• Czech police charge Nomura official with insider trading
    12/01/2005

    Czech police have charged a 37-year-old representative of the Japanese investment bank Nomura with insider trading, in the so-called "Czech beer operation", in which the bank is said to have used shareholdings in the Plzensky Prazdroj brewery to support its investment in the now defunct Czech IPB bank. According to the anti-corruption office, bank funds were used to pay for the brewery's acquisition. The illegal use of property as 'insurance' then allegedly helped the investment bank illegally gain seven billion crowns, the equivalent of more than 280 million USD. If found guilty of insider dealings the bank official could face up to twelve years in prison.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Underworld figure - suspect in grenade attack - to be extradited to Prague
    12/01/2005

    The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported on its website that a suspect wanted for a gangland-style attack in Prague will be extradited to the Czech Republic. A court in Jerusalem ruled in favour. The suspect, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, is said to have tossed a grenade at the vehicle of an Israeli casino owner outside his Prague venue last August. The site was found in one of the city's busiest pedestrian zones and 18 passers-by were injured. The suspect was then arrested a month later in Israel on an international warrant; if found guilty he could face between eight to fifteen years in prison.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Court considers reopening Roztocil case
    12/01/2005

    A Central Bohemian court is considering whether or not to reopen the case of Rostislav Roztocil, a Czech convict recaptured in Germany after a brief prison break. The convict, found guilty of murdering an Egyptian student in Czechoslovakia in the 1980s, has maintained his innocence and has been asking for a retrial. The court is now looking to interview Mr Roztocil, as well as new witnesses, before ruling on whether or not to reopen his case.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Age of criminal responsibility, consent set to drop from 15 to 14
    11/30/2005

    The Chamber of Deputies has voted to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14. The age of consent is also set to drop from 15 to 14. The changes are part of a new Penal Code which also lengthens prison terms for murder and other serious crimes; it must now go before the Senate and the president.

    The Communist Party voted against the new legislation, as it also includes a provision to make denial of "communist genocide" a crime like denying the Holocaust.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Social Democrats agree to faster rent deregulation
    11/30/2005

    The governing Social Democrats have agreed to introduce rent deregulation at a faster tempo than previously planned, with rents set to rise by an average of 14.2 percent a year. Rents will increase at the beginning of January in the years 2007 to 2010.

    The Social Democrats decided to quicken the pace of deregulation after holding talks with the two smaller parties in the coalition, the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Proposal to extend deadline for filing restitution claims rejected
    11/30/2005

    Meanwhile, the Chamber of Deputies has rejected a proposal to extend until the end of 2009 the deadline for the return of property confiscated under communism. The current deadline for the filing of restitution claims is the end of next month. The Social Democrats and the Communists, who together hold a majority in the Chamber, voted against the extension.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Average monthly salary up to almost 19,000 crowns
    11/30/2005

    The average monthly salary in the Czech Republic rose to 18,883 crowns (around 750 US dollars) during the third quarter of this year, according to figures released by the Statistical Office. Adjusted for inflation it represents an increase of 4.2 percent.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prince Albert II of Monaco in Prague to support football team
    11/30/2005

    Prince Albert II of Monaca came to the Czech capital on Wednesday to support football club AS Monaco in a UEFA Cup game against Slavia Prague. The prince is due to hold a private meeting with the Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, on Thursday morning.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Prague Big Band celebrates 30th anniversary
    11/30/2005

    The Prague Big Band founded by jazz pianist Milan Svoboda is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a concert at the city's Lucerna hall on Wednesday. Some 105 members have passed through the group since it was founded in 1975.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Britain proposes EU budget cuts
    11/29/2005

    Britain, which now holds the rotating EU presidency, is set to propose cuts to the union's 2007-2013 budget proposed by the previous presidency. Britain is expected to suggest slashing the proposed EU budget by three percent in part by lowering regional aid to newcomers like the Czech Republic and rural development funds to several old member states. Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to meet central and east European leaders on a trip to Estonia and Hungary on Thursday and Friday, and the proposed cuts are certain to top the agenda. The Czech Prime Minister, Jiri Paroubek, appealed to Blair in a letter on Monday to reconsider the matter.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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