• Rath wants to repay hospitals' debts by elections
    02/26/2006

    Health Minister Rath also told Czech Television on Sunday that he would like the heavily indebted teaching hospitals, directly controlled by the Health Ministry, to repay their debts by the June elections. Mr Rath said the Health Ministry did not have the required 2 billion crowns and he would therefore need the help of Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek and Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. Meanwhile pharmaceutical wholesalers have refused to deliver drugs to three most indebted hospitals until they pay for previous deliveries.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Bohdan Slama's "Happiness" awarded as best Czech film
    02/26/2006

    The film "Stesti" or "Happines" has won the Czech Lion award for the best Czech film of 2005. The film, directed by Bohdan Slama and produced by Pavel Strnad, received a total of seven prizes at Saturday's award ceremony in Prague; for best Czech film, best director, best script, best photography, best actor in a leading role and best actress in a leading and supporting role.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech ice-hockey team wins Olympic bronze
    02/26/2006

    The Czech Republic defeated Russia 3:0 in men's ice hockey on Saturday to win the Olympic Games ice hockey bronze medal. Marek Zidlicky scored a powerplay goal early in the second period to make it 2-0 after Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk was given a five-minute major for boarding. Martin Erat and Martin Straka also scored for the Czechs who finished with a record of four wins and four losses and picked up their first Olympic medal since winning gold in 1998.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Weather
    02/26/2006

    The next couple of days should be even colder than the weekend, with partly cloudy to overcast skies and daytime temperatures dropping to minus 5 degrees Celsius. Temperatures in the night time are expected to drop to minus 13 to minus 15 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Lorry carrying waste sent back to Germany
    02/25/2006

    Border police in North Bohemia turned back a lorry carrying a load of communal waste from Germany in the early hours of Saturday. The driver claimed he had only crossed the border to buy diesel. The Czech Environment Inspection Authority estimates some 15,000 tonnes of rubbish have been imported from Germany in recent months and dumped illegally in the Czech Republic.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Roads in North Bohemia blocked as skiers arrive and leave
    02/25/2006

    Roads around the northern town of Liberec were blocked on Saturday morning as hundreds of tourists were leaving the Jizerske Mountains and new holidaymakers were arriving at the ski resorts. Local hotel managers say the past week was one of the busiest in the season as children from the Czech Republic as well as some neighbouring countries had come to spend their school break in the mountains.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Health Minister calls on Pharmos to submit evidence of corruption
    02/25/2006

    Health Minister David Rath has called on the pharmaceutical wholesaler Pharmos to submit evidence proving alleged corruption practices at the Health Ministry, otherwise the ministry will take legal action against it. Pharmos initially agreed to resume supplies of medicines to three indebted teaching hospitals after it had stopped deliveries along with three other distributors. The company has now finally decided to end supplies because of alleged corruption at the ministry.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Far-right activists gather in Bruntal
    02/25/2006

    A few dozen far-right activists staged a protest against drugs, a growing influence of communism and what they called "foreign crime" in the town of Bruntal in North Moravia on Saturday afternoon. Some twenty left-wing activists also arrived in the town but police managed to keep the two groups apart.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Havel opposes sending giant neon heart to Kabul
    02/25/2006

    Former Czech president Vaclav Havel opposes plans to send a giant neon heart which temporarily adorned Prague Castle to the Afghan capital Kabul, warning that it might cause religious offence, the newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Saturday. The heart, by artist Jiri David, became a highly visible landmark in the Czech capital at the end of Mr Havel's last term in 2002. The former president's secretary, Jakub Hladik, told the paper that there were indications that the heart could be viewed as a religious symbol and cause conflict. The heart had been bought by the World Development Organisation which came up with the idea of displaying it in Kabul.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Cross-country skier Neumannova takes first gold in final Olympics race of career...
    02/24/2006

    Cross-country skier Katerina Neumannova has taken the Czech Republic's first gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Turin. She won the women's 30 km freestyle on Friday with an incredible surge just before the finish line, finally taking the Olympic gold medal that had eluded her so many times in the past. As Neumannova crossed the line she raised her arms aloft and screamed with joy before hugging her two-year-old daughter, who had been allowed onto the snow to greet her mother. Neumannova, taking part in her final Olympics also has a silver medal from Turin, in the 15 km pursuit.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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