News

A Czech family on holiday in Slovakia's High Tatra mountains had to be flown to hospital after being hit by falling boulders on Sunday. The 68-year-old father suffered severe injuries to his head. His wife and two children were also treated for various injuries, including a severed small finger, at the hospital in the nearby town of Poprad. The helicopter rescue team narrowly avoided injury themselves from falling rocks after landing near the scene of the accident, AFP news agency reports.

Residents of the village of Mirosov voted against stationing a US radar base in a nearby military zone. The Czech Republic has recently formally started negotiations with the United States on plans to build part of its anti-missile system on Czech territory. In a referendum in Mirosov on Sunday, just over 51 percent of those eligible cast their vote. Of 897 votes, 867 were in favour of their local representatives doing everything in their power to fight against the radar.

Washington wants to put 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic, at a cost of 3.5 billion US dollars. The radar site is to be built in the Brdy hills between Prague and Pilsen.

Over 25,000 trade union members from around the country attended a demonstration against the government's proposed reform package on Prague's Wenceslas Square. The protesters say the reform plan is tailored to the rich few and are opposed to the extensive tax and social welfare reforms, which the government says are necessary to reduce the public deficit. The package is being discussed by parliament and has already made it through the first reading.

Czech politicians are mostly pleased with the result of the EU summit which came to an end in Brussels on Saturday. According to the executive council of the strongest political party, the Civic Democrats, a reform process has been launched that will lead the EU to a truly functioning system of European integration. Civic Democrat MEP Jan Zahradil called the result a turning point from the concept of the creation of a European superstate and European federalism.

European Union leaders clinched agreement on a reform treaty by the end of this year, to be ratified by mid-2009, replacing the EU constitution rejected in 2005 by French and Dutch voters. The new text features neither constitutional nor state symbols and the EU will have a high representative for foreign policy, not a foreign minister. The summit also approved the possible transfer of powers back to member countries, a system of "dual flexibility" that Prague has been supporting.