News
Benesova apologises to TV Nova
The Supreme State Attorney Marie Benesova has publicly apologized to private TV NOVA for implying that it had been bribed to air a damaging news report about her. Mrs. Benesova came under fire after failing to back up her claim and her position as Supreme State Attorney remains shaky. Although Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek resisted pressure to dismiss her outright, he asked her to apologize to the television station and show greater prudence in future. He said that Mrs. Benesova's honesty and dedication made her hard to replace, but that the government coalition would seek a successor.
Sudeten Germans lukewarm with regard to PM's reconciliation plan
Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek's plan for a reconciliation gesture towards Sudeten German anti-fascists who were expelled from the country after WWII has evoked a lukewarm response among Sudeten German expellees. Representatives of the Sudeten German Landsmanshaft said it was not yet clear what form the gesture would take or even whether it would ever materialize. Others said that such a gesture should be directed to all expellees, not just anti-fascists. On the home front, the Prime Minister's plan has met with anger from the two main opposition parties, the right wing Civic Democrats and the Communists.
One Czech still missing in wake of London bombings
One Czech remains unaccounted for in the wake of the London bombings last Thursday. The Foreign Ministry said it had hopes that the missing person was alive and well since the chances of him having been near the sites of the tragedy were slim. Efforts to locate him continue. The other 27 Czechs who were in England at the time of the terrorist attacks have all contacted their families. A spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry has told journalists that the Czech police and intelligence services are cooperating with the British authorities in the hunt for the terrorists. She did not specify in what way.
PM says renewal of government fleet must be speeded up
The Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek has said he wants to speed up the renewal of the government's outdated fleet of planes. Mr. Paroubek made the announcement shortly after yet another defect caused a Czech government plane carrying the foreign minister Cyril Svoboda on a foreign trip to Latin America to make an unscheduled one day stop-over in Mauritania. Technical defects of this kind have been frequent in recent months. The Prime Minister said he thought government officials should use the services of Czech Airlines until the end of the year by which time the military could lease new planes.
Weather:
Wednesday should be partly cloudy with day temperatures between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius.
