• Man hits five, kills one, after breaking red light
    08/10/2005

    A man who drove through a red light and hit five people at a pedestrian crossing in the east Bohemian town of Pardubice on Tuesday was found to be driving without a license. He is being questioned by the police. The injuries inflicted were serious: an elderly woman died, while the other four pedestrians - including a three-year-old child - have been hospitalised. Minutes before the accident the man had been involved in a minor traffic collision - he was fleeing the scene when he broke the red light.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • One fourth of Czechs say they have met with sexual harassment
    08/10/2005

    One fourth of Czechs, mainly women, say they have encountered sexual harassment at the work place. According to the results of a poll conducted by the Czech Academy of Sciences, thirteen percent said they had experienced it personally, fifteen percent said they had seen it going on or had heard colleagues complain about it. Although sexual harassment was qualified as a crime by an amendment to the labor code in 2004, few cases get to court. The poll indicates that the victims of harassment usually resolve the problem by seeking a job elsewhere.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Customs officers confiscate dangerous nuts
    08/10/2005

    Czech customs officers say they have confiscated twenty tons of potentially cancer-causing nuts from Turkey. A test of random samples found that they far exceeded the set limits of potentially dangerous substances. The delivery was bound for European markets. In 2004 a load of over 120 tons of nuts from China and Iran was confiscated for the same reason. Experts say the high level of carcinogenic substances found in them is due to certain types of mould which are most likely caused by inadequate storage conditions.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Cechlova-Pospisilova's medal bid must wait
    08/10/2005

    Czech discus thrower Vera Cechlova-Pospisilova will have to wait until at least Thursday before going for gold at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. Cechlova-Pospisilova was leading the field on Tuesday evening when the event had to be abandoned due to heavy rains.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Croatian police call for more information for Czech tourists after 14 deaths
    08/09/2005

    The police in Croatia have called for Czech tourists in the country to be better informed about the dangers of holidaying by the Adriatic Sea; 14 Czechs have died in Croatia so far this summer, including a 16-year-old boy who was killed when his rubber boat was struck by lightning on Sunday. Croatia is the most popular foreign holiday destination for Czechs, with an estimated 800,000 due to visit the country this year.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • OECD: Czech Republic, Slovakia record stable high economic growth
    08/09/2005

    The Czech Republic and Slovakia have had the most stable high economic growth among all the countries in the OECD in recent years, according to a study on the organisation's website. The Czech economy is growing by more than four percent a year, while in Slovakia it is five percent.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • PM Paroubek meets candidates for post of culture minister
    08/09/2005

    Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek has held meetings with the two men in the running to replace the late Pavel Dostal as culture minister. Mr Paroubek said both actor Viteslav Jandak and Vladimir Darjanin, head of the Czech pavilion at Expo 2005, were qualified for the job in different ways. Mr Jandak's name emerged after many in the Czech arts world questioned the suitability of Mr Darjanin.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Petrin Tower most visited sight in Prague last month
    08/09/2005

    The Petrin Observation Tower was the most visited sight in Prague last month, according to figures released by the Prague Information Service. Almost 50,000 climbed the city's "little Eiffel Tower" last month. The second most popular sight was the Old Town Hall, which was visited by 37,000 tourists.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President wants explanation of CzechTek incident
    08/08/2005

    President Klaus has once again called on the government to explain the police break up of an open air techno party at the end of July. In a meeting with the Interior Minister Frantisek Bublan on Monday, Mr. Klaus said he was still waiting for a satisfactory explanation as to why the police had used force to break up the CzechTek music festival late last month. The president considers the police intervention "a gross mistake", the interior minister insists it was justified although he says that some individual officers may have broken regulations. Over a hundred people were injured on both sides after riot police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse an estimated 5,000 participants at the CzechTek festival, which took place in a meadow in west Bohemia. Investigations have been launched by both the police themselves and the Ombudsman's office.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Defence minister offers to host future techno parties
    08/08/2005

    Amidst heated debate over the future of techno festivals, the Defence Minister Karel Kuehnl has suggested they could take place on military ground. This would rule out the problem of trespassing on private property, which happened at this year's festival, and also the problem of noise pollution. Mr. Kuehnl told the daily Pravo that a deal on using military ground could be negotiated in the future. Since the incident, there have been suggestions that Parliament should pass a law which would stipulate conditions under which such huge open air festivals could take place, among others giving local inhabitants a say in whether they should be allowed to take place in the close vicinity.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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