• Skinheads march in Svitavy
    07/21/2007

    About 200 skinheads march in Svitavy, some 70 km east of Pardubice, on Saturday in support of Vlastimil Pechanec who was sentenced four years ago to 17 years in prison for a racially motivated murder. In June 2001, Pechanec murdered a local Roma, stabbing him twice in the stomach. The march was already held last year with about 90 skinheads attending. Local Roma initiatives have criticized the Svitavy town hall for giving the organizers permission to march.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Two techno parties under way in Czech Republic
    07/21/2007

    Two techno parties are under way at the moment in the Czech Republic. One of them started illegally on Friday in a nature reserve just outside the town of Ceska Lipa, some 80 km north of Prague, but organizers moved the party outside the nature reserve. The other is held in Udrc, about 20 km west of Karlovy Vary, on a private lot. Police are monitoring both events.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Prague wants to limit tourist transport vehicles
    07/21/2007

    The Prague city hall wants to limit some alternative tourist vehicles in the centre of Prague. According to Czech TV, the city hall considers the situation of tourist transport in Prague's historic centre to be "chaotic" and is planning to introduce regulation measures as well as specific routes for these vehicles. Visitors to Prague may now choose between horse-drawn carriages, vintage cars and even rickshaws to take them on sightseeing tours around the city.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Skoda may quit sponsoring Tour de France
    07/21/2007

    The Czech car maker Skoda Auto is considering pulling out as one of the Tour de France sponsors, a Skoda spokesperson has said. While the major reason behind the decision has to do with reviewing the car producer's results on the French market, Skoda also takes seriously the recent doping scandals of the legendary French cycling race, according to the spokesperson. Skoda started cooperating with Tour de France in 2004 when they signed a four years' contract.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Three died in road accident
    07/21/2007

    Three persons died in a road accident near Kromeriz, central Moravia on Saturday afternoon. A car with three passengers crashed into a bus, a fire fighter present at the scene of the accident said. All three people traveling in the car died, while 6 passengers on the bus suffered minor injuries.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Czech mountaineer atop K2
    07/21/2007

    Czech mountaineer Libor Uher climbed K2 on Friday, the second tallest mountain in the world and one of the most difficult ones to climb. Uher is the second Czech ever to get on top of the 8,611 meters tall K2. To climb the mountain, Uher used the Southwest Pillar but bad weather conditions made him use the Abruzzi Spur to descend.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Parachutist dies in Chrudim as his parachute fails to open
    07/21/2007

    A parachutist, aged 64, died in the town of Chrudim, eastern Bohemia, on Saturday afternoon after jumping from the altitude of 1200 meters. His parachute did not open and he fell in a street in Chrudim, a local police officer said. The cause of the accident is being investigated.
    Author: Jan Richter

  • Foreign minister: Russia aiming for superpower status
    07/20/2007

    Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has said that Russia is seeking to become a global superpower so that it can determine the future of Europe, and could become a threat in five to ten years. In an interview for Friday's Financial Times, Mr Schwarzenberg said that Russia would like to achieve the same status (vis-a-vis America) that the former Soviet Union had, and Washington and Moscow would be the two to decide European issues. He added the Czech Republic considered that to be its affair, too. The Czech Republic has been proposed as the site for the deployment of an American missile defence radar, which Russia alleges would threaten its security. Washington insists the missile shield is directed against Iran.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Police study alleged racist remarks by Senator
    07/20/2007

    Police in Ostrava say they are studying alleged racist statements about Romanies by Senator Liana Janackova, who is also the mayor of an Ostrava district, as well as similar statements by Jiri Jezersky, another senior official in Ostrava. Ms Janackova has been fiercely criticised following the release of a recording on which she appeared to use some controversial statements about Romanies. On the recording she also appears to admit to being a racist and opposing the integration of Romanies. The detectives started investigating the case last week independently of any lawsuits. They say the first lawsuit, lodged by the civic group Romea and joined by eight other organisations and seven individuals, only reached them this week.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Lawyer appeals court's refusal to declare Social Democrat party bankrupt
    07/20/2007

    Lawyer Zdenek Altner who is suing the opposition Social Democrats for almost 20 billion crowns in unpaid fees has appealed against the refusal by the Prague City Court to declare the party bankrupt and start bankruptcy proceedings against it. Mr Altner told journalists on Friday that the court's verdict was an instruction for debtors on how to avoid paying their debts and how to avoid bankruptcy proceedings. Another Social Democrats' creditor has also appealed the verdict with the Prague High Court. Mr Altner says that the Social Democrats owe him 93 million crowns in unpaid legal fees for representing the party in a court dispute with the Finance Ministry over its Prague headquarters Lidovy dum in 2000. According to Mr Altner, the sum plus interests and late-payment penalties has risen to almost 20 billion crowns.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

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