EYE on Central Europe

Hungarian government threatens to lift license of independent radio station

2012-01-24T19:21:00.000-08:00

Klubrádíó's office in Budapest is small, but its current role in the political turmoil in Hungary is huge.

The Hungarian private radio broadcaster has became the symbol of struggles over the new media law approved by the government of PM Viktor Orbán.

The radio, well-known for its critical stance to the government, is threatened with having its license taken away, which would mean nothing less than the broadcaster's end.

Viktor Orbán's approach to Hungarian media has already been criticized by the EU.

Klubrádíó's editor-in-chief Ferenc Vicsek says he cannot believe that the freedom of speech in Hungary is under threat so many years after the fall of Communism.

Vicsek said that Fidesz, the governing party, has created a media council controlled exclusively by its members, and they have decided to destroy the broadcaster. Its conflict with the government has made the radio station very popular in Hungary, but this alone cannot save it.

Fidesz won 52 percent of votes in the 2010 election, which brought him 68 percent of the seats in the Hungarian parliament - a 2/3 constitutional majority.

The European Union has criticized the government's moves to throttle media but so far this has had little effect.

Prosecutor slams Canada's refugee system

2012-01-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

The public needs to be aware of flaws in Canada’s refugee and welfare systems that allowed a group of Hungarian Roma criminals to live in Hamilton and get paid for it, says the lead prosecutor of an ongoing human trafficking case.

“Disgusting, stunning, shocking, I just don’t have the words to describe,” assistant Crown attorney Toni Skarica said in court.He made the statement during a court appearance for Viktoria Nemes, the 45-year-old wife and mother of accused human traffickers.

She pleaded guilty Friday to welfare fraud and will be deported this month.Nemes came to Hamilton, from Hungary, in December 2008 and soon after misled authorities into believing she and her husband had separated and that she was a single mom, court heard.

In total, she and her husband are believed to have defrauded the City of Hamilton out of nearly $50,000.

When she arrived in Canada and claimed refugee status because she is a Roma, no warrant appeared when the Canada Border Services Agency searched her name. Documents presented in court proved she also told authorities she didn’t have a criminal record. In fact, she is wanted in Hungary for five felony related offences. She had been convicted to serve two years and six months in jail, Skarica said.

Ukrainian opposition sets up exile base in Prague

2012-01-21T15:44:00.000-08:00

Prague is quietly becoming the base for the European campaign to release former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko,(pictured) who is serving a seven-year sentence on corruption charges.
Yulia Tymoshenko was imprisoned after her political rival Viktor Yanukovich became the president of Ukraine. The trial was criticized by foreign politicians and international organizations as politically motivated.
Her husband Oleksandr Tymoshenko, an influential Ukrainian businessman, has been granted asylum in the Czech Republic. The move appears to be the first part of a long-term plan of the Ukrainian opposition to free the former prime minister.
Oleksandr Tymoshenko plans to found an organization in Prague to support activities aiming at releasing his wife from prison.

Prosecutor critcizes Canada's visa removal for Hungarians in trafficking case

2012-01-12T07:17:00.000-08:00

An ongoing human trafficking case in Hamilton has sparked sharp criticism of Canada’s immigration and refugee system.
The case prosecutor, assistant Crown attorney Toni Skarica blames the removal of Hungarian visitors’ visa requirements for providing “the opportunity for the expansion of the ... criminal organization into Canada,” he wrote in a court document.
He denounced the alleged criminal organization as “an invasion of evil,” from Hungary.
“They came into Canada virtually unmolested and set up shop ... something has to be done to prevent that in the future,” Skarica said in court.
It’s the largest human trafficking case in Canadian history.
Since the RCMP issued arrest warrants more than 13 months ago, 13 members of an alleged Hungarian Roma criminal organization have been arrested.
In 2001, Canada required Hungarians to apply for a visa before entering the country. This was in response to the large number of Hungarian refugee claims, explains Skarica in the court document obtained by the Hamilton Spectator.
But when Hungary entered the European Union, Canada lifted that visa requirement in March 2008. Since then, Hungarians have been flocking to Canada to claim refugee status, according to statistics released from Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board.
In 2007, 34 Hungarians claimed refugee status, and of the cases finalized, 43 per cent were accepted as refugees. But in 2009, for instance, 2,423 Hungarians claimed refugee status. The refugee board was only able to get through 268, of which only 1 per cent were accepted.
Most cases are withdrawn or simply abandoned without notice or explanation.
The Roma population of Hungary has long claimed persecution.

