News
President Klaus to meet Tony Blair in London
The Czech President Vaclav Klaus arrived in London on Monday for a two-day visit that will also include talks with the British Prime Minister Tony Blair. On Monday, Mr Klaus had lunch with Prince Andrew, then he met Czech veterans of World War II at Westminster Abbey before heading to a reception with Czechs living in Britain and a dinner in the City financial district. He also met Britain's Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, during the day, ahead of meetings on Tuesday with Tony Blair, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and the opposition Conservative leader Michael Howard. The visit is the first to Britain for President Klaus since the Czech Republic joined the European Union in May this year.
Czech president warns against early adoption of euro
The Czech President Vaclav Klaus has warned against the dangers of adopting the euro too soon in an interview for Monday's edition of the Czech daily Mlada Fronta Dnes. Mr Klaus, a former liberal economist and has been labelled a eurosceptic, expressed concern about arrangements for adapting to use of the euro "and their disagreeable effects on the whole economy". The Czech Republic joined the European Union on May 1, but Mr Klaus said that Czechs would not be at a disadvantage if other new EU members adopted the euro first. He said he saw the bigger danger in adopting the euro too soon. According to President Klaus analyses show that those countries among the 15 old EU members that remained outside the euro zone have rather benefited.
Internationally wanted businessman Kellovsky caught
Police in North Moravia say they have detained Petr Kellovsky, an internationally wanted businessman from Havirov, North Moravia, on Sunday. Along with other people, the police say that Mr Kellovsky was a member of an organised group, which received from the former Yugoslavia false cheques from a non-existent U.S. bank, worth about 850 million crowns. The gang pretended that the cheques were part of the U.S. humanitarian aid for Serbia and Montenegro, afflicted by the war in the former Yugoslavia. Six members of the group are being held in custody.
Brno court deals with case of child prostitution in Znojmo
The Brno Regional court has started hearing the case of 41-year-old Jana Burdova from Znojmo, south Moravia, who is suspected of organising child prostitution in 2000-2003, which involved four girls aged from 7 to 16, including her own daughters. Men from nearby Austria were the girls' most frequent clients. If found guilty, Ms Burdova faces up to 12 years in prison. According to experts, child prostitution is one of the Czech Republic's chief problems in the security area. It occurs mainly in border regions and in Prague. The country has been repeatedly criticised by various foreign institutions in this respect.
Czech-born German MEP opens office in Prague
The Czech-born Euro-MP for the German Green Party, Milan Horacek, opened his office in Prague on Monday. Mr Horacek, who is one of the founders of the German Green Party, says that in his five-year term in the European Parliament he wants to address problems faced by both Czechs and Germans. Among them, he mentioned the Roma holocaust during WWII, trafficking in women and child prostitution. Mr Horacek is also a member of the Czech Green Party.
Weather
Tuesday should be a partly cloudy day with maximum daytime temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius.
