• Poll: less than 1/5 of Czechs happy with political situation
    03/01/2007

    According to a new poll by the STEM agency, less than 1/5 of Czechs are happy with the current political situation. One third of the population is satisfied with the government's performance and 28 percent of Czechs are happy with the performance of parliament.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Poll: most Czechs dislike the way government communicates with public
    03/01/2007

    In an unrelated survey by the CVVM agency, 68 percent of respondents said they were unhappy with the way the cabinet of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek communicates with the public. Sixty-four percent of those polled had objections to the prime minister himself and 66 percent said they objected to the cabinet line-up.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech refinery Unipetrol reports halved 2006 profit
    03/01/2007

    The Czech Republic's biggest petrochemicals and refinery company, Unipetrol, blamed exceptional write-offs on Thursday for a 52.7-percent drop in 2006 group net profit to 1.62 billion crowns (75.7 million dollars). The company, in which Polish state-owned refinery giant PKN Orlen has a 62.9-percent stake, said it had incurred one off losses totalling 2 billion crowns in the sales of non-refinery businesses, such as chemical company Spolana and rubber producer, Kaucuk. Operating profit for the group fell 30.0 percent on a 12-month comparison to 3.565 billion crowns.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • New tourist information centre opens in Prague
    03/01/2007

    A new information centre for tourists has opened in the centre of Prague in Rytirska street 31, in a building formerly known as the House of Soviet Science and Culture. The head of the Prague Information Service, Vaclav Novotny, says the new centre is replacing an old facility in Na prikope street which was closed down last year. The centre will provide tourists with information on cultural events, sightseeing and transport and facilitate accommodation, day trips and guided tours.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • One dead, 15 injured in car-bus collision
    03/01/2007

    One man has been killed and fifteen people have been injured in a traffic accident involving a bus and a passenger car on a highway south of Prague. The 63-year old driver of the passenger car died on the scene of the accident. A 58-year old man was flown to hospital by helicopter and 14 people were taken to a local hospital with lighter injuries. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Swedish TV suggests Kavan offered to influence police investigation
    02/28/2007

    Swedish television has broadcast an interview with former Czech foreign minister Jan Kavan, in which he seems to indicate he could use his influence to slow down a possible investigation into alleged bribery linked to a large military contract. The Swedish reporters, posing as arms traders, recorded the interview secretly. Mr Kavan has denied saying he could influence the Czech police; he told Czech Television that last month he had filed charges against the reporters for asking him to do so.

    Police in the Czech Republic, Sweden and Britain are investigating whether bribery took place in connection with the Czech Republic's planned purchase and subsequent lease of Gripen fighter jets from Sweden's Saab and Britain's BAE Systems. The Social Democratic Party of which Mr. Kavan is a member, has urged him to contact the police and give them whatever information he has pertaining to the case. The Czech Defense Ministry has said it may commission its inspection team to look into the matter as well.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • US Senate opens debate on lifting visa requirements for Czechs
    02/28/2007

    The United States Senate has opened a debate on whether to drop a visa requirement for visitors from the Czech Republic, Hospodarske noviny reported. A previous US insistence that a country not have more than three percent visa rejections has been replaced by other security demands, such as bio-metric passports, the paper said. A representative of the Czech Embassy in Washington, Jaroslav Kurfurst, said that while the Czech Republic had not yet won the war, a significant battle had been won on the road to visa free travel to the US.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Blood tests reveal use of drugs at army air base
    02/28/2007

    Tests have revealed that nine professional soldiers at the Caslav Airbase - home base of the country's Gripen fighter jets - use drugs. The Defense Ministry ordered that all soldiers at the base be tested following the arrest of two soldiers in January on suspicion of drug dealing. Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova has said she is considering introducing obligatory blood tests for all applicants who want to join the military and random tests for those in service.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • President Klaus to run for second term in office
    02/28/2007

    President Klaus has announced he will run for a second term in office in the 2008 presidential elections. After exactly four years in office, Mr. Klaus enjoys a high rate of public support and political analysts say his chances of getting reelected are considerable. In the Czech Republic the president is elected by both houses of Parliament.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech government prepares for EU presidency in 2009
    02/28/2007

    The Czech government has begun preparing for the country's presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2009. Members of the government committee for EU matters, led by Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, on Wednesday discussed the future priorities of the country's EU presidency, laying emphasis on the freedom of movement of people, services, capital and goods. Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexander Vondra said the motto of the Czech EU presidency could be "Europe without barriers".
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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