Czech Republic grants asylum to Tymoshenko's husband

2012-01-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

The husband of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was granted political asylum in the Czech Republic on Friday,the Associated Press reports. His lawyer said he left his country because its government has launched a criminal investigation against him. Last year, the Czech Republic angered Ukraine by granting asylum to another ally of Yulia Tymoshenko's, and Friday's decision to do that with her husband is likely further strain the countries' relations. Czech Interior Ministry spokesman Vladimir Repka said his ministry approved the application submitted by Oleksandr Tymoshenko, but refused to provide details about the decision.Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's top opposition leader and a former presidential candidate, was sentenced to seven years in jail in October in a trial the West has condemned as politically motivated. She has reportedly been in poor health and denied medical care while locked up in a Kiev, Ukraine, prison before she was taken to a remote prison colony in the city of Kharkiv. In December, the European Union balked at signing a landmark cooperation agreement with Ukraine over the jailing of Tymoshenko.

Josef Skvorecky dies at 87

2012-01-04T16:59:00.000-08:00

Josef Skvorecky has died in Toronto at age 87. A dissident writer in the former Czechoslovakia, he came to Canada after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion that crushed attempts at liberalizing Communism. He continued writing and was widely read and published. His novel "The Engineer of Human Souls," won the Governor-General's literary award in the 1980s. Through the publishing company in Toronto which he ran with his wife, Zdena Salivarova, Skvorecky printed works by authors such as Vaclav Havel and Milan Kundera – works that had been banned by communist authorities. The Skvoreckys' company, 68 Publishers Toronto, was founded in 1971 and named to commemorate the Prague Spring of 1968. A smuggling operation was launched, enabling the authors they published to be read in their native country. Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, for example, was first published in Czech through 68 Publishers in 1985. At the same time, writers who had remained at home had their own works smuggled out of Czechoslovakia, to be read by the exiled community around the world.

His obit in The Daily Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/8992944/Josef-Skvorecky.html

Hungary's opposition protests agains the government

2012-01-02T12:13:00.001-08:00

As Hungary's ruling party celebrated its achievements insidethe nation’s 19th century opera house on Monday, thousands of Hungarians rallied outside in a rare opposition protest at what critics see as a campaign by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to undermine democracy and consolidate his power. The protest — a day after the country’s new “majoritarian” Constitution took effect — was the first time that opposition groups, from political parties to civil organizations, joined forces to rally against the new Constitution, which was drawn up and ratified by Mr. Orban’s Fidesz party in defiance of criticism from Europe and the United States. Fidesz used its two-thirds supermajority in Parliament to adopt the Constitution, which critics say tightens the government’s grip on the news media and the courts and dismantles democratic aspects of the judiciary. Last month, the government passed a measure that critics said seriously weakened the independence of the nation’s central bank.“Democracy has disappeared in Hungary, they even took the republic from us,” said Tamas Kollar, 56, referring to his nation’s name change, from the Republic of Hungary to simply Hungary. Mr. Kollar said he said he felt robbed of his rights under Mr. Orban’s government.

Prague airport registers the name "Vaclav Havel International Airport"

2011-12-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

Letiště Praha, the company running Prague’s international airport, hasregistered “Vaclav Havel Prague International Airport” as a protectedtrademark in a move that could pave the way for a possible renaming of theairport after the late Vaclav Havel. A petition calling for the airport tobe renamed after the hero of the Velvet Revolution and the country’sfirst post-communist president is quickly gaining support among the public.It has been signed by over 60,000 people including Mr. Havel’s widowDagmar and Mr. Havel’s brother Ivan.

World leaders gather to honor Vaclav Havel

2011-12-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

World leaders gathered in the Czech capital Friday to mourn Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who led his country's Velvet Revolution against communism before becoming its president and later an outspoken campaigner for global human rights."As a prisoner, he confronted his captors with truth," former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in a eulogy at the funeral mass. "As president, he breathed new life not only into this republic, but into the deeply rooted tradition of humanism."Among the dignitaries assembled in St. Vitus' Cathedral to honor Mr. Havel, who died Sunday at age 75, were current U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, as well as Lech Walesa, who led the fight against communism in neighboring Poland.French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, were also on hand to grieve the man who led Czechs out from behind the Iron Curtain and laid the ground work for their membership in the European Union.

Video here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yn0NFM-eAA&feature=player_embedded

Czechs across the country gather to honour Havel

2011-12-18T21:20:00.001-08:00

Crowds gathered in Prague and other major cities to mourn the death of Vaclav Havel. A state funeral is being planned for Friday.

