• Czech TV reporter faces criminal complaint
    12/03/2006

    The organisers of a conference on Iraq that is to be held in Prague next weekend have filed a criminal complaint against a Czech TV reporter. The organisers say claims by the reporter that supporters of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein would be attending the conference are false. The conference called Prague Appeal for Iraq is to be held at the Czech Chamber of Deputies. It is organised by the Czech Peace Fund and Czech-Iraqi Association.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Border blockade in protest at Temelin nuclear power plant
    12/03/2006

    Austrian opponents of the Temelin nuclear power plant are staging a blockade of the Czech-Austrian border crossing Wullowitz-Dolni Dvoriste. The activists, blocking traffic with the help of twelve tractors, are calling onto the Austrian government to oppose the operation of the Temelin plant in southern Bohemia, some 50 km from the border. Austria is a nuclear-free country.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Jan Zrzavy painting sells for record price
    12/03/2006

    A work by the acclaimed Czech painter Jan Zrzavy has sold for 5.5 million crowns. It is the only work by the great early twentieth century protagonist of the Czech avantgarde that has sold for a price exceeding 2 million crowns. The painting entitled "Studne Locronan III" was auctioned off in Prague on Sunday and dates to 1938. It is the last work made by Jan Zrzavy before he moved to France.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Communist party deputy chairman relieved of his post
    12/02/2006

    The deputy chairman of the Communist Party, Vaclav Exner, has been relieved of his post. Mr Exner and another party member (since deceased) were entrusted with the legal work involving the sale of the building housing party headquarters and the acquisition of new property. After deciding to stay in the old headquarters, the party will most likely lose 60 million crowns (over 2.5 million US dollars) - a 40 million fine for not going through with the sale and a 20 million deposit to guarantee the acquisition. The party holds Mr Exner responsible, saying the contracts he had closed were disadvantageous for the party.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Turkmen authorities ground Czech military plane
    12/02/2006

    Turkmen authorities have grounded a plane with Czech Army representatives, saying it was not authorised to fly over its airspace. The military delegation was returning from Afghanistan where Czech military personnel officially took over command at the international airport in Kabul. Among those on board were chief-of-staff General Pavel Stefka and deputy defence minister Martin Bartak. Turkmenistan lies between Afghanistan and the Caspian Sea.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Military ceremony in Afghanistan held under makeshift conditions
    12/02/2006

    Saturday's ceremony to mark the Czech takeover of command at Kabul international airport had to be held fifty kilometres away. Due to strong invisibility, a plane carrying a Czech Army delegation to the event was rerouted to a US base in Bagram where the ceremony took place under improvised conditions.

    Specialists in the Czech contingent will operate at Kabul airport for the next four months. It is the first command held by the Czechs within the ISAF. The Czech contingent is made up 47 members of the Czech Army, including specialists on air control, flight security, and logistics. In all, about 500 soldiers and specialists from about 20 NATO members and Afghanistan are serving under the command at Kabul airport.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Social Democrats ask President not to pardon Nomura managers
    12/02/2006

    The Social Democrats have called on to President Vaclav Klaus not to pardon two men accused of breaking business confidentiality laws. The President has been asked to grant the pardon by the Finance Ministry as the two men are senior managers at the Nomura investment group, a bank with which cabinet settled a long running dispute that could have cost the state billions of crowns on Thursday.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Some Social Democrats want party to go into opposition
    12/02/2006

    The Social Democrats are divided over whether or not to take part in a new coalition government that is being proposed by the Civic Democrats. Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek says some deputies would prefer the party go into opposition - a move he strongly rejects.

    The Civic Democratic Party hopes to complete its draft government programme by next Wednesday. Representatives from the parties involved in government talks, also including the Christian Democrats and the Greens, will then be given the document for assessment.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech soldiers awarded US Bronze Star Medal
    12/02/2006

    Two Czech soldiers from a Prostejov Special Forces unit, who recently served in Afghanistan, have been awarded with the United States Armed Forces Bronze Star Medal. The soldiers received the military decoration for their heroic fight against the Taliban. This is the first time in modern Czech history that such a US decoration is awarded to a Czech soldier.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Efforts to oppose extension of North Bohemia's opencast mines in referendum fail
    12/02/2006

    A referendum held in the northern town of Litvinov on the extension of brown coal mining limits is invalid due to a low voter turnout. Only 38 percent of the electorate came to vote on Friday. An almost absolute majority (95 percent), though, voted against the extension. The geographical limits of North Bohemia's opencast mines were set by the state in 1991. The local opencast mining company Mostecka Uhelna argues that the country has no choice but to extend the limits if it wants to depend on locally produced energy.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

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