News

Police investigators have filed additional charges against the choirmaster of the Bambini di Praga children's choir, for allegedly sexually abusing dozens of girls, all of whom are current or former members of the internationally known group. Choirmaster Bohumil Kulinsky, who was arrested in November, has been charged with 25 counts of having sexual relations with underage girls. Police have so far questioned over 100 former choir girls; the most recent charges relate to former members who are now adult women.

Twelve Czechs remain unaccounted for in the wake of the Indian Ocean disaster, eight of the missing are feared dead. A man who has both Czech and Swiss citizenship is also missing, but is kept on the Swiss list since he lives and works in Switzerland. The Czech Republic has only one confirmed casualty so far - a 24 year old woman. Meanwhile, experts have been taking DNA samples from relatives of the eight Czechs believed to have died. The results have already been sent to Thailand and Sri Lanka in order to aid the identification process. The Czech Foreign Ministry has now openly acknowledged the possibility that the bodies of some Czech victims may already have been buried in mass graves.

The centre right Civic Democratic Party will put forward a bill on a referendum on the European Constitution. The proposed bill relates to this particular referendum alone, and stipulates under what conditions it should be held. Posing a simple yes-or-no question, the referendum should be preceded by an in-depth informative campaign and should take place before the end of the year. The leading opposition party of Civic Democrats are opposed to the European Constitution in its present form and have repeatedly warned Czechs that it would restrict the sovereignty of their country.

Prime Minister Stanislav Gross, the acting head of the Social Democrats, over the weekend won the support of three regional party branches in his bid to become party chairman. The Social Democrats are due to elect a new leadership at the party's national conference in late March. Prime Minister Gross' main rival for the nomination is Zdenek Skromach, the Labour and Social Affairs Minister, who garnered little support at the weekend vote.