• Sixth Czech tsunami victim identified in Thailand
    04/30/2005

    DNA tests have confirmed the identity of another Czech national who was killed by the tsunami wave in Thailand at the end of last year. The woman is the sixth confirmed Czech victim of the disaster; five people were killed in Thailand, one in Sri Lanka. Two Czechs still remain unaccounted for. They went missing in the Thai island of Phi Phi are also believed to have died.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • EP calls for removal of pig farm from site of Romany concentration camp
    04/29/2005

    The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for the removal of a pig farm from the site of a Nazi concentration camp near the south Bohemian village of Lety. Over 1,200 Czech Romanies were interned there in 1942 before being sent to Auschwitz. Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said on Friday he would be in favour of removing the pig farm, while President Vaclav Klaus said it was a matter for the Czech Republic, not the EU. Mr Klaus said most MEPs did not have enough information about the issue.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • EP president defends MEPs critical of Czech president over EU Constitution
    04/29/2005

    Meanwhile, the president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, has defended two leading MEPs who recently criticised the Czech president for his opposition to the European Constitution. Mr Klaus called for an apology after Alejo Vidal-Quadras and Jo Leinen said he was misleading Czech voters on the issue, and could lead the Czech Republic into isolation. On Friday the Czech president refused to react to Mr Borrell's statement, saying it was an insufficient response to a letter of complaint he had sent to the president of the European Parliament.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • State making donation towards repair of Chile forest damaged by fire started by Czech tourist
    04/29/2005

    The Czech Republic is to provide 4.5 million Czech crowns (almost 200,000 US dollars) towards the renewal of a national park in Chile, which was badly damaged in a forest fire started accidentally by a Czech tourist. Over 11,000 hectares of the Torres del Paine park were destroyed in February's fire. The Chilean authorities say it will take more than 7 million US dollars and over a decade to repair the damage.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • University students to demonstrate in sharp rise in cost of halls of residence
    04/29/2005

    Students of Prague's Charles University are planning to protest in May against increases in the cost of halls of residence, Pravo reported on Friday. The current monthly rent of around 1,000 Czech crowns (just over 40 US dollars) is set to at least double, due to a change in the grants system. The students are planning to demonstrate at both the Office of the Government and the Education Ministry, and will call for the resignation of Minister Petra Buzkova, said the daily.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Britain's Prince Edward to visit west Bohemian golf club opened by Edward VI
    04/29/2005

    Britain's Prince Edward is to visit in July a Czech golf club which is the only club outside the United Kingdom allowed to call itself "royal". The club, in the spa town of Marianske Lazne, was opened by his great-great-great-grandfather King Edward VII in 1905. The king became the club's first listed member and visited 10 times over the following four years.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech ice hockey team hoping for gold at Vienna World Championships
    04/29/2005

    The Czech ice hockey team have left for Vienna, where they are hoping to win the sport's World Championships for the first time in four years. The Czechs were beaten 2:1 by Canada in their last warm up game in Prague on Thursday evening. Their first match at the World Championships is against Switzerland on Sunday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • PM to negotiate support in confidence vote with opposition
    04/28/2005

    The new Czech Prime Minister, Jiri Paroubek, has said he believes all Social Democrat MPs will support his cabinet in the upcoming confidence vote, however he is prepared to negotiate with the opposition Civic Democrats and Communists. Several Social Democrat deputies have not yet confirmed whether they will vote for Prime Minister Paroubek's government.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Poll: Social Democrats lose voters owing to government crisis
    04/28/2005

    A poll conducted by the Factum agency suggests that the recent government crisis has caused support for the ruling Social Democrats to drop by more than four percent but did not affect the coalition Christian Democrats. The opposition Civic Democrats top the poll with 35 percent of voter support. The opposition Communist Party, with some 26 percent, would become the second strongest party in parliament, if elections were held tomorrow.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech central bank cuts rates to lowest level in history
    04/28/2005

    The Czech National Bank on Thursday unexpectedly cut interest rates to their lowest level ever, with the key repo rate down by a quarter percentage point to 1.75 percent, a spokeswoman for the bank has said. Analysts say the cuts will weaken the crown for a longer period, bringing down the costs of credits and mortgages.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

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