Prague Monitor

Czech Roma want anti-slander law to protect them

ČTK

The government of PM Petr Nečas should pass a law under which masterminds of fictitious criminal cases implicating Roma should be punished, Romani associations said in an open letter sent to Nečas Thursday.

US report: Discrimination against Roma, corruption problems in ČR

ČTK

Discrimination against Roma, corruption, violence against women, anti-Semitic acts and overcrowded prisons are the major human rights shortcomings in the Czech Republic, says the annual report that the US Department of State released Thursday.

Czech official: Politicians dominate EU money in regions

ČTK

A political cartel has dominated the distribution of EU subsidies in the Ústecký and Karlovarský regions, says Leo Steiner, a senior official of the Czech Regional Operational Project (ROP) Severozápad (North-West) office.

Mother apologises for her son's made-up Roma attack

ČTK

Oksana Zhyvachivska apologises to the Roma minority for her teenage son fabricating a story that Roma brutally beat him, she told ČTK Thursday.

Czech faculty banned from admitting students to master programme

ČTK

The Faculty of Law of the Plzeň-based West Bohemian University must not admit new students to the master programme, the Education Ministry decided..

The culture of collecting

by Emily Prucha | Prague Daily Monitor

Matchbooks, postcards, stamps & stickers

HN: Czech right-wing govt raises taxes, offers no vision

ČTK

The Czech right-wing government of budget responsibility and anti-corruption struggle decided to celebrate the second anniversary of the elections that were a victory of the right-wing parties by further major tax hikes, Jindřich Šídlo writes in Hospodářské noviny.

Pehe: Possible Czech presidential candidates better than Klaus

ČTK

Any of the popular candidates of the direct presidential election will be better for the Czech Republic than outgoing President Václav Klaus, political analyst Jiří Pehe writes in Právo.

Fugitive Krejčíř faces another criminal charge

ČTK

The anti-corruption police Wednesday proposed that fraud charges be brought against fugitive businessman Radovan Krejčíř, now in South Africa, and another ten persons eight years after the crime was committed.

Czech diplomacy to award people promoting country's good name

ČTK

Czech diplomacy will this year give its Gratias Agit award for promoting the country's good name abroad to 12 people from 11 countries, including architect Eva Jiřičná, figure-skating world champion Aja Vrzáňová and Charter 77 signatory Jiří Chmel, the Foreign Ministry told ČTK.

Czech, German universities map Czech-Bavarian borderland

ČTK

The Pedagogic Faculty of West Bohemia University (ZCU) in Plzen has ended together with University in Regensburg, Germany, an extensive three-year project mapping the Czech-Bavarian borderland in 1945-2008, ZCU pro-rector Jaroslav Dokoupil told CTK.

Two thirds of Czechs feel tension between rich and poor

ČTK

Almost two thirds of Czechs say tension between the rich and poor is strong in the Czech Republic, three fifths say tension exists between company managements and employees, according to a STEM poll released Wednesday.

HN: University students for more cooperation with firms

ČTK

The Czech Student Association seeks more cooperation between universities and firms within a new project, Education Inventory, that will be launched Wednesday in order to increase interconnection of the academic and business sectors, Hospodářské noviny writes.

Police: Injured boy was not assaulted by Roma

ČTK

The 15-year-old boy, who was allegedly brutally beaten up by Roma in Břeclav in April caused his serious injuries himself after he fell down from a railing, the police investigators have concluded.

Czech town has exotic statue as part of planned archaeo-eco-park

ČTK

A copy of one of the Easter Island's Moai statues has been erected near Bohdalice as the first of the 20 statues to form an archaeo-eco-park warning of a catastrophe similar to one that destroyed the Easter Island civilisation.

Gov't against rise of health insurance for kids, pensioners

ČTK

The Czech cabinet Wednesday rejected Health Minister Leoš Heger's (TOP 09) proposal that the state increase its health insurance contributions for children, pensioners, the unemployed and other selected groups as of next year.

VV renews convicted Bárta's party membership

ČTK

The leadership of the Public Affairs (VV) that was ousted from the government to opposition a few weeks ago, has renewed the party membership of Vít Bárta, an MP and VV's informal leader convicted of corruption by a first-instance court.

