• Czech Airlines starts down-sizing
    08/08/2006

    Czech Airlines, or CSA, the country's national carrier, has begun down-sizing its staff. A plan to restructure the company during the years 2006 - 2008 is responsible for the policy, which aims to get Czech Airlines out of debt. According to CSA, the down-sizing plan will see the departure of approximately 20% of the company's employees, thus about 1100 people of the 5500 that CSA currently employs. In addition, CSA plans to sell two of its Boeing 737 fleet.
    Author: Linda Maštalíř

  • Vodafone offers new business communication service
    08/08/2006

    Vodafone, one of the three leading mobile phone operators in the Czech Republic, has introduced a new service for its company-based clients. Starting Tuesday, Vodafone is offering company subscribers access to e-mail, address books and electronic calendars, all via mobile phone services. The new Vodafone service is called Business E-Mail and faces competition from Blackberry offered by T-Mobile, and Office Connector, a service of Eurotel; both of the later have been on the market for more than a year. Vodafone registered 2.26 million clients in the Czech Republic in June, numbering over 11.5 million active mobile phone numbers.
    Author: Linda Maštalíř

  • Man dies in Prague 6 public pool
    08/08/2006

    Tragedy struck a swimming pool in Prague 6 on Tuesday afternoon, when a thirty-two year old man drowned. Lifeguards pulled the man's lifeless body out of the water but paramedics could not revive him. Doctors have not yet determined the cause of his sudden death.
    Author: Linda Maštalíř

  • Nicole Vaidisova in top ten
    08/08/2006

    After reaching the semi-finals in San Diego, Czech women's tennis player Nicole Vaidisova has reached the top-ten for the first time in her career. Ms. Vaidisova is currently ranked ninth on the WTA tour.
    Author: Linda Maštalíř

  • Farmers in Vysocina hit by floods
    08/08/2006

    Farmers in the Vysocina region between Bohemia and Moravia are busy harvesting grain from fields in danger of flooding. The heavy rains are causing damage to grain and sugar beet crops, as well as to potatoes, which experts say will have an effect on the profits farmers could otherwise expect to yield. Over 145 000 hectares of land in the Vysocina region are devoted to grain crops, while potatoes occupy one-third of agricultural land in the region.
    Author: Linda Maštalíř

  • Flooding not over on the Jizera and Elbe rivers
    08/08/2006

    Meanwhile, after heavy rainfalls earlier in the week, experts at the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute warn that flooding is expected to affect the central Bohemian region in the coming days. High-alert warnings have been issued for the River Jizera, which is expected to see the worst flooding in over five to ten years, and the River Elbe is also affected. The flood-watch warnings will be in effect until at least Thursday's morning hours, until which time experts expect water levels to continue rising. Continued rains are also expected in parts of Moravia and Silesia, and these should taper-off by mid-week.
    Author: Linda Maštalíř

  • Persistent rain raises water levels
    08/07/2006

    Persistent rain over the weekend and into Monday has raised rivers levels around the country. The most affected regions are southern and northern Bohemia. As meteorologists warn of more rain until Wednesday, children at various summer camps are being evacuated and some areas are on the highest degree of flood alert. Some roads around the River Elbe have also been closed to traffic as the river continues to swell.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Prime Minister Paroubek hoping to turn outgoing cabinet into new government
    08/07/2006

    Outgoing Prime Minister and Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek has confirmed that the make-up of his cabinet could change if the latest, seventh attempt at electing a new lower house speaker fails. The outgoing cabinet contains ministers of the Freedom Union, which did not make it into parliament in the June elections. With important decision-making ahead, such as next year's state budget, these ministers could be replaced. Mr Paroubek has also hinted that his new cabinet could be the country's next new government.

    Two months after the parliamentary elections, the country has neither a new government nor a new lower house chairman. The 200 seats in the lower house of Parliament are evenly split between the left and the centre and right parties.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Civic Democrat leadership rejects "reconstruction" of outgoing cabinet
    08/07/2006

    Meanwhile, the Civic Democrat leadership on Monday said it rejects what it called the Social Democrats' planned reconstruction of the outgoing cabinet and called it disrespectful of the democratic elections two months ago. The leadership also ruled out any form of coalition, including a Grand Coalition, with the Social Democrats. If its plans to form a minority Civic Democrat government should fail, the party leadership supports a temporary caretaker government that would prepare the country for early elections.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Poll: Civic Democrats enjoying rise in popularity
    08/07/2006

    If elections were held today, the Civic Democrats would win with 41 percent of the vote, suggests a new opinion poll. In the parliamentary elections in June, the party won 35.5 percent of support. The other parties would get around the same number of votes as two months ago, according to the poll conducted by Factum Invenio. The agency attributes the Civic Democrats' dramatic rise in popularity to its efforts in the post-election talks.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

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