• Plane leaves for disaster zone in Pakistan with aid, doctors, fire officers
    10/19/2005

    Another plane has left the Czech Republic with aid for earthquake-stricken Pakistan. As well as medicines and other material aid, it is carrying seven fire officers and two doctors; they will join 23 Czech rescue workers already in the country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech TV to launch 24-hour sports channel in 2006
    10/19/2005

    Czech Television is planning to start a fourth, sports channel next year, general director Jiri Janecek told the public station's board on Wednesday, the Novinky website reported. The station would run 24 hours a day and feature marginal sports as well as the popular football and ice hockey. Mr Janecek did not give a concrete date for the beginning of broadcasting.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Communists to leave city centre offices for suburbs
    10/19/2005

    The Communist Party is set to move from its offices in the centre of Prague to the outlying Vysocany district, Pravo reported on Wednesday. The Communists have been located in their current, somewhat run-down offices on "Political Prisoners" Street since 1990.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Arsenal star Henry sinks Sparta Prague in Champions League game
    10/19/2005

    Sparta Prague were beaten 2:0 at home by England's Arsenal in a Champions League match on Wednesday, with both goals coming from French striker Thierry Henry. With just one point from three games, Sparta look unlikely to proceed to the knock-out stage of the competition.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • New James Bond film to be filmed in Prague, Karlovy Vary
    10/19/2005

    The next James Bond film, "Casino Royale", will begin shooting in Prague in January, a spokesperson for Prague-based co-producers Stillking Films has confirmed. The city's film studios and surroundings will be used in the six-month shoot, while some scenes will also be filmed in the spa town of Karlovy Vary.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech Republic has serious problem with corruption
    10/18/2005

    The Czech Republic is reported to have one of the highest levels of corruption in the European Union. In a report released by Transparency International the Czech Republic has a corruption index of 4.3, on a scale of O to 10, where 10 is the best. This result is markedly worse than that of other EU newcomers such as Slovenia with 6.1 or Hungary rated 5.0. The Czech Republic is 47th on a list of 158 states, on par with Namibia, Slovakia and Greece. The head of the Czech branch of Transparency International Adriana Krnacova says corruption is a serious problem in this country and prospects for improvement are not encouraging.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Commercial sales of Tamiflu halted
    10/18/2005

    The Czech government has halted commercial sales of Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug thought to be effective against the deadly bird flu strain detected in Europe. Deputy health minister Jiri Koskuba said that all purchases of Tamiflu would now be directed towards strategic stocks. The decision was made shortly after it emerged that Czechs had bought up all available stocks which were on the market. The health authorities attempted to quell the panic buying, advising Czechs to get seasonal flu shots and assuring them that there was no imminent danger of a bird flu pandemic or even a seasonal flu epidemic.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Six suspects detained in Krejcir case
    10/18/2005

    The police have detained six suspects in connection with the investigation into the case of fugitive billionaire Radovan Krejcir. Krejcir, who is wanted for extensive tax evasion, extortion and conspiracy to murder, escaped to the Seychelles in June while the police were raiding his luxury villa. The Czech authorities have failed in their request to get him extradited on the grounds that Krejcir has been a citizen of the Seychelles since 1996, but an investigation into the respective crimes continues. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is negotiating an agreement on the exchange of suspects and convicts with the Seychelles.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • PM and health insurance companies agree on cost-cutting measures
    10/18/2005

    Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek and health insurance company representatives have reached agreement on a series of cost-cutting measures which should gradually reduce the sector's ten billion crown deficit in spending. The Prime Minister did not say how much money would be saved in this manner or how much the government planned to inject into the cash-strapped health sector next year. Details of the agreement are to be made public after it has been signed on Wednesday.

    A recent one day strike by private physicians brought the money crisis in the health sector to a head and resulted in the dismissal of health minister Milada Emmerova. Experts say the crisis cannot be resolved without far-reaching structural changes.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech Deputy PM Jahn to quit ahead of election
    10/17/2005

    The Czech Deputy Prime Minister Martin Jahn said on Monday he would step down at the end of the year and quit politics, just six months ahead of the country's general elections. Mr Jahn, in charge of economic affairs in the cabinet, had been due to head the Social Democrats' list of candidates in Prague although he himself is not a party member. Commentators say Mr Jahn's move was motivated by a shift further to the left by the Social Democrats, shown by a more frequent cooperation with the little-reformed Communist Party in parliament in recent months. Mr Jahn denied this on Monday at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek who ruled out direct cooperation with the Communists.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

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