• Abstract painting fetches record amount at Czech auction
    10/07/2007

    A painting by Czech artist Frantisek Kupka has been sold at auction for 22.1 million CZK (1.1 million USD), becoming the most expensive work of art ever to be sold at a Czech auction. The painting, called Elevation IV, was created in 1938 and has been described as 'abstraction at its purest'. Previously, the most expensive painting to be sold at a Czech auction had been another work by Mr. Kupka, which fetched 13.4 million CZK in May this year.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Beer sales for first eight months of this year up by 2.2%
    10/07/2007

    Domestic beer sales for the first eight months of this year are up by 2.2% on last year's figures, revealed the Czech Beer and Malt Association on Sunday. But a surprise came in the form of beer sales for the months of July and August, which had been unexpectedly low. July and August's beer sales were actually down on last year's - a result which those in the industry are attributing to last year's exceptionally strong sales throughout the summer months. Despite the setback, sales of Czech beer are expected to go up by somewhere in the region of 2 - 3% this year. And beer production is expected to rise above the golden 20 million hectoliter mark for the first time. Last year, the Czech Republic produced some 19.8 million hectoliters of beer.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Vaclav Havel's Forum 2000 kicks-off in Prague
    10/07/2007

    Sunday sees the launch of the 11th Forum 2000, a conference held by former Czech President Vaclav Havel, and attracting prominent figures from all over the world. The theme for this 11th Forum is 'Freedom and Responsibility', and guests include former US Foreign Secretary Madeleine Albright, Nobel peace-prize winner Shirin Ebadi, and former head of the World Bank Paul Wolfowitz. Forum 2000 will run until Tuesday, and consists of seminars, workshops, roundtables and exhibitions. More information can be found at www.forum2000.cz.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Czech women's basketball team saves face with victory against Lithuania
    10/07/2007

    The Czech Women's Basketball team has won its play-off for fifth place in the European Basketball Championships. The Czechs, who won the competition last year, secured fifth spot by beating Lithuania 93:54 on Sunday. The Czech team sought to retain the European title, but was knocked out of the running by a surprise defeat to Belarus on Thursday. This victory against Lithuania guarantees the Czech team a place in next year's Olympic Games.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • United States to give Czech Republic six million dollars of military equipment
    10/06/2007

    The United States is set to donate over 6 million USD worth of military equipment to the Czech Republic. Czech Deputy Defence Minister Martin Bartak made the announcement on Friday, following talks with Debra Cagan, an assistant to the US Secretary of Defence. The donation will consist of around 20 light armoured vehicles, electronic navigation equipment and weapons systems. It is being given under the auspices of the American 'Solidarity Fund', through which the United States donates to other allied armed forces. The first delivery is expected by the end of this year. The Defence Ministry plan to use the donated equipment in Afghanistan's Logar province in particular, where Czech forces are currently operating alongside their US allies.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Green deputies against leaving the coalition
    10/06/2007

    At a meeting on Friday, Green Party deputies agreed that their party should not withdraw from the governing coalition. Some Greens had suggested pulling out of the coalition, in reaction to what they called the 'unfair' treatment of former Education Minister Dana Kuchtova and her subsequent resignation. Heads of the Czech Green Party said that the events leading up to Ms. Kuchtova's resignation 'were not to be repeated', but added that it would be irresponsible to leave the government coalition now, when there was 'no other defender of environment-focused policy and human rights'. The Green Party will be holding a conference for its members on Sunday in Brno, at which the issue will further be discussed.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Iva Ritschelova turns down education minister post
    10/06/2007

    In related news, the rector of Usti nad Labem's Jan Evangelista Purkyne University, Iva Ritschelova, has turned down the post of Education Minister. In a statement to the press, Ms. Ritschelova said that she was delighted to have been asked, but due to prior commitments, could not accept the post. Ms. Ritschelova was asked to take over at the Ministry of Education following the resignation of Dana Kuchtova earlier this week. Ms. Kuchtova resigned from the post of Education Minister in connection with the Ministry's failure to secure around 60 billion CZK (3 billion USD) of EU funds, earmarked for the Czech Republic. Speculation now turns to the former head of Zlin University, Petr Saha, who has yet to comment.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Czech Republic gives two million crowns to victims of Burmese junta
    10/06/2007

    The Czech Republic has donated 2 million CZK (100,000 USD) in financial aid to victims of the Burmese military junta. The funds have been donated to the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, which works with Burmese refugees. The Czech Foreign Ministry made the announcement on Friday, having previously spoken out against the Burmese government's use of force to break up pro-democracy demonstrations late last month.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Czechs encouraged to heat their homes in an environmentally-friendly way
    10/06/2007

    On Friday, the Ministry for the Environment announced that it was planning to implement a system of fines for households which produced a larger-than-average amount of toxic emissions. By 2014, the Environment Minister Martin Bursik, is wanting all domestic coal fireplaces to be replaced by smaller stoves, or biomass boilers. He hopes this system of fines will encourage Czechs to switch to greener heating methods. According to Saturday's Mlada Fronta Dnes newspaper, over 10 billion CZK (0.5 billion USD) worth of EU funds will be available for households wanting to make the switch.

    Minister Bursik's proposal comes on the back of a report commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment, which found that air pollution in the Czech Republic was at 'alarmingly' high levels. According to the study, 62% of Czechs are breathing air which contains an excess level of harmful dust.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

  • Wages set to go up: Civil servants to receive the biggest pay-rise
    10/06/2007

    According to the predictions of the Czech Finance Ministry, civil servants can expect a pay-rise of around 5% next year. This would bring their average wage up to around 27,000 CZK (13,500 USD) a month. In a draft of next year's budget, the government has allocated some 130 billion CZK to the payment of its public administrators. This figure is 4 billion CZK up on last year's amount. According to predictions, policemen, soldiers and customs officials can also look forward to a pay-rise. Their average salary looks set to go up by around 3%. And the Ministry of Finance predicts that those working in the private sector will not be left behind - their average wage is expected to rise to around 23,500 CZK a month.
    Author: Rosie Johnston

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