• Poll: majority feels Czech Republic can do without immigrants
    03/21/2005

    A new poll just released has suggested that as many as 60 percent of Czechs feel the country does not need new immigrants, answering with ambivalence or in the negative to a question regarding whether foreigners should be allowed to stay. Responses were similarly negative to the question whether or not the Czech Republic needed immigrants for the future. The Czech Republic has an aging population, and experts generally agree the country would benefit from a new influx of immigrants. Some studies suggest that by 2050 a quarter of the population could be made up of immigrants, a number that echoes general EU estimates.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Record number of tourists visited Czech Rep in 2004
    03/21/2005

    The Czech tourist office, Czechtourism, has revealed that a record number of tourists visited the Czech Republic last year. According to the numbers the Czech Republic saw 7.9 million foreign visitors in 2004, a 19 per cent rise, year-on-year. The greatest number of visitors to the Czech Republic traditionally come from Germany, but the number of tourists from Great Britain rose markedly in 2004, to almost 800, 000 - an increase of almost 60 percent.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Football: Baros comes under fire for late challenge
    03/21/2005

    Liverpool footballer Milan Baros has drawn criticism from both rivals as well as a team mate following a late challenge against Everton's Alan Stubbs that saw the Czech player sent off the pitch on Sunday. After the match Liverpool team captain Steven Gerrard complained that Baros had complicated the team win. The Czech striker could now miss up to three matches in a row, which would leave Liverpool momentarily without a single regular line-up striker: Morientes, Mellor, and Cisse are all on the sick list.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Gross refuses to react to pressure from Christian Democrats
    03/20/2005

    Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has refused to react to a threat by the Christian Democrats to push for early elections and leave the governing coalition if Mr Gross is not replaced at a Social Democrats party conference next weekend. Christian Democrat chairman Miroslav Kalousek has been calling for Mr Gross's resignation since the prime minister and his wife became involved in a financial scandal.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Ad agency offers Czechs chance to appear on billboards critical of PM
    03/20/2005

    Meanwhile, a Prague advertising agency is offering Czechs the chance to appear on billboards critical of the prime minister, at a special cut-price rate, the newspaper Nedelni Svet reported on Sunday. For 3,000 Czech crowns (or around 130 US dollars) people can have their own photo on the billboards, beside the slogan "I'm ashamed of my prime minister". The billboards are something of a parody of Social Democrat pre-election adverts from last year featuring Mr Gross.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • No shortage of judges, says Klaus
    03/20/2005

    President Vaclav Klaus has said the Czech Republic does not have a shortage of judges, adding that the country had the highest number per citizen of any OECD country. Mr Klaus's remarks follow controversy over his refusal to appoint a number of judges because they were under the age of 30. Speaking on Czech Radio on Saturday, the president said the real problem was the placement of judges in different parts of the country and the way the courts were organized.

    Protestors mark second anniversary of start of US-led war against Iraq

    Around 200 people have held a demonstration in Prague on the second anniversary of the beginning of the United States-led war against Iraq. The demonstrators compared the US presence in Iraq to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, and called on President George Bush to withdraw US troops from the country.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Main prizes go to Tata Bojs, Barta, Langerova at Czech music awards
    03/20/2005

    The rock group Tata Bojs were named band of the year at the Czech music industry's annual Andel (Angel) awards ceremony on Saturday night. Male singer of the year was Dan Barta, while the female singer of the year award went to Aneta Langerova, the winner of a television talent contest. The late Zuzana Nazarova was inducted into the Czech music hall of fame at the ceremony in Ostrava.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Koller out for Finland game
    03/20/2005

    Giant forward Jan Koller is likely to miss the first of two upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Finland and Andorra. Koller, the second highest goal scorer in the history of Czech international football, sustained a muscle injury during an appearance for his club Borussia Dortmund.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Christian Democrats again call for Gross's resignation
    03/19/2005

    The Christian Democrats have passed a resolution at a party conference in Prague, saying they will leave the governing coalition and push for early elections if Prime Minister Stanislav Gross is not replaced as head of the Social Democrats at their conference next weekend. Christian Democrat leader Miroslav Kalousek has been calling for Mr Gross's resignation since the prime minister and his wife became involved in a financial scandal.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President Klaus compares EU to Comecon
    03/19/2005

    President Vaclav Klaus has compared the European Union to the Communist-era international organization Comecon, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Speaking in the US magazine Time, Mr Klaus said the EU was structurally similar to the old Eastern bloc organisation, although ideologically different. He also reiterated his call for the EU to be widened rather than more deeply integrated, saying it should accept countries like Kazakhstan and Morocco as members.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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