Havel's death announced on Facebook

2011-12-18T21:01:00.000-08:00

Following an unconfirmed Twitter message saying that Havel had died, his secretary, Vladimir Hanzel, posted on Facebook: "Vaclav Havel died this morning at 10:15 a.m.." Once upon a time the news would have been carried first by the world's wire services.

Vaclav Havel dies at 75

2011-12-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

Vaclav Havel, who steered Czechoslovakia peacefully to independence from Soviet rule in 1989, died on Sunday at the age of 75. The one-time dissident died in his sleep at dawn in his weekend house in the village of Hradecek, about 140 kilometres northeast of Prague, after a lengthy illness. Tributes poured in from across Europe for the statesman and playwright who was hailed as a "great European" and the "soul of the Czech revolution" that peacefully toppled communism in his country. People held vigils in Prague's central Wenceslas Square, the focal point of anti-communist rallies in 1989, and at Prague Castle, the seat of Czech presidents.Havel, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992 and of the successor Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003, had long battled poor health, partly caused by the five years he spent in communist jails.A one-time chain smoker, Havel had grappled with respiratory problems since he had part of his lung removed in 1996 to stop cancer.The current President, Vaclav Klaus, said Havel had become a symbol of the modern Czech state.Havel was born in Prague on October 5, 1936 into a wealthy family which lost its assets as the communists took power in 1948.

Vaclav Havel's 75th -- and last -- birthday--exclusive pix

2011-12-16T08:19:00.001-08:00

Former Czech president and playwright Vaclav Havel turned 75 on October 5. Here are exclusive photos from his birthday party that turned out to be his last.In the pic below he is seen leaving the party with wife, Dagmar. The pic on top shows guests who included former U.S. secretary of State Madeline Albright who is of Czech born. Havel once suggested that she succeed him as president.

Prague police chief arrested on bribery allegations

2011-12-04T16:07:00.001-08:00

The police's Organized Crime Unit has arrested Prague Muncipal Police Chief Vladimír Kotrouš (pictured)

after allegations he took a bribe worth "hundreds of thousands of crowns" related to a contract for servicing police cars. Kotrouš was detained Nov. 25, reportedly with the bribe money in hand while driving his official vehicle. A judge has ordered he remain in custody so as to prevent him from influencing potential witnesses. Kotrouš faces between five and 12 years in prison if convicted.

Doctors, Slovak government reach wage agreement ending emergency

2011-12-04T15:52:00.001-08:00

Three days of negotiations, which saw more than a dozen Slovak hospitals work under an emergency regime, ended in an agreement between the cabinet and representatives of the Medical Trade Unions’ Association (LOZ), which promises an early return of over 1,200 doctors to their jobs.The protest action launched by the association two months ago was intended to enforce demands that included a halt to the transformation of state-run hospitals into joint-stock companies. In the last two weeks of the protest, the only issue blocking an agreement was salaries of the doctors in state-run hospitals.The agreement guarantees the doctors a salary increase.

Slovakia declares state of emergency at 15 state-run hospitals to keep them open during wage dispute with doctors

2011-11-29T13:53:00.001-08:00

At an extraordinary meeting last night, the Slovak government, headed by Premier Iveta Radičová declared a state of emergency at 15 state-run hospitals where an overwhelming majority of doctors rejected an offer of a €300 pay increase and filed resignation notices instead. The resignations take effect on December 1.Radičová told a news conference that the measure will secure all necessary health care for Slovak citizens. The state of emergency permits authorities to order doctors to perform their duties and it includes the right to ban a strike by some employees. The state of emergency will be declared as of November 29 and will only apply to 13 districts in the country and to15 health-care facilities.

Slovak prime minister will not seek re-election

2011-11-27T21:01:00.001-08:00

Iveta Radicova, Slovakia's first woman prime minister, will not seek re-election in the general election next March 10. Her coalition government lost a confidence vote in October over Slovakia’s approval of changes to the eurozone bailout scheme. She will remain prime minister of an interim government until the election. Radičová decided not to seek the top slot on the election list of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the position she occupied at the June 2010 general election and which led to her becoming prime minister. For now, she remains one of the party's deputy chairpersons, but she has remained tight-lipped about her future political plans.

