• 08/05/2005

    There has been a huge increase in the number of Czechs taking out mortgages, thanks to low interest rates and concerted advertising campaigns, Lidove noviny reported on Friday. All of the country's major banks have recorded significant increases in the number of mortgages they have sold, with CSOB bank, for instance, recording a rise of 106 percent.

    Meanwhile, foreign real estate funds invested over 600 million US dollars in property in the Czech Republic in the first half of 2005, a year-on-year increase of 75 percent, Hospodarske noviny reported.

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 08/05/2005

    A new show by Irish-dancer Michael Flatley due to be performed in Prague later this month has been cancelled. The "Celtic Tiger" show had been postponed from an original date in early July. Its Prague backers have sued Mr Flatley for damages after the latest cancellation. The Chicago-born performer rose to world fame with "Lord of the Dance".

    Author: Ian Willoughby
  • 08/04/2005

    A special investigatory team of police has begun looking into the police force's recent action to shut down CzechTek, an annual techno party that convened this year in western Bohemia. A police spokesperson said on Thursday that the team was asking both the media and the general public to submit any video recordings, photographs or other relevant documentation of the CzechTek event to the police, in order to aid the team in its work. The formation of the police investigatory team comes on the heels of a Wednesday meeting of the Senate's Defence and Security Committee at which members said the police had been too heavy handed in breaking up the techno party.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 08/04/2005

    In related news, the Czech ombudsman, Otakar Motejl, said on Thursday that his office would launch its own independent investigation, focusing on steps taken by the authorities and police to disband the CzechTek event, in which dozens of techno fans and police were injured on Saturday. Police had used tear gas, stun grenades, batons and water cannons to disperse the crowds, whom the government say were trespassing on private property. This week, thousands of mostly young people held daily demonstrations outside the Interior Ministry and at other Prague locations in protest of the police action, and Mr Motejl said the ombudsman's office had received numerous complaints.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 08/04/2005

    Several hundred people, mostly trade unionists, demonstrated in the Romanian city of Iasi on Thursday to demand the extradition of a Czech businessman who fled the country last week to avoid going to prison for incitement to murder. Frantisek Priplata was convicted in June of provoking the murder of a Romanian trade unionist who had been fighting to cancel a contract that Mr Priplata had secured for his employer to buy into a Romanian steelworks. He was to begin an eight-year prison sentence in Romania next month, but escaped to the Czech Republic on Friday. Mr Priplata claims he was not given a fair trial and the Czech foreign ministry has said he will not be extradited. Romania, however, is expected to issue an international warrant for Mr Priplata's arrest and to push for his return.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 08/04/2005

    Two Czech hockey stars have reportedly signed on to play for the NHL's New York Rangers. Forward Martin Straka and defender Marek Malik, who during the NHL lockout have played in the Czech Elite League for the Plzen and Vitkovice teams respectively, are to join their national team mate Jaromir Jagr, who now plays in Russia. During the 2003-04 season, the last before the lockout, 71 Czechs were playing in the NHL.

    Author: Brian Kenety
  • 08/03/2005

    The Senate's Defence and Security Committee said on Wednesday that the police were too heavy-handed in the break-up of the CzechTek techno party this weekend; the Human Rights Committee intends to call on the Interior Ministry to launch an official investigation. The Czech justice ministry has also asked the Pilsen state attorney's office and an independent law firm to make an assessment on the police intervention. Eighty-nine police officers and a few dozen ravers are reported to have been wounded during Saturday's operation.

    Author: Dita Asiedu
  • 08/03/2005

    Protest demonstrations against the police operation continued at several cities around the country on Wednesday. CzechTek organisers have said they would not participate in talks proposed by the interior ministry. The meeting between them was to be mediated by former Czech President Vaclav Havel, who has publicly condemned the police operation. On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek visited the site in west Bohemia at which CzechTek was held.

    Author: Dita Asiedu
  • 08/03/2005

    Meanwhile, the organisers of protest demonstrations say they fear another CzechTek participant is dead. They say the French national had to be taken to hospital with injuries suffered during the police intervention and has not been seen by his family and friends for the last two days. The hospital says it has no record of a Frenchman admitted over the weekend. A CzechTek participant died on Saturday after he was hit by a car, while crossing a nearby motor-way.

    Author: Dita Asiedu
  • 08/03/2005

    The senior ruling coalition partners, the Social Democrats, have accused the opposition centre-right Civic Democrats of using the CzechTek affair to gain popularity by publicly condemning the police operation, which has been backed by the prime and interior ministers. The Civic Democrats have called an emergency meeting of leaders of the four non-Communist parliamentary parties to evaluate Saturday's operation. The Social Democrats said on Wednesday that they would not attend.

    Author: Dita Asiedu

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