News

The Czech Ministry of Culture has withdrawn the candidacy of a historical paper mill in Velke Losiny, Moravia for a UNESCO world-heritage listing. The ministry said that the mill, which is significant as a site for handmade paper production, was in too poor a condition to have any chance of being listed as a heritage location by UNESCO.

For the first time the bird flu virus has been detected in a Czech poultry flock. The State Veterinary Administration confirmed the type of virus found in a turkey flock at a farm in east Bohemia was the deadly H5N1 strain, which can be caught by humans. Local authorities have instated measures to prevent the possibility of the virus spreading to other local fowl, including a 3-km protection zone and a 10-km surveillance zone. All fowl in a ten kilometre radius will also be registered and checked by veterinarians.Of the birds on the farm around 2,000 died from the virus, the rest - an additional 4,000 specimens were culled on Thursday.

Bird flu was first detected in the Czech Republic in March 2006. 13 cases to date concerned wild birds, specifically swans. Some of the swans, tests showed, were also infected with the deadly H5N1 strain.

A new poll conducted by Factum Invenio for the Foreign Ministry has suggested that a majority of Czechs - 64 percent - continue to be opposed to the possible construction of a US missile defence radar on Czech soil; one third support the project. The information was released on Thursday. According to the agency, the poll was held shortly after a visit by US President George W. Bush early in June, when Mr Bush met with President Vaclav Klaus, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, and others to boost support for the US project. The US would like to station its base in the Czech Republic as part of a broader missile defense system in Europe.

The poll also suggested that if the radar base were integrated within NATO, public opposition to the base would drop somewhat, to 55 percent.

In directly related news, a court in Brno has ruled against giving Ondrej's father, Radek Coufal, an order allowing him to see his son as well as Ondrej's older brother Jakub. Both boys are being cared for at the Klokanek children's home. Mr Coufal requested a court order after he was not given permission to see the boys by the centre. Klokanek reportedly acted on a police recommendation, as police are continuing their investigation into the case for additional accomplices. The court refused to confirm the ruling on Thursday but the information was made public by Marie Vodickova, the head of the Children at Risk Fund.