• Taxi driver shoots passenger during robbery attempt
    03/12/2008

    A taxi driver in Český Krumlov shot dead a passenger who tried to rob him early on Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for the South Bohemian police said. The passenger, who was 19, threatened the driver with a gun and a knife. The latter produced a gun of his own and fired two warning shots into the air. When his assailant ignored those shots the driver fired at him; the young man died at the scene.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Dangerous peanuts from Vietnam uncovered
    03/12/2008

    Almost two tonnes of peanuts from Vietnam containing toxins several times higher than permitted levels were seized by Czech customs officers on Wednesday, a spokesperson said. The peanuts contained aflatoxins, which are carcinogenic.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Titanic exhibition opens in Brno
    03/12/2008

    A new exhibition featuring items retrieved from the Titanic has opened in the Czech Republic’s second city Brno. The travelling show, which has already been seen by 17 million people, features 300 original items found in the wreck of the famous ship. In two months’ time it will move on to Prague.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Brazilian picture takes main prize at human rights documentary films festival
    03/12/2008

    The Brazilian film Behave has taken the main prize at the One World festival of human rights documentary films in Prague. The picture, by director by Maria Ramos, is about juvenile delinquents who are tried in a youth court for their wrongdoings. China’s Zhao Liang won best director award for Crime and Punishment, while a special award was given for Citizen Havel, which was begun by the late Pavel Koutecký and completed by Miroslav Janek.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Thirteenth century Devil’s Bible returns to Stockholm
    03/12/2008

    The so-called Devil’s Bible, created in a Bohemian monastery in the 13th century, has returned from Prague to its permanent home at the Royal Library in Sweden’s Stockholm. Over 60,000 people saw the gigantic medieval book during a three-month exhibition in the Czech capital. The bible – which features a striking painting of the devil on its cover – was stolen from Prague by the Swedish army in the Thirty Years’ War of the 17th century.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Young Czech footballer Kalouda joins CSKA Moscow
    03/12/2008

    The Czech football player Luboš Kalouda has left FC Brno for CSKA Moscow. The midfielder was part of the Czech team which reached the final of the Under 20 World Cup last year. Kalouda signed a five-year contract with CSKA on the final day of the Russian league’s transfer window.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech Republic likely to recognize Kosovo in the not-too-distant future
    03/11/2008

    The Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexander Vondra has indicated that the Czech Republic would recognize Kosovo’s independence in the not too distant future. Mr Vondra declined to give a specific date but noted that the Czech Republic was prepared to be realistic with regard to Kosovo’s recognition. There is speculation that the Czech Republic may take this step after the Easter holidays. Since it unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17, Kosovo has been recognized by 16 EU member states as well as the US. Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Russia and Slovakia have refused to recognize it.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • National Advertising Council says Schwarzenberg billboard must go
    03/11/2008

    The National Advertising Council has ruled that an advertisement billboard featuring Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg seemingly dozing at a session of Parliament is unethical and should be removed from all public places. The council concluded that the energy drink ad damaged the minister’s image and was used without his consent. The Foreign Ministry has distanced itself from the controversy surrounding the ad, with a spokesperson saying that the foreign minister was not asleep but “immersed deep in thought”.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Minister Schwarzenberg recovering from heart surgery
    03/11/2008

    Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who is 70, is currently recovering from heart surgery at a German clinic after undergoing surgery in Austria. The minister had a heart problem and suffered from hypertension. He is expected to remain at the clinic for a few more days before getting spa treatment. According to the ministry’s spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova Mr. Schwarzenberg should return to his duties in late March.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Martina Navrátilová has regained Czech citizenship
    03/11/2008

    Tennis legend Martina Navrátilová announced on Tuesday she had regained Czech citizenship more than 30 years after fleeing communist Czechoslovakia to make a new home in the United States. The 51-year-old former world champion said during a press conference in Tokyo that she had officially regained her Czech citizenship in January of this year. She has decided to maintain dual citizenship and keep her US passport. Born in Prague, Navrátilová fled to the United States in 1975 at the height of the Cold War and was subsequently stripped of her Czech citizenship by the communist regime. She became a US citizen six years later.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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