HN: Klaus defines EU crisis, but federal Europe is an option

ČTK

President Václav Klaus correctly says Europe is facing a systemic crisis that is deeper and broader than the problems of Greece, but a European federation may be a solution to the challenges, economic commentator Jan Macháček writes in Hospodářské noviny Wednesday.

Právo: Dienstbier may succeed in Czech presidential election

ČTK

The presidential candidacy of Czech Social Democrat senator Jiří Dienstbier is not as hopeless as it seems at first sight since he has a chance of winning support of both ČSSD and Communist Party voters, Alexandr Mitrofanov writes in the daily Právo Tuesday.

Hastal Restaurant & Bar

Prague Daily Monitor

Hastal Restaurant has been developed by years of traveling and searching.

Secondary schools assess maths more strictly than languages

ČTK

Math is assessed more strictly than languages and girls receive better marks than boys, even though boys achieve better test results than girls, according to a study by the consultancy firm Scio.

Lawyer of Rath's family reports attack, pressure on him

ČTK

Lawyer Frantisek Sejnost, who represents the wife of former Czech regional governor David Rath, accused of corruption and remanded in custody on May 16, was attacked by two young men who urged him to stop being involved in Rath's case on Monday evening, Sejnost said Tuesday.

Ex-PM's wife issues guidebook for brothel operators

ČTK

Petra Paroubková, MP and former ČSSD prime minister Jiří Paroubek's wife who owns a publishing house, has issued Brothel as Business, a guidebook for brothel operators by Austrian author Alexander Gerhardinger, Mladá fronta Dnes reports.

Chamber committee for MP Rath's release for prosecution

ČTK

The lower house mandate and immunity committee Tuesday recommended that the lower house release MP and former ČSSD regional governor David Rath, accused of corruption, for prosecution. The committee's decision was unanimous, the committee's head Bohuslav Sobotka said. The lower house is to definitively decide on Rath's release at its session opening on June 5.

President Klaus presents eight points for remedy of Europe

ČTK

Czech President Vaclav Klaus presented Tuesday an eight-point recipe for a remedy of Europe that, he said, has been hit by a deep systemic crisis caused by the weakening of national states and au unsuitable currency union.

Accused regional officials' property frozen

ČTK

A state attorney's office has frozen the property of Katerina Pancova, director of the hospital in Kladno, central Bohemia, and former PM Petr Kott who were detained in the corruption case of Social Democrat (CSSD) deputy David Rath, the Lidovky.cz server has reported.

Woman stabs teacher, takes girl hostage at school

ČTK

A woman stabbed a teacher and took hostage a schoolgirl, aged seven, who was later freed by the police at an elementary school in Havířov Tuesday afternoon.

Conductor Bělohlávek decorated with British order

ČTK

Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, who is BBC Symphony Orchestra chief conductor, was decorated with the Order of the British Empire that was awarded to him by British Queen Elizabeth II at the British embassy in Prague Monday.

Accused MP Rath to hire second defence counsel

ČTK

Lower house deputy David Rath, who was accused of corruption and remanded in custody last week, will hire a second defence counsel as the steps of Rath's present lawyer Adam Černý are not effective enough, František Sejnost, representative of Rath's wife, told CTK Monday.

Rath files constitutional complaint in corruption case

ČTK

Lower house deputy and former Central Bohemia governor David Rath has filed a constitutional complaint against decisions connected with the investigation into his corruption case and his remanding in custody.

Peake files registration application of new Czech party LIDEM

ČTK

The emerging new party of Deputy Prime Minister Karolína Peake and the deputies who have left the formerly government party Public Affairs (VV) filed a registration application with the Interior Ministry Monday.

NATO copter centre in ČR one of shared projects, says minister

ČTK

The multinational helicopter training center based in the Czech Republic whose building has been approved by the NATO summit in Chicago is a tiny contribution to NATO's smart defence initiative, Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra said.

Freight train derails in Central Bohemia

ČTK

A freight train transporting coal derailed in Liběchov at midnight on Sunday, causing damage worth an estimated CZK 110 million, Rail Inspection spokesman Martin Drápal told ČTK.

Regional councillors keep posts after MP Rath's arrest

ČTK

The councillors of the Central Bohemian Region Monday decided to keep their posts, said ČSSD's Zuzana Moravčíková who has temporarily replaced regional governor David Rath accused of corruption.

