• 05/04/2006

    Canada is unlikely to lift visa obligations for Czechs next month, according to the Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda. His Canadian counterpart, Peter MacKay, was due to announce the step on a visit to Prague in June, but Mr Svoboda said the trip had been cancelled. He said, however, that the Canadian government would continue to discuss the issue. During a recent visit to Canada, Mr Svoboda said Prague would take reciprocal measures unless Ottawa lifted its visa restrictions.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 05/04/2006

    The Czech Foreign Minister on Thursday presented this year's Gratias Agit awards for promoting the good name of the Czech Republic around the world. Among the recipients was Jaroslava Moserova, a doctor, politician and translator who passed away last month. The Czech-born former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright and Olympic skiing champion Katerina Neumannova were also honoured in the ceremony, which took place at the Foreign Ministry.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 05/04/2006

    The minister of agriculture, Jan Mladek, does not have a "confidential" category security clearance, after having an application refused by the National Security Office five years ago, Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Thursday. No official reason has been given, but the daily suggests Mr Mladek, a deputy finance minister in 2001, had contacts with Russian businessmen who Czech intelligence had under surveillance. He resigned from the post after the vetting rejection and kept it secret, the paper said.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 05/04/2006

    Germany has expressed support for a Czech proposal under which target countries would have to approve the importation of waste for incineration. The two countries reached agreement on the issue at a meeting in Prague on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Czech Environment Ministry said. The suggestion will be discussed by the Council of Europe during a debate on waste export next month. There have been several cases this year of German rubbish being illegally imported into the Czech Republic.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 05/04/2006

    Police have been carrying out checks of safety belt and child seat use around the country. The controls are in line with a government plan to cut road deaths in the Czech Republic by up to 50 percent by 2010.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 05/04/2006

    The Czech football players Rudolf Skacel, Roman Bednar and Michal Pospisil are celebrating helping their Scottish club Hearts qualify for the Champions League. The three were in action on Wednesday as Hearts beat Aberdeen to secure second place in the Scottish Premier League and reach the prestigious competition for the first time. Skacel is Hearts' top scorer this season with 16 goals.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 05/04/2006

    Czech ice hockey coach Alois Hadamczik has announced his squad for the World Championships which get underway in Latvia on Friday. Six of the players named were in the squad which won last year's championships in Vienna.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 05/03/2006

    The police officer who allegedly beat up a government human rights official on Monday has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation. Katerina Jacques, a senior official from the government's human rights section, and Green party politician, was demonstrating against a neo-Nazi gathering in Prague. She says she was thrown to the ground, kicked and beaten with a truncheon before being handcuffed and taken away for questioning. The Prime Minister has sharply criticized the police action, saying such behaviour was inexcusable and the officer responsible should be sacked. Both the interior minister Frantisek Bublan and the police president Vladislav Husak have said they consider the use of force against Jacques inappropriate and have promised a thorough investigation.

    Author: Chris Jarrett
  • 05/03/2006

    The European arrest warrant continues to be valid in the Czech Republic after the Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a proposal by opposition Civic Democrats to abolish related provisions in the penal code. They claimed that the European arrest warrant contravenes the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and "interferes with the foundations of the law-abiding state". The arrest warrant makes it possible to extradite Czech citizens abroad for criminal prosecution which, the court said, is not anti-constitutional. Judge Frantisek Duchon said that Czech citizens had to "accept a certain portion of responsibility" while benefiting from EU membership.

    Author: Chris Jarrett
  • 05/03/2006

    President Vaclav Klaus has criticised negative campaigning ahead of the June parliamentary elections. He said that what was happening had never been the case in the past, that it is dishonest and could mislead voters. His comments came in response to a student's query regarding the billboard posters of the ruling Social Democrats which parody the opposition Civic Democrats slogan "ODS plus" with one which reads "ODS minus", as he visited a Prague secondary school on Wednesday. President Klaus said that a negative campaign is outrageous and questioned why it is not punishable. The right-of-centre Civic Democrats have also reacted to the approach, calling it "deplorable".

    Author: Chris Jarrett

Pages