• Grebeníček threatens to sue over film portrayal of father
    07/23/2009

    MP Miroslav Grebeníček, the former chairman of the Communist Party, has threatened to sue the makers of an upcoming film if his late father, who is portrayed in the film, is shown in a negative light. The MP’s father, Alois Grebeníček, was an investigator for the former regime’s secret police, the StB, and the film centres on the organisation’s practices of interrogation, which included torture. Pavel Paleček, the producer of the film Klíček, however says that he is not afraid of a lawsuit and that he would welcome the opportunity to for the courts to deal with the Grebeníčeks’ past. Mr Grebeníček Sr. died in 2003 while standing trial on charges of torture.
    Author: Christian Falvey

  • Eurovision Song Contest not popular enough for Czech TV
    07/23/2009

    Czech Television has announced that the Czech Republic will be withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest. According to program director Kateřina Fričová, who made the announcement for the website iHNed.cz, the withdrawal is based on a lack of interest among viewers. This comes despite the Eurovision Song Contest being one of the most popular televised events in the world, with an estimated 100 to 600 million viewers around the world. The Czech Republic has participated in the television contest for the past three years, putting forward the performers Kabat, Tereza Kerndlová, and Gipsy.cz.
    Author: Christian Falvey

  • Swine flu vaccine produced in Central Bohemia
    07/23/2009

    The Czech daily Lidové noviny reports that the first vaccine against the A-H1N1 “swine flu” virus will be made in the Czech Republic by the US pharmaceutical company Baxter, which has a plant in the country. With demand for a vaccine soaring, the Baxter plant has reportedly switched to 24-hour-a-day, exclusive production. The Czech Republic also intends to buy enough of the vaccine for one-fourth of the population.
    Author: Christian Falvey

  • Swine flu tally 38 with six new cases
    07/23/2009

    Also on the subject of swine flu, six new cases were reported Thursday, bringing the national tally of infections to 38. The individuals infected, five of whom have recently returned from the United Kingdom, were reported to be in good conditions.
    Author: Christian Falvey

  • High temperatures break records
    07/23/2009

    Temperatures in the Czech Republic broke records around the country Thursday, with highs of up to 33 - 36° Celsius. In the South Moravian town of České Budějovice an 80-year record fell, while the Prague meteorological station at Clementinum 34.1° marked the hottest July 23rd since the station began keeping records in 1775. Meanwhile, Prague rescue services were called out to treat some 40 cases of heat-related problems in the morning hours alone, 70% more often than on standard days.
    Author: Christian Falvey

  • Police: ATM robber murdered by own former student
    07/23/2009

    Criminologists believe have cleared up a case involving the body of a 46-year-old former primary school teacher found recently near the city of Brno. South Moravian police say they the man was a member of a gang engaged in robbing ATM machines, and that he was murdered by a former student who was also involved in the crimes and who is now under arrest.
    Author: Christian Falvey

  • Animals stolen in separate incidents
    07/23/2009

    Police in the South Bohemian town of Třeboň are searching for a mouflon sheep that they believe has been stolen. The animal’s owner estimates its value as a trophy at 150,000 crowns. That however is not the only recent animal theft. In an entirely separate incident, the zoo in the town of Plžeň reported Wednesday that four rare monkeys, some of them worth 200.000 each, had been stolen over the night. The monkeys are equipped with chips making it impossible to sell them on the official market in the EU.
    Author: Christian Falvey

  • Crown strongest against dollar, euro since last year
    07/23/2009

    The crown was up on Thursday to its highest value since December of 2008 reaching 25.57/EUR and 17.95/USD.
    Author: Christian Falvey

  • Fischer meets Peres on Israel visit
    07/22/2009

    The Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, has held talks in Israel with the country’s president, Shimon Peres. The two men praised relations between their states and agreed there was great room for co-operation in the fields of science and the economy. Mr Fischer, who started a three-day visit to Israel on Tuesday, also laid a wreath at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the country’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. The Czech leader is also due to meet his Israeli counterpart, Binyamin Netanyahu.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Ministry issues gloomier outlook for Czech economy
    07/22/2009

    In a revised estimate, the ministry of finance says the Czech economy is likely to contract by 4.3 percent this year, which would be the steepest decline in GDP in the history of the Czech Republic. Three months ago the ministry predicted a considerably milder contraction of 2.3 percent in 2009. The minister of finance, Eduard Janota, told the newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes that the government would have to reevaluate next year’s budget in the light of the new estimate.

    The finance ministry also said the economy should grow next year by 0.3 percent, which again is a gloomier outlook than April’s prediction of 0.8 percent growth in 2010.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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