Railway unions not to join protest by umbrella organisation

ČTK

The Czech railway trade union (OSŽ) will not officially join the protests prepared by the umbrella Bohemian and Moravian Trade Union Confederation, OSŽ representatives decided Monday.

HN: Rath case should remain in attorney Bradáčová's hands

ČTK

Lenka Bradáčová has proved herself as the state attorney handling the suspected corruption of MP David Rath, and it would be unfortunate if it were transferred to the controversial High State Attorney Vlastimil Rampula for supervision, Jiří Leschtina writes in Hospodářské noviny Monday.

MfD: Czechs unaware of Communist party's real face

ČTK

The Czech Communist Party would interest no one if it were not a latent and closest ally of the Social Democrats, Karel Steigerwald writes in Mladá fronta Dnes, adding that no one actually knows who the present Czech Communists actually are.

PM: ČR ready to negotiate about money for Afghanistan

ČTK

The Czech Republic is ready to negotiate about more money for Afghanistan, but it is too early for details, such as the specific level of support that the United States wants the Allies to promise at the current NATO summit, Czech PM Nečas told Czech Radio in Chicago.

Filip defends post of Communist party chairman

ČTK

Vojtěch Filip defended the post of chairman of the Czech Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) when he beat Stanislav Grospič in the second round of elections at the party congress late on Saturday.

ČSSD nominates Dienstbier its presidential candidate

ČTK

The opposition Social Democrats nominated Saturday Jiří Dienstbier their candidate for the first direct presidential election by 107 votes while 35 member of the party central executive committee were against him.

Education minister reduces number of EU-subsidised projects

ČTK

The new Czech education minister, Petr Fiala, has reduced the number of EU-subsidised projects planned by his predecessor to five from more than twenty.

Number of foreign workers too high, most Czechs say

ČTK

More than three-fourths of Czechs say too many foreigners work in their country and 72% share the view that Czechs lose jobs because of foreign workers, according to an opinion poll by STEM.

Police want fraud charges to be filed against Prague assemblyman

ČTK

The police have proposed that criminal charges be filed against Jan Kalousek, a pop singer and Prague assemblyman for the Civic Democrats (ODS), whom they suspect of insurance fraud, Prague police spokeswoman Eva Kropacova told CTK Friday.

Court gives foreigner 11 years in prison for selling heroin

ČTK

The Ostrava Regional Court Friday sentenced Dinh Ngoc Le, a man of Vietnamese origin, to 11 years in prison for trading in heroin and pervitine (methamphetamine).

Právo: Number of extremely fat Czechs surging

ČTK

The number of extremely obese Czechs weighing much over 100 kilograms is rapidly growing, daily Právo writes Friday.

Czechs want Canada to lift visas, may be delaying treaty with EU

ČTK

The Czech Republic may complicate Canada's negotiations about a trade treaty with the European Union unless the country abolishes the visa requirement for Czech citizens, Czech PM Petr Nečas said Sunday after talks with his Canadian cunterpart Stephen Harper. They met on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Chicago.

Insider: Further accusations levelled against Czechs in Rath case

ČTK

Katerina Pancova, director of the hospital in Kladno, central Bohemia, her partner Petr Kott and three representatives of private firms, all of¨whom have been remanded in custody in deputy David Rath's case, have been accused in other corruption cases, Aktualne.cz writes Sunday.

ČSSD head Sobotka prepares changes in shadow govt

ČTK

Chairman of the opposition Social Democratics Bohuslav Sobotka is preparing changes in the shadow government whose members could become ministers if the party won elections, he said in a television debate Sunday.

ČSSD to support stripping Rath of immunity

ČTK

The mandate and immunity committee of the lower house is likely to take a vote on release of ČSSD MP David Rath for prosecution on Tuesday in his presence, committee's chair and ČSSD leader Bohuslav Sobotka said Sunday adding the party will support the vote.

Exhibition marks 70th anniversary of attack on Heydrich

ČTK

The circumstances of the Anthropoid resistance operation against Deputy Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich in Prague 70 years ago and people's life at the time are in the focus of an exhibition that will open in the Wallenstein Garden in Prague this week.