• Rikl, Paes downed in U.S. Open doubles final
    09/11/2004

    Czech tennis player David Rikl and his Indian partner Leander Paes have lost their doubles final at the U.S. Open in New York. The two were defeated in straight sets 6:3, 6:3 by the Bahamian/Canadian duo of Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor.

    The grand-slam finals appearance at Flushing Meadows was Czech player David Rikl's first.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Chelsea's Petr Cech earns yet another clean-sheet
    09/11/2004

    Net minder Petr Cech has earned his fourth clean-sheet in five games, as his football side, Chelsea, tied with Aston Villa on Saturday in the English Premiership. In a notable moment in the game the Czech goalkeeper erased a chance by Hitzlsperger on a free-kick, keeping the game even.

    Chelsea has now conceded just one goal in a total of five games.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech-British air exercises continue despite deaths of six British soldiers
    09/10/2004

    Joint Czech-British military exercises are to continue in south Moravia despite the deaths of six British participants in a helicopter crash on Thursday. However, helicopters being used in the exercises will remain grounded until the cause of the crash has been ascertained, a spokesperson for the Czech Air Force said on Friday. Some reports suggest the four soldiers and two crew were killed after their aircraft hit high-tension wires. The joint exercises began earlier this week and are due to continue until next Friday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President Klaus visits Kyrgyzstan on Central Asia tour
    09/10/2004

    President Vaclav Klaus has arrived in Kyrgyzstan as part of an official tour of Central Asia. Speaking in the capital Bishkek on Friday, Mr Klaus said people in the Czech Republic had forgotten the region in recent years as they concentrated on joining the European Union. He said it was important to re-establish connections with Central Asia, and that there was more to the world than Europe. The Czech president is due to move on to Uzbekistan before returning to Prague on Wednesday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech soldiers fly out to replace group serving in Afghanistan
    09/10/2004

    Fifteen Czech soldiers have flown to Afghanistan to replace a group who have been serving with the ISAF peacekeeping mission under NATO command for the last six months. Most of the Czech soldiers, who are based in Kabul, are pyrotechnics specialists.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Economic growth highest in three and a half years
    09/10/2004

    Economic growth in the Czech Republic sped up considerably in the second quarter of the year, reaching 4.1 percent. The latest GDP figures, released Friday, are the highest since the last quarter of the year 2000.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Social Democrats disagree over pay rises for police, fire fighters, prison guards
    09/10/2004

    Disagreements have emerged within the ruling Social Democrats over pay rises for the police, the fire service and prison guards, the newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Friday. Prime Minister Stanislav Gross, a former interior minister, has called for provisions for the pay increases in next year's budget, while some MPs from the party say they would not support the move unless teachers and doctors also got rises.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Svoboda criticizes proposal to axe funds for new EU members
    09/09/2004

    On a working visit to Germany, the Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda on Thursday criticized a French proposal to axe structural funds for new EU members. In talks with his German counterpart Joschka Fischer, minister Svoboda pointed out that the debate on the future EU budget would be taking place alongside a debate on the future EU constitution and that it would be impossible to keep the two issues separate. Every country in the EU cares about finances, the Czech Foreign Minister said. In view of the financial burden of the recent EU expansion, some of the economically stronger nations such as France and Germany are now considering lowering their annual contribution to EU coffers in the years between 2007 and 2013. This would have an adverse effect on the newcomer states.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Express train de-railed, no injuries
    09/09/2004

    An express train from Pilsen to Brno got de-railed on Thursday morning due to a wrongly positioned shunt. No one was hurt in the accident. According to Czech Railways there was a problem with technology and the shunts were being switched manually in the course of the morning. The signalman responsible for the accident has suffered a nervous break down and has had to be hospitalized. Material damage has been assessed at close to half a million Czech crowns.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • 100 Czech troops to return home from Afghanistan
    09/08/2004

    One hundred Czech soldiers serving in Afghanistan under the US-led military operation "Enduring Freedom" are to return home as early as next week. A Czech Defence Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday the soldiers, who have been serving in Afghanistan on a six-month mission, will return to the Czech Republic between September 15th and 20th. Replacement troops are not currently being considered. Much of the contingent is made up of an elite forces unit specially geared towards the fight against terrorism. Under American command, the Czechs participated in efforts to track down armed groups of Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters in the Afghan mountains. The unit's deployment marked the Czechs' first direct involvement in a combat operation since World War II.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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