• Communists ready to negotiate support for minority government
    03/03/2005

    The opposition Communists say they are ready to start negotiations about their support for a Social Democrat minority government. In exchange for their support, the Communists would require a change in the Social Democrats' policy. That scenario is one of several possible resolutions of the current coalition crisis, which broke out over Prime Minister Gross's property affairs in mid-February.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Finance Minister: costs of transformation of Czech economy top 600 billion
    03/03/2005

    Crowns

    The Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has said the costs of the Czech economic transformation between the year 1990 and 2004 exceeded 600 billion crowns (26 billion dollars), with most of the money going to bank and company revitalisation. Further dozens of billions of crowns were paid in support to municipalities and regions, Mr Sobotka said.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • PPF consortium withdraws from Telecom sale, gives no reasons
    03/03/2005

    The consortium of firms PPF, J&T, InWay and Tiscali has pulled out from a tender for a state-held stake in Cesky Telecom, a PPF spokeswoman said without giving any reasons. The consortium allegedly offered the highest preliminary bid of 71.3 billion crowns. Still in play for the majority stake in Cesky Telecom are France Telecom with the consortium Blackstone/CVC/Provident and telecoms operators Swisscom, Belgacom and Telefonica.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech arms makers linked to illegal arms deals with Congo
    03/03/2005

    Czech arms manufacturer Arms Moravia appears to have exported arms to Congo, despite an international embargo, Thursday's edition of Hospodarske noviny reported. It says another company, Ceska zbrojovka Uhersky Brod attempted to illegally export over five thousand sub-machine guns to the country in the year 2000. The paper says former foreign minister Jan Kavan okayed the latter deal, despite having been made aware of the embargo.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Prague High Court to hear Srba case again
    03/03/2005

    The Supreme Court has ruled that the Prague High Court should hear the case of former Foreign Ministry general secretary Karel Srba again. The court upheld the recourse filed by the Supreme State Attorney who considered an eight-year sentence for Mr Srba too lenient. Mr Srba is serving a prison sentence for involvement in the preparation of the planned contract killing of an investigative journalist who in her articles pointed to his dubious financial practices at the Foreign Ministry.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech climber found safe in Scottish Highlands
    03/03/2005

    A Czech climber has been found by Scottish mountain rescuers, two days after going missing on Shelter Stone Crag Mountain in the Highlands. The alarm was raised after the Czech man and a Scottish mountaineer did not return on Tuesday evening.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Property owners to take state to court in the next month
    03/02/2005

    Property owners in the Czech Republic intend to sue the state for money lost through regulated rent, the Civic Association of Property Owners (OSMD) said on Wednesday. Property owners have lost up to 50 billion Czech crowns (2.2 billion US dollars) since 2002, as the state's rent-control system makes it impossible for them to cover basic maintenance costs, the association says.

    The decision to take the state to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg comes after that court ruled in favour of a Polish property owner last week, giving Poland six months to change its regulated-rent system to avoid property owners from making losses.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Coalition leaders meet to discuss future of government
    03/02/2005

    The leaders of the three ruling coalition parties have failed to come to a compromise over the future of the government at a joint meeting in Prague on Wednesday. The coalition of the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats, and the Freedom Union, has been threatening to break up, following internal disagreement over whether Prime Minister Stanislav Gross should remain in office. Mr Gross has been in hot water after failing to explain how he was able to pay for his flat in Prague six years ago.

    Fearing the scandal would damage the coalition's image, the junior Christian Democrats have called onto Mr Gross to be removed from office. However, the prime minister's party, the Social Democrats, say he has their full support and would be willing to lead a minority government without the Christian Democrats. The third coalition partner, the Freedom Union, is not in favour of a minority government and some Freedom Union senators have joined the Christian Democrats in their call for Mr Gross' resignation.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Protesters call onto Prime Minister Gross to resign
    03/02/2005

    Meanwhile, some two hundred protesters gathered in front of the government offices in Prague to also call onto Prime Minister Stanislav Gross to step down. The protesters, who have been pointing to the results of opinion polls that suggest most Czechs would like the prime minister to resign, also made the same demand last week. They plan to continue with the protests every Wednesday until their demand is met.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech Republic to buy medication to battle flu pandemic
    03/02/2005

    The Czech Republic is preparing for a battle against a flu pandemic. The cabinet has approved a health ministry proposal to buy medication worth 290 million Czech crowns (a little under 13 million US dollars) that reduces flu symptoms. The last flu pandemic broke out in 1968. Since it would take three months to prepare a vaccine if it were to break out today, the government plans to give the medication Tamiflu to some 1.8 million citizens - children, the elderly, diabetics, or chronic, heart or oncology patients as well as citizens needed to run the state like police officers, fire fighters, and health care workers, for example.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

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