News

The Liberec region has recorded a sharp rise in the rate of HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis infections. Five new cases of HIV were recorded in the region in the first six months of 2007, two more than were recorded in the first six months of the previous two years.

In the same period, there were also 13 new cases of hepatitis B, more than double the amount for the whole of 2006, and 29 new cases of syphilis (as opposed to 18 cases over the previous twelve months). Experts have blamed the increases in infections in the region on unsafe sexual practices, particularly the lack of condom use. They also warn that the real rate of infections could be up to ten times higher than the official figures.

Prague has made an official bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. A letter stating Prague's interest in hosting the Olympics was signed by Prague mayor Pavel Bem and the head of the Czech Olympic Committee Milan Jirasek in Prague on Tuesday. The signing ceremony was attended by the country's leading sportsmen and women, among them Olympic gold winners Dana Zatopkova, Stepanka Hilgertova and Roman Sebrle. "This is a great day for Prague and a tremendous challenge for us all" the mayor said. However not everyone approves of the bid. The Green Party argues that at the present time hosting the Olympics is a luxury that Prague simply cannot afford.

The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling by the City Court in that the Prague City Hall was wrong to ban a planned protest march against the US radar base in January of this year. The protest march was called by the No to Bases civic initiative but failed to take place after the City Hall banned it for fear of traffic complications. The head of the initiative Jan Majicek took the matter to court saying that the City Hall, dominated by Civic Democrats, had made a political decision. Both the City Court and now the Supreme Court ruled in his favour.

The police have charged a doctor with negligence resulting in death after she failed to treat a homeless man in an Olomouc hospital. The man came into the emergency ward complaining of stomach and chest pains and was briefly examined by the doctor and sent away on the grounds that it was nothing serious. The man died outside the hospital gates a few hours later. An autopsy revealed that he had died of double pneumonia and medical experts reviewing the case say he should have been hospitalized right away.