• Youths charged with killing of Vietnamese barman
    06/25/2007

    Two sixteen-year-olds have been charged with the killing of a 35-year-old Vietnamese barman in Znojmo, south Moravia. Police said they believed the motive for the killing was robbery. The two youths could face up to 16 years behind bars if found guilty.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Former pop star accused of collaborating with StB
    06/25/2007

    Vaclav Neckar, a popular singer in the 1960s and '70s, collaborated with the communist StB secret police, Lidove noviny reported. Mr Neckar provided information on his group's manager to the StB before becoming an agent in the period 1978 to 1987, the daily said. He is also accused of informing on singer and Charter 77 signatory Marta Kubisova, a former band mate in the trio Golden Kids. Mr Neckar, who had a stroke in 2002, refused to discuss the allegations.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Helena Vondrackova celebrates 60th birthday with Prague concert
    06/25/2007

    The third member of the Golden Kids, Helena Vondrackova, celebrated her 60th birthday with a concert at Prague's Zofin Palace on Sunday night. Ms Vondrackova has been very popular with Czech audiences since winning a talent contest in 1964.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Army to introduce field bakeries to provide Czech bread for soldiers
    06/25/2007

    The Czech Army is to introduce field bakeries to make bread for its soldiers in Afghanistan and Kosovo, Hospodarske noviny reported. An army spokesperson told the paper that while on missions Czech soldiers were forced to eat American sliced white bread and missed their own Czech wheat-rye bread. Researchers at the Brno University of Defence said the lack of Czech bread caused psychological problems for soldiers. The Czechoslovak Army had 110 field bakeries in the mid 1980s, but they had all been closed down by 2002.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • British chain Halfords coming to Czech Republic, region
    06/25/2007

    The British retail chain Halfords is to shops in the Czech Republic. The car parts and bicycle seller's first Czech branch will open in a shopping centre on the outskirts of Prague this week. Halfords is planning to open 50 stores in the central European region.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Danny DeVito set for Karlovy Vary closing ceremony
    06/25/2007

    The American actor and director Danny DeVito is set to appear at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The star of such movies as Twins and LA Confidential, Mr DeVito will receive an award for outstanding contribution to world cinema at the festival's closing ceremony. This year's Karlovy Vary festival features over 220 pictures. It begins this coming Friday night.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech Republic posts high number of child deaths caused by accidents
    06/24/2007

    The Czech Republic features among the EU countries with the highest number of child deaths caused by accidents. Figures released by the Health Ministry show that 8.47 of 100,000 children up to 14 years die as a result of an accident. The most common causes of death were road accidents and drowning. Deputy Health Minister Marketa Hellerova says a national action plan on the prevention of child accidents will be presented to the government by next month.

    Within the EU, the Czech Republic ranked seventh. The member state with the highest number of deaths is Latvia (23.51 of 100,000) while Malta has the lowest number (2.19 of 100,000).
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Thirteen year-old may have drowned in river
    06/24/2007

    In related news, a 13-year old boy is believed to have drowned during an attempt to cross the Dyje River that runs through the Moravian town of Breclav. The boy made a bet with his friends that he could swim across the river and disappeared beneath the water surface when he was half-way through. Another boy, who was swimming with him managed to get to the other side. Rescue workers have been looking for the boy's body, since he disappeared on Saturday evening.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • President Klaus: Cunek corruption case needs to be dealt with quickly
    06/24/2007

    Czech President Vaclav Klaus says he cannot understand why a corruption case involving a government minister is still open. Earlier this year, an investigation was launched against Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek, who is suspected to have taken a bribe when he was still mayor of the Moravian town of Vsetin a few years ago. Just before his case was to be taken up in court this month, the prosecutor overseeing the case was replaced due to procedural errors. In a televised debate on Sunday, President Vaclav Klaus said it is in everyone's interest that the case is dealt with soon.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Government office for integration of Roma to come to being by beginning of 2008
    06/24/2007

    A government office dealing with the integration of the Roma minority into the rest of society is expected to be fully functional by the beginning of next year. In a televised debate programme on Sunday, Minister without Portfolio responsible for minorities and human rights, Dzamila Stehlikova, said the office would strive to prevent discrimination against Roma but also their abuse of social benefits. A staff of some 70 people will coordinate efforts by local authorities, schools, NGOs, and ministries.

    Those sociologists specialising in minority issues who have voiced their reservations so far say they fear that the office will focus on individual cases. In a poll conducted by the Median agency, 80 percent of respondents saw the integration of the Roma community as a major problem in the Czech Republic.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

Pages