Slovakia's defence minister fired over bugging of journalists

2011-11-25T09:10:00.001-08:00

The Interception of journalists’ telephone calls by the Defence Ministry’s counterintelligence arm has cost the defence minister, Lubomir Galko, his job. However, as the wiretapping scandal unfolded, it became known that one of the journalists targeted was monitored by the Defence Intelligence Agency (VOS) as far back as 2007. The wiretapped journalists included the head of the TV news channel TA3 and two senior Defence Ministry employees, according to leaked documents obtained by Slovak media outlets.“The whole story of wiretapping which is being uncovered today was also going on under previous governments,” said Prime Minister Iveta Radičová, who on November 22 asked President Ivan Gašparovič to dismiss Galko. “It is high time to reach an agreement and an initiative over control mechanisms for the intelligence services.”Radičová said it is now obvious that the “intelligence services have been doing everything possible – except what they were originally intended to do and what is their main role”, according to the SITA newswire.

More on this story in the Slovak Spectator (in English)
http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/44621/2/defence_minister_fired_over_bugging_of_journalists_updated.html

Slovak PM wants to fire defense minister over wiretapping of news media

2011-11-22T11:18:00.001-08:00

Slovakia’s prime minster, Iveta Radicova,(pictured) says she will ask the country’s president to dismiss defense minister Lubomr Galko, who authorized wiretaps on journalists from the daily Pravda and the TV channel TA3. The journalists were wiretapped by military intelligence.Radicova said she is asking for his recall because the intelligence service reports to him.“We lack elementary controls over secret services, and I have to ask myself why not,” she said. “Maybe it is because we had governments and prime ministers who misused secret services. Wiretapping news people, whether legal or illegal, is incompatible with the principles of democracy on which the present government rests.”She recalled that these were the methods of the Communist secret service before that regime collapsed in the former Czechoslovakia.

2011-11-16T18:58:00.001-08:00

More than 20 years after the fall of Hungary's communist regime, lawmakers in Budapest are considering measures to punish former Communist officials for their role in the 1956 anti-Communist uprising that was crushed by the Red Army. Two proposed laws, submitted to Parliament by three separate members of the right-leaning Fidesz party, would punish former Communist officials - including some still in government - for crimes committed while the regime was in power, lower pensions for those same leaders and lift the statute of limitations on crimes committed during the crushing of the 1956 uprising. Fidesz, which is the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, holds a more than two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament, all but guaranteeing the passage of the measures.

Analysts say the motivation behind the proposed legislation is likely political and not a response to a demand from voters, most of whom have expressed a desire to simply move on since the fall of communism.

Swiss find huge stash of money deposited in Czech official's account

2011-11-09T16:44:00.000-08:00

Swiss authorities have discovered tens of millions of Czech crowns deposited in the bank account of Tomáš Kadlec (photo), a former director of the Czech counter-intelligence authority and also an ex-CEO of Čepro, a state-owned company that operates Czech strategic fuel reserves. In the last years, large sums of money were deposited in the bank account established in Kadlec's name, including one million US dollars. The details were sent by Swiss authorities to the Czech prosecutor's office in Prague. The prosecutor declared that the money deposited in Kadlec's account came from criminal activities. For years, Kadlec has been among the most influential Czech state employees, and thanks to significant political protection, his position has been virtually unshakeable. Swiss authorities started to look into the account on behalf of Czech prosecutors who were investigating Kadlec's suspicious transactions in Čepro. Kadlec has been charged with fraud. The case is before the courts.

Romas from Hungary flocking to Canada, claiming refugee status

2011-11-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

As many as 50 Hungarian Roma a day are filing refugee claims at Pearson airport, putting a strain on airport staff and medical services, according to border services officials, the Toronto Sun reports. A record 110 claimants arrived at the airport one night last week, creating a challenge for immigration and security personnel working to process them, officers say. Entire Roma families, from babies to grandmothers, are getting off flights and claiming refugee protection at Pearson, alleging they're being persecuted by "skinheads or Neo-Nazis" in their homeland, border officers said.
A similar influx of Roma's from the Czech Republic led to Canada imposing visas on all Czech citizens.

NGO showing films and holding talks in Czech schools to explain Communist era

2011-11-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

The 2006 film “Swingtime” inspired by a communist-era secret police operation as well as four documentaries will be screened in November at primary and secondary schools around the Czech Republic as part of a month-long project called Stories of Injustice, Radio Prague reports. Now in its seventh year the project organized by the NGO People in Need covers a period often neglected in the curriculum. Through film and subsequent discussions with survivors, witnesses and victims of communist injustice, students are learning about post-war Czechoslovak history – this year with a special focus on the period of "normalization" -- following the Soviet-led invasion in 1968 -- and the subjects of emigration and exile.
The period was well captured in the 1988 Milan Kundera film, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, that was a hit in the west. It does not appear to be on the program. Many Czechs don't like it.

