• Czech humanitarian aid arrives in Macedonia and Albania
    08/02/2007

    Humanitarian aid to help Albanian and Macedonian fire-fighters arrived in the Balkans on Wednesday evening. The Czech Republic donated over 1 million CZK (50 thousand USD) worth of material aid to help battle forest-fires in the region. The aid has taken the form of fireman's helmets, protective shoes and gloves. Macedonia, who originally asked the Czech Republic for help, has declared a state of emergency.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Three quarters of Prague's drunk-tank visitors fail to pay for the service
    08/02/2007

    Only one quarter of those who spend a night in the Prague drunk-tank subsequently pay for their stay. Up to 17 people can be housed in the drunk-tank, which charges around 1800 CZK (90 USD) a night. The majority of those that end up there, though, are homeless and don't have the money to pay. So far this year, the debt racked up by drunken visitors is around 3.9 million CZK. The drunk-tank is subsidised by Prague city council to the value of 8.5 million CZK a year.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Slavia draw with Slovak side Zilina in Champions League qualifier
    08/02/2007

    Czech football club Slavia Prague drew 0:0 with Slovakia's Zilina in the first-leg of a Champions League second round qualifying tie on Wednesday. If Slavia can win the return leg in Prague next week, they will enter the third and final qualifying round. The club, who reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1996, have never made it into the more lucrative and prestigious Champions League.

    Weather

    It should be quite sunny over the next couple of days, with temperatures reaching up to 27 degrees centigrade.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • New system aims to stop overcharging by Prague taxi drivers
    08/01/2007

    The authorities in Prague have launched a system aimed at stopping taxi drivers overcharging passengers. Signs bearing the English words Fair Place appear at taxi ranks where special officials are meant to guarantee that drivers do not charge more than the set fare of CZK 28 (USD 1.40) a kilometre. Almost half of the city's 121 taxi ranks already have so-called administrators. One exception is a rank on Old Town Square, where the administrator is in a legal dispute with Prague Town Hall after being fired for failing to prevent overcharging.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prosecutor defends role in show trial of Milada Horakova
    08/01/2007

    A prosecutor in the 1950 show trial of Milada Horakova has spoken out against her own prosecution on charges of judicial murder. Ludmila Brozova-Polednova told Lidove noviny that she had done no wrong by pressing charges against Horakova, who was falsely charged with treason and espionage. The woman insisted that Milada Horakova, who was exonerated after the fall of communism, had in fact been guilty. Ms Brozova-Polednova, who is 86, is one of only two surviving actors in what was one of Czechoslovakia's most notorious show-trials; Milada Horakova was the only woman to be executed for political reasons under the Communists.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Scouts celebrating 100th anniversary of start of movement
    08/01/2007

    Hundreds of scouts around the Czech Republic have been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the scouting movement. One event involved 60 Czech scouts meeting 40 from Poland on the highest mountain in the Czech Republic, Snezka. There have also been scouts' gatherings on other Czech mountains, including Praded, Bezdez and Blanik.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Man faces charges after trying to arrange over web to have colleague killed
    08/01/2007

    A 40-year-old man faces charges of attempted murder after trying to arrange the contract killing of a workmate on the internet. Police said the man, a researcher from Nymburk, used a woman's name and internet cafes as he tried to set up the killing of a 52-year-old colleague with a Prague company. The firm alerted the police, who managed to identify the man.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Presidential vote should be in early February, says lower house chairman
    08/01/2007

    A vote to choose the next president of the Czech Republic should begin on February 7 or 8 next year, the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, Miloslav Vlcek, said on Wednesday. Those dates are at the start of the period set for the vote by the Czech constitution. Speaking after talks with the present president, Vaclav Klaus, Mr Vlcek said, however, that a concrete date had not yet been agreed. President Klaus, who is 66, plans to stand for re-election; no other candidates have yet been declared.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech internet portals join forces to fight Google
    08/01/2007

    Two Czech internet portals are joining forces to fight against the growing influence of Google, Hospodarske noviny reported. Seznam and Atlas are combining their search engines to combat the American giant, which now has 15 percent of the Czech search market, after launching Google.cz last year.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Moravian capital to make Janacek's Brno regular event
    08/01/2007

    The Czech Republic's second city Brno is planning to hold regular festivals dedicated to the composer Leos Janacek, starting in 2008. The city's National Theatre will organise the new bi-annual festival. However, it is not the first Janacek's Brno; that was held in 2004 to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer, who spent much of his life in the Moravian capital.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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