deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party came second with a 51 percent rating, followed by Martin Bursik, head of the Green Party with 49 percent.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • CSA to sell cheap flights to 36 destinations
    09/18/2007

    The national air carrier Czech Airlines (CSA) will sell cheap flights to 36 European destinations for 1,990 Czech crowns and a return ticket will be available for less than 4,000 crowns with all charges included, the iDnes.cz news website wrote on Tuesday. The website published the news after CSA enabled online access to the sales system by mistake. A CSA spokeswoman confirmed that the national carrier aims to compete with low-cost airlines and said more information would be made available shortly.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Sparta captain fined for losing his temper
    09/18/2007

    The captain of the Sparta football team, Tomas Repka, has been fined 150,000 crowns (or 7,500 USD) for losing his temper during the final minutes of a match against Teplice this weekend, where Sparta suffered its first loss this season. Repka who was red-carded left the field in a temper insulting the organisers and lashing out at a Czech TV cameraman. Midfielders Matusovic and Abraham, who were also involved in the incident, were fined as well. The team has already apologized to Czech Television.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech deputy Senate chairman not to run for president
    09/17/2007

    Czech Senate deputy chairman Petr Pithart of the Christian Democrats, who was considered to be nominated as a possible presidential candidate by his party, has decided not to run for the post. Mr Pithart told the Czech Press Agency today he didn't want to join an election race that was "lost beforehand". The smaller parties in government as well as the opposition Social Democrats have been discussing the possibility of fielding a joint-candidate to run against current president, Vaclav Klaus.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Poll: Social Democrats overtake rival Civic Democrats in popularity
    09/17/2007

    A poll conducted by the STEM agency in September has shown that the opposition Social Democrats have overtaken their rival - the ruling Civic Democratic party - in popularity. 28.7% of those questioned said they would vote for the party in comparison to 27% of respondents, who were in favour of the Civic Democrats. The Social Democrats have gone in front of the Civic Democrats for the first time since December 2002.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Iraqi Foreign Minister on a three-day visit to Prague
    09/17/2007

    Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari arrived in Prague on Monday for a three-day visit to the Czech Republic. He is scheduled to sign an agreement of cooperation with his Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg. Mr Zebari said Iraq would welcome if the Czech Republic could continue in training the Iraqi police and wanted to discuss the issue during his visit to Prague.

    Some hundred members of the Czech military police trained several thousands of Iraqi border police and customs officials in Iraq from December 2003 until January 2007. Mr Zebari said it was vital for Iraqis to be able to provide for their security in their own right and added that a premature withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Iraq could have a devastating effect on the country.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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