Czech say they will block Canada-EU trade deal unless visa requirement is lifted

2011-10-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

As two years of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada reach an endgame, Czech officials are sticking to threats to block ratification if the Canadian visa requirement for Czech citizens is not lifted.
It was during the Czech EU presidency of 2009 that CETA negotiations were initiated. But that same year, Canada reintroduced a visa requirement for Czech citizens because of a spike in asylum requests by Romas from the Czech Republic, seeking refugee status. Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Valerie Raymond, said the visa issue was not part of the CETA negotiations, although Czech officials seem to say it is.

Slovakia will endorse Greek bailout but government falls, triggering new elections

2011-10-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

In a hostage taking, the power normally lies with the hostage takers – the big, mean guys with the firepower. In the euro zone, the opposite can be true, as Tuesday night’s peculiar vote in the Slovakian parliament showed.

Slovakia held the entire euro zone hostage by rejecting the expansion of the €440-billion ($617-billion) bailout package, known as the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). It was able to do so even though the country, whose economy is worth only 7 per cent of the euro zone’s, is tiny.

Blame the euro zone’s design. Its voting structure gives equal weight to member countries, regardless of their size, on some matters. Prime Minister Iveta Radicova (pictured) made the vote a confidence matter. When her coalition partners refused to sanction the bailout, she turned to the opposition who supported it. The Result: The bailout will be ratified by Friday but new elections will be held in March.

A scandal in the making?

2011-10-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

Škoda Plzeň, a Czech industrial giant that has received billions in public contracts in the last years, moved its seat to Marshall Islands. The island country is known as one of the three countries in the world best suited for keeping the ownership structure of a company secret. This move was made amid efforts of Czech police to look into the ownership structure of the company. Acting on evidence found by investigators in Switzerland, police is examining a possibility that among the real owners of Škoda Plzeň may be Martin Roman, who recently stepped down as the CEO of ČEZ, a Czech energy giant. Roman has denied having any direct or indirect ownership role in Škoda Plzeň.

Cost of ending Roma segregation in Czech schools EUR 2.2bil

2011-10-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

The Czech government will have to spend as much as EUR 732mil (about $3 billion CDN) every year for the next three years if it wants to end the segregation of Roma children in Czech schools - something the Czech Republic is strongly criticized for by European and international institutions. The figures are an estimate made by the Agency for Social Inclusion, a government-aligned organization. The agency has produced a document called "Strategy for Fighting Social Exclusion" that was eventually adopted by the government. The document outlines what needs to be done about the pressing and complex problem in the following years.

The CBC's Joe Schlesinger returns to his former home

2011-09-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Joe Schlesinger, the CBC's foreign correspondent emeritus, writes about his return to Bratislava, Slovakia, in an interesting article on the CBC web page:

"I went “home” this summer, “home” not being home any longer but rather the place I left behind when I came to Canada. It’s a place that in many ways formed me, but also left me with a legacy of loss and pain. . ."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/13/f-vp-schlesinger-slovakia.html

Czech Republic faces heightened ethnic tension as animosity against Roma grows

2011-08-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

In parts of northern Bohemia, animosity between the two groups culminated last week after two public gatherings, staged allegedly to protest against rising crime levels in the region, turned into openly racist rallies calling on the Romanies to leave. The government hopes to calm things down by increasing the police presence in the region. But experts warn that more comprehensive action is needed to prevent divisions between the communities from widening even further.
Hundreds of people shouted “Get a job!”, “Czechs, Czechs” and other slogans as they marched on Friday through parts of the northern Bohemian town of Rumburk, mostly inhabited by Romanies.
The improvised rally against Romanies took place after around 1,500 people gathered in the town square to protest what they called “rising crime levels” but what was in reality a protest against a series of attacks by Romanies on ethnic Czechs.
The police have since charged ten people who took part in the attacks with racially-motivated violence, and the government has sent in a special riot police unit. But these measures have failed to ease the tensions between Romanies and ethnic Czechs in the poor regions of northern Bohemia and other parts in the country. Sociologist Ivan Gabal is highly critical.
Gabal says there is now a new generation of Romanies who only experienced life in ghettos, who have only gone to special schools, and who feel nothing positive towards Czech society.

