News

Investigation of CzechTek incident underway

An Interior Ministry inspection team has started interrogating the police officers who were recorded beating and kicking young people at the CzechTek music festival at the end of July. All four officers who are suspected of having broken regulations have been suspended, pending the outcome of the investigation which is expected to take several weeks. A parallel investigation is being conducted by the Ombudsman's Office. The government has been severely criticised for its handling of the open air techno party. Over a hundred people were injured on both sides after riot police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse a crowd of around 5,000 participants, on the grounds that they were trespassing on private property.

Man hits five, kills one, after breaking red light

A man who drove through a red light and hit five people at a pedestrian crossing in the east Bohemian town of Pardubice on Tuesday was found to be driving without a license. He is being questioned by the police. The injuries inflicted were serious: an elderly woman died, while the other four pedestrians - including a three-year-old child - have been hospitalised. Minutes before the accident the man had been involved in a minor traffic collision - he was fleeing the scene when he broke the red light.

One fourth of Czechs say they have met with sexual harassment

One fourth of Czechs, mainly women, say they have encountered sexual harassment at the work place. According to the results of a poll conducted by the Czech Academy of Sciences, thirteen percent said they had experienced it personally, fifteen percent said they had seen it going on or had heard colleagues complain about it. Although sexual harassment was qualified as a crime by an amendment to the labor code in 2004, few cases get to court. The poll indicates that the victims of harassment usually resolve the problem by seeking a job elsewhere.

Customs officers confiscate dangerous nuts

Czech customs officers say they have confiscated twenty tons of potentially cancer-causing nuts from Turkey. A test of random samples found that they far exceeded the set limits of potentially dangerous substances. The delivery was bound for European markets. In 2004 a load of over 120 tons of nuts from China and Iran was confiscated for the same reason. Experts say the high level of carcinogenic substances found in them is due to certain types of mould which are most likely caused by inadequate storage conditions.

Cechlova-Pospisilova's medal bid must wait

Czech discus thrower Vera Cechlova-Pospisilova will have to wait until at least Thursday before going for gold at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. Cechlova-Pospisilova was leading the field on Tuesday evening when the event had to be abandoned due to heavy rains.

Weather:

Thursday is expected to bring partly cloudy skies and day temperatures between 19 and 23 degrees Celsius.