• Czech military hospital opens unique operating theatre
    02/02/2008

    A unique multi-purpose operating theatre with magnetic resonance for neurosurgical operations was inaugurated in the Central Military Hospital in Prague’s district of Střešovice. The event was attended by President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek. The construction of the operating theatre cost some 300 million crowns (or 17 million US dollars). Such equipment only exists in another two places in the world – in Belgium and Arizona.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech Miss 2008 to be appointed on Saturday night
    02/02/2008

    Czech Miss 2008, one of the biggest Czech beauty pageants, is set to take place on Saturday night at the departure hall of Prague’s Ruzyně Airport. The future Czech Miss will be crowned by French actor Alain Delon, who will also preside over the jury. The country's second big beauty pageant - Miss Czech Republic - will be held in March.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Carnivals take over the Czech Republic
    02/02/2008

    Carnivals are taking place across the Czech Republic this weekend, marking the beginning of Lent, the 40 day period of fasting that precedes Easter. Towns and villages, as well as individual Prague districts, organize carnival processions and parties out in the open with live bands and meat feasts. One of the biggest events has taken place at Prague’s Old Town Square.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Sáblíková comes second in 15,000 metres in World Cup event in Italy
    02/02/2008

    Czech Speed skater Martina Sáblíková has finished second in the 15,000 metres race at the World Cup event in Italy’s Baselga di Pine on Saturday. Canada’s Kristina Groves took gold. Sáblíková has twice been crowned world champion and holds the world record in the 5,000 metres. This is the first time she has reached the podium in the 15,000 metre event.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech Republic draws with Slovakia in Fed Cup first round
    02/02/2008

    Dominika Cibulková has given Slovak Republic the first point in its World Group II tie against the Czech Republic, defeating Petra Cetkovská 7:5 6:3. In the following match, the Czech Republic’s number one player Nicole Vaidišová has defeated Magdalena Rybáriková 7:5 6:4.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • New body to examine communist past opens in Prague
    02/01/2008

    A new institute dedicated to the examination of the Czech Republic’s communist past has opened in Prague. The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes brings together secret police and military intelligence files which were previously in the hands of various state institutions. The files, which amount to millions of pages, will be accessible to both historians and members of the public. The Czech Republic is one of the last post-communist states to create such a body.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • South Bohemia refuses EP call for removal of pig farm from Romany concentration camp site
    02/01/2008

    The South Bohemia regional authority has rejected a European Parliament call for the removal of a pig farm on the site of a former World War II concentration camp for Romanies. Governor Jan Zahradník said removing the facility in Lety would be an inappropriate solution; he added that Brussels had no right to interfere, as it was a purely Czech matter. Mr Zahradník said the region plans to build a memorial near the pig farm to Romany victims of the Holocaust. More than 1,300 people were interned at Lety; over 300 died there, while 500 more later met their deaths at Auschwitz.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Krejčíř extradition request turned down by South African court
    02/01/2008

    A court in South Africa has turned down a request from the Czech Republic to extradite the fugitive businessman Radovan Krejčíř. Mr Krejčíř is wanted on charges of conspiracy to murder and fraud. However, one reason the South African court gave for not handing him over was that several of the things of which he is accused are not illegal in that country. A Czech diplomat in Johannesburg said it was very likely the Czech Republic would appeal Friday’s verdict.

    Radovan Krejčíř fled the country after escaping during a police search of his home. After a period in the Seychelles he entered South Africa on a false passport last April; he later applied for political asylum.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Press: Czech experts make cloning breakthrough
    02/01/2008

    A group of experts from Prague’s Institute of Animal Science have made a significant breakthrough in the science of cloning, the newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes reported. In a paper published in the magazine Science, the scientists provide a possible explanation for why the cloning of animals and humans often proves unsuccessful. The Czech team studied the role of the nucleus in the mother’s egg – they found that when it is missing the clone does not develop.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Vietnamese stall holders charged over attack on customs officers
    02/01/2008

    Police have filed charges against five Vietnamese stall holders after they allegedly attacked customs officers at a market in Vojtanov, west Bohemia on Thursday. One of the officers has been treated in hospital for stab wounds, though his life is not in danger. The incident occurred during a routine inspection of alcoholic drinks on sale at the market.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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