• Czech police to send officials to Seychelles in Krejcir case
    09/11/2005

    Czech police say they will send two officials to the Seychelles this week to negotiate with authorities over the possibility to extradite Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir, a businessman wanted on fraud charges as well as allegedly planning the murder of a customs official. Krejcir fled the Czech Republic two months ago and was later joined on the Seychelles by his wife and son. On Friday it was revealed that all three now have Seychelles citizenship. The Czech Republic does not have an extradition treaty with that country. The Justice Minister Pavel Nemec has suggested it is unlikely the fugitive businessman will be handed over. Mr Krejcir's wife is also wanted by Czech police.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Unmanned plane crashes on "NATO Day"
    09/11/2005

    An unmanned plane flown at an exhibition during NATO Day on Saturday held in the north Moravian town of Mosnov, crashed shortly after take-off. But, a spokesman has said the public was not in any danger. Further details are to be released by the Czech Army on Monday. The plane, a "Sojka" which weighs some 140 kilograms and has a wing span of four metres, was hit by strung winds before going down.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Milena Hubschmannova, founder of Roma studies in Czech Republic, dies in car crash
    09/11/2005

    One of the founders of Roma studies in the Czech Republic, Milena Hubshmannova, was killed on Thursday in a car crash in South Africa. One other person, a South African man, also died and three others were seriously injured. Hubshmannova, a professor at Prague's Charles University, was born in 1933 and was one of the Czech Republic's foremost specialists in Roma culture. After the fall of communism in 1989 she helped found the department of Roma Studies at Charles University. Other projects included numerous translations from Romany to Czech. Milena Hubschmannova was 72.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Lendl named to US Open's Hall of Fame
    09/11/2005

    Retired tennis star Ivan Lendl will be named on Sunday to the US Open's Hall of Fame. The Czech-born player won the final three times at Flushing Meadows in the years 1985 - 88. In all, Lendl appeared in 8 finals, tying Bill Tilden's record from 1918 - 1925. Lendl, who became a US citizen in 1982, played some of his most memorable matches against US-born player Jimmy Connors and American star John McEnroe.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Jagr Rangers bound
    09/11/2005

    Czech ice hockey star has departed for the US to return to the NHL, where he will honour his commitment to the New York Rangers. The forward, who led the Czechs to gold at this year's World Ice Hockey Championships in Vienna, played in Europe throughout the NHL lockout, first for his hometown of Kladno, and then Russia's Omsk. Departing on Sunday from Ruzyne airport Jagr was in good humour, reportedly telling journalists he hoped to shed a few extra pounds during training camp.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • President criticises NGOs
    09/10/2005

    The Czech President Vaclav Klaus has once again criticised non-governmental organisations, or NGOs. Speaking at a business conference on Saturday Mr Klaus likened so-called "NGOism" to communist ideology, saying that he considered non-governmental organisations 'dangerous' and 'undemocratic'. Earlier this year, at the Council of Europe summit in Warsaw, Mr Klaus made similar statements describing the role of NGOs in what he has called 'post-democracy'. His words then provoked strong reaction, with many NGO representatives calling on the president to apologise. But, the president did not comply.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Jahn to run for Social Democrats in Prague
    09/10/2005

    The Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Martin Jahn, not affiliated with any political party, is a step closer to leading the Social Democratic Party in the Prague riding in national elections next year. If he takes the post, he will face off against right-of-centre Civic Democratic Party leader Miroslav Topolanek. An overwhelming majority of the Social Democrats' regional executive committee put forward Jahn's name on Saturday.

    Not all within the Social Democratic Party agree with the decision: some members say that choosing an independent candidate for Prague will play into political opponents' hands.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech-owned plane makes unscheduled landing in Brno
    09/10/2005

    A Boeing 737 operated by the Czech-owned charter carrier Travel Service was forced to make an unscheduled landing on Saturday due to technical problems. The plane landed in the city of Brno while en route to the Greek island of Crete. According to the carrier, none of the 180 passengers or crew suffered injury. A replacement plane then took passengers on to their original destination.

    Travel Service is the Czech Republic's biggest domestic charter carrier. On September 1st another of company's 737 experienced problems en route to Alicante, Spain, forced to make an emergency landing in France.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Four Czech soldiers injured in Kuwait
    09/10/2005

    Four Czech soldiers were injured in Kuwait on Friday evening - one of them seriously - when their vehicle, a Land Rover, flipped on its side. A tire defect was responsible for the accident. All four men were hospitalised but three were released on Saturday. The fourth remains in critical condition.

    The Czech Republic has a number of soldiers in the region: around 100 military police are stationed training police officers in neighbouring Iraq.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Zelezny fourth at World Athletics final in Monte Carlo
    09/10/2005

    Czech javelin thrower and three-time Olympic Gold medal champion Jan Zelezny finished 4th on Saturday at the World Athletics final in Monte Carlo. The world-record holder threw a distance of 83.98 metres but finished just behind Makarov of Russia. Thorkildsen of Norway was 2nd, while Finland's Pitkamaki was 1st.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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