News
Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has denied that he formed special police teams as Interior Minister for political purposes.
Prime Minister Stanislav Gross acknowledged on Tuesday that several special police teams reported directly to him during his tenure as Czech interior minister, but denied suggestions in the media that he formed or exploited the teams for political gain. The daily Hospodarske noviny reported that one such police team, known as "Mlyn," or "the Mill," operated for two years in absolute secrecy and reported only to Mr Gross. Formed ahead of the 2002 general elections, the Mill team collected information about people close to former TV Nova director Vladimir Zelezny, for example, and to those handling finances for the national railways operator, Ceske drahy. Prime Minister Gross said that any suggestion he had used police teams to gather compromising information on rival politicians was "absolute nonsense."
Czech charities have collected over 200m crowns from the general public to aid Tsunami survivors, Southeast Asia relief effort.
Czech humanitarian organisations so far have collected over 200 million crowns in public drives to aid survivors of the deadly Tsunami that hit Southeast Asia three weeks ago. A representative from the People in Need foundation said they were receiving more and more donations now from large businesses, which, due to internal approval processes, had been slower react than individuals and smaller organisations. Czech-run charities are now mainly focussing on helping orphans, supplying hospitals and rebuilding fishing villages in the devastated region. Over 150,000 people died in the Tsunami; one Czech woman died; 12 others remain unaccounted for.
Police have filed additional charges against Bambini di Praga choirmaster for alleged sexual abuse of underage girls.
Police investigators have filed additional charges against the choirmaster of the Bambini di Praga children's choir, for allegedly sexually abusing dozens of girls, all of whom are current or former members of the internationally known group. Choirmaster Bohumil Kulinsky, who was arrested in November, has been charged with 25 counts of having sexual relations with underage girls. Police have so far questioned over 100 former choir girls; the most recent charges relate to former members who are now adult women.
Unemployment reached a six-month record high in December
The ranks of the unemployed in the Czech Republic grew by 24,000 people last month; data released this week showed that as of December, nearly some 542,000 people were out of work, or 9.5 percent of the working age population. That is the highest monthly rate of unemployment in six months. In related news, the number of people running small private businesses, including medical clinics and farms, dropped by 53,000 last year; analysts say a change in the tax code requiring advance payment of a set rate of taxes had led to the decline in entrepreneurship.
Weather
Light snow flurries are expected throughout much of the Czech Republic on Wednesday, with daytime temperatures however just below freezing. I'm BK and that's all the news
