• Black weekend on Czech roads, at least 17 dead
    08/29/2004

    It has been a black weekend on the Czech Republic's roads, with at least 17 people dying in road accidents. In the worst single crash, six people died in the earlier hours of Saturday morning when their car collided head-on with a van. The last weekend of the summer holidays sees high numbers of road deaths every year.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Irish opposition calls for "Pirate of Prague" Kozeny to lose Irish passport
    08/29/2004

    An Irish opposition party has called for the rescinding of the Irish citizenship of Viktor Kozeny, a Czech man wanted for large scale fraud in the Czech Republic and the United States. Joe Costello of the Labour Party said the fact people like Mr Kozeny held an Irish passport could create the impression Ireland was a safe haven for "international crooks". Mr Kozeny, who lives in the Bahamas and has been dubbed "the Pirate of Prague", has held an Irish passport since 1995.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Zelezny bows out of Olympics with disappointing ninth place in javelin
    08/29/2004

    Jan Zelezny, who took gold in the javelin at the last three Olympics, came a disappointing ninth at the Athens Games on Saturday evening. The 38-year-old, who is widely regarded as the greatest athlete in the history of the javelin, threw 80.59 metres, some way short of the world record of 98.48 metres he set in 1996. The Czech team has won a total of eight medals in Athens, including one gold, for Roman Sebrle in the decathlon.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Galasek likely to miss first World Cup qualifier
    08/29/2004

    Footballer Tomas Galasek is injured and likely to miss the Czech Republic's first qualifying game for the 2006 World Cup, which is away to Holland on September 6. The 31-year-old midfielder injured an ankle during training for his club Ajax Amsterdam on Saturday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech TV: Telicka considering leaving the civil service
    08/28/2004

    Public broadcaster Czech TV has reported that the Czech Republic's current Commissioner to the European Union, Pavel Telicka, is considering giving up the civil service once his mandate ends in October this year. Mr Telicka's original mandate - till 2009 - was cut short by the Czech government following the collapse of the cabinet of Vladimir Spidla, who has since been nominated for the post of Commissioner in Mr Telicka's stead.

    On Friday Mr Telicka told Czech TV he could not say whether he would stay on in Brussels or return to Prague, indicating he might take a step towards a career in the private sector. Earlier, in July, he refused current Prime Minister Stanislav Gross' offer to take on an advisory post in the Foreign Office.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Six killed, one year-old survives, horrific car accident
    08/28/2004

    Six people including two children were killed in a car accident near the east Bohemian village of Gajary early Saturday. The accident took place at around 1 am when the passengers' vehicle was struck head-on by a van, whose driver suffered injury and is now in hospital. Police are not ruling out alcohol as a factor in the accident. The six people killed were members of two families headed for vacation in Slovakia: a one-year-old child was the sole passenger in the car to survive the crash.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Doktor, Brejchova, come up short of bronze at Olympic Games
    08/28/2004

    Czech canoeist Martin Doktor failed to clinch a medal in two finals on Friday and Saturday morning, when he competed in the men's kilometre and 500 metre events. In the first, Doktor came in 4th place, the second, 5th. Perhaps even more frustrating for Czech fans was Nikola Brejchova's finish in Friday evening's final in the women's javelin. Brejchova held a strong second for most of the final but was beaten by two competitors in the last round to slip to 4th place.

    The Czechs have one more chance to clinch a medal Saturday evening in the men's javelin, in which the legendary Jan Zelezny is competing.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Other news from the Games
    08/28/2004

    Cyclist Radim Korinek came in 22nd in the men's mountain bike final on Saturday morning that was won by French mountain biker Julien Absalon.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Sebrle to carry flag
    08/28/2004

    Decathlon gold medal winner Roman Sebrle has been chosen to carry the Czech Republic's national flag at the Olympic Games' closing ceremony on Sunday.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Finance Ministry to amend law on 'constructions savings' following record fine of anti-monopoly office against participating banks
    08/27/2004

    The Ministry of Finance said on Friday it would amend the law on building and loan institutions in order to allow participants to be able to transfer their so-called "construction savings" schemes to other institutions without penalties. The move came after the Czech anti-monopoly office this week imposed a record high fine of 484 million crowns on the country's six building and loans for having allegedly colluded on prices. The banks, which are likely to appeal the decision, were found to have taken advantage of the fact that building and loan customers cannot switch to other institutions without losing state subsidies.
    Author: Brian Kenety

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