• Thirteen people injured in bus accident
    10/28/2004

    Thirteen people were injured - two seriously - on Thursday morning when two buses collided in northern Moravia. A coach, taking a football team aged between 14-18 years to a nearby game, crashed into a local bus when its brakes failed at the bottom of a hill. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident but believe the bus slid on dry leafs.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • President Klaus says cabinet has left little time to discuss European Constitution
    10/28/2004

    Czech President Vaclav Klaus has accused the cabinet of playing down the importance of the country's approval of the European Constitution. While the official signing ceremony will be taking place in Rome on Friday, the cabinet waited until Wednesday to approve the draft constitution in order to give some time for discussion, Mr Klaus said.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech Republic donates 53,000 pounds for Battle of Britain Monument
    10/28/2004

    The Czech Republic has donated 53,000 pounds sterling to the construction of a monument dedicated to the Royal Air Force pilots who flew during the Battle of Britain in 1940. Of the 2,936 pilots from fifteen countries, eighty-nine were from Czechoslovakia. The Battle of Britain Monument will be unveiled in London some time next year and the project is expected to cost 1.6 million pounds.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Czech government approves draft European Constitution to be signed in Rome
    10/27/2004

    The Czech government has approved the draft European Constitution and decided that Prime Minister Stanislav Gross and Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda will sign the document at this Friday's ceremony in Rome. President Vaclav Klaus, who has been very critical of the document, refused to sign it. The ratification process of the document has not been decided as of yet, but it is expected that a referendum on the draft will be held.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Czech psychiatrist receives Time magazine's European 'Hero of the Year' award
    10/27/2004

    Czech psychiatrist Jan Pfeiffer was among 29 people to receive Time magazine's European 'Hero of the Year' award in London on Tuesday night for his work to reform the Czech mental heath care system. Dr Pfeiffer, a prominent defender of patients' rights, helped lead a campaign to abolish the use of caged and netted beds in Czech institutions.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • PSE drops on news of possible Cesky Telecom stake sale via the markets
    10/27/2004

    News that the government may sell phone operator Cesky Telecom via the capital market sent the stock and Prague indices tumbling on Wednesday, the bourse said. The PSE's main index PX 50 shed 1.47 percent and the blue-chip index PX-D lost 1.42 percent. Telecom shares finally fell 5.23 percent to 315 crowns. Brokers have said a sale of the government's 51 percent share on stock exchanges would mean a considerable increase in supply on the market, the Czech news agency reported, and this made investors offload the stock.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • New case of BSE
    10/27/2004

    Tests have confirmed a fifteenth case of BSE or "mad cow" disease in the Czech Republic. The infected cow is from a farm in the Svitava region in the eastern part of the country and vets say that 50 other heads of cattle may have to be put down within the prescribed safety measures. The first case of BSE in the Czech Republic was detected in June of 2001 when the State Veterinary Office imposed strict measures regarding animal breeding, cattle feed and the sale and import of meat and meat products.
    Author: Brian Kenety

  • Fourteen-year-old admits to killing classmate
    10/26/2004

    A 14-year-old boy has admitted to stabbing to death his classmate aged 13, outside a school in the north Moravian village of Hanusovice. It is not clear what motivated his actions, but there is speculation that bullying may have been behind the attack. Jan Petrek bled to death minutes after being stabbed in the chest and throat during a fight near his school on Monday morning. Czechs have been alarmed by a growing number of violent crimes committed by minors in recent months.

    In January a 13 year old schoolgirl was raped and stabbed to death by a classmate and recently five boys under the age of fifteen stabbed a woman in her 80s to death with a pair of scissors, stealing her money. Justice Minister Pavel Nemec has said he will speed up moves in Parliament to lower the age of criminal responsibility, now set at fifteen.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • New case of BSE
    10/26/2004

    Vets suspect they have uncovered a fifteenth case of BSE in the Czech Republic. The suspected case is from a farm in the Svitava region in the eastern part of the country. The results of a third test should be available on Wednesday. The first case of BSE in the Czech Republic was uncovered in June of 2001 when the State Veterinary Office imposed strict food safety measures in connection with BSE. If Wednesday's results are positive some 50 heads of cattle will have to be put down at the farm.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Moserova receives French Order of Merit from President Chirac
    10/26/2004

    Czech senator Jaroslava Moserova has been awarded the French Order of Merit by President Jacques Chirac. A doctor who specialised in burns, she was the first to treat Jan Palach after he burnt himself to death in 1969 in protest of the Soviet invasion of his homeland. Jaroslava Moserova entered politics after the Velvet Revolution, later serving as ambassador to Australia and New Zealand. She stood unsuccessfully for president last year.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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