Czech president sparring with western ambassadors over Prague's gay pride march

2011-08-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

A planned Gay Pride march in the Czech capital has triggered a spat between Vaclav Klaus, the Czech Republic's iconoclastic president, and the ambassadors of the United States, Canada and some European countries. The issue started when Petr Hájek, the head of the Presidential Office, called the participants of the planned march "deviant citizens". Klaus defended his aide's views, arguing that "the right to agree or disagree with the Prague Pride demonstration is among basic rights of the citizen of our country."
Ambassadors of the US, Canada, and some European countries reacted by publishing an open letter in which they declared their support to the Prague Pride march, the first in the Czech capital and scheduled for August 13.
Klaus as well as some of his advisers and senior officials of the Presidential Office are known for their controversial opinions ranging from environmental issues, political correctness, foreign policy, European integration, and other topics. For example, Hájek himself has criticized the Darwinist theory as "left-wing nonsense", and - more recently - argued that Osama bin Laden was "a media fiction".

Slovak police chief caught speeding pays fine and apologizes

2011-07-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

The Slovak news agency TASR reports that the chief of Slovakia's national police, Jaroslav Spisiak,(pictured) has been fined €120 (CAD 165)for speeding.
The agency, quoting the interior ministry, said Spisiak recently exceeded the permitted speed limit by more than 30 kilometers on a road in the Nitra region of Slovakia. The country's all news TV channel TA3, which broke the story, said he was speeding on his way to help his parents who had problems with their roof due to strong winds.
The police chief apologized for his misdemeanour and promised a commendation for the police officers who caught him speeding. "This was my greatest failure ever," he said.
Spisiak is a career policeman who has been chief of the central European country's national police for the past year.

Petra Kvitova, 21-year-old Czech, wins Wimbledon final in upset

2011-07-02T20:00:00.001-07:00

Maria Sharapova's serve let her down again, and this time there wasn't much she could do about it. The three-time Grand Slam champion had experience on her side Saturday in the Wimbledon final. Petra Kvitova was just plain better, beating the fifth-seeded Russian 6-3, 6-4.
"She was hitting really powerful and hitting winners from all over the court. She made a defensive shot into an offensive one," Sharapova said. "And, yeah, just kind of laid on a lot of those shots. I think she was just more aggressive than I was, hit deeper and harder, and got the advantage in the points."

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George Soros criticizes Czech government over Roma issue

2011-06-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

Philantropist and businessman George Soros visited the Czech Republic, a country where he spends EUR 100,000 every year on projects aimed at an inclusion of Roma children into the education process. His initiative is known as the Open Society Fund, the majority of whose projects are aimed at the inclusion of ethnic minorities such as the Romas. During his visit, the Hungarian-born Soros commented that from the point of view of inclusion of Roma people, Czech schools are "a relative heaven" if compared to Slovakia or Macedonia. However, when he met with the Czech prime minister, Petr Nečas, Soros expressed disappointment with "the current state of education of Roma children in the Czech Republic." He said that the problem has been solved only in a small number of localities "and this is in spite of the Czech Republic having financial resources, support from structural funds, capacities, and qualified people."
"The Czech Republic was on the right track to deal with the problem of education of Roma children. Now, from apparently political reasons, and due to the public opinion and opinions of political parties, it is going in the opposite direction," Soros said.

Pink tank returns to Prague

2011-06-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

Prague’s Pink Tank, a symbol of the fall of communism, returned to the capital on Monday to be featured in The Week of Freedom, an event marking the 20th anniversary of the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from former Czechoslovakia. The tank, originally a monument to Soviet tank crews who liberated the city in 1945, was painted pink by the artist David Černý in 1991, and soon thereafter taken to a military museum outside Prague. On Monday, the pink tank will be installed on a pontoon on the Vltava where it will remain until July 1.

Strikes hit Czech Republic

2011-06-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

On Thursday 16 June 2011, one day after Greece was paralyzed by a general strike and violent protests, Czech labor unions staged a massive, 24-hour strike in a protest against the austerity reforms planned by the Czech center-right government. Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas said that the strike was a "political act", adding that it caused millions in damage. In addition, Nečas also criticized the fact that employees who decided to show up to work were verbally abused by their striking colleagues. "If this is confirmed, I consider it an unbelievable excess," he said, adding that he believes that the strike failed to live up to the expectations of the labor union leaders.

German investors fed up with Czech business "jungle:" Report

2011-06-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

The competitiveness of the Czech Republic is damaged by corruption and incompetence. In addition, the country is losing its advantage of skilled and cheap labor.
This is how German investors and managers in the Czech Republic see the business environment in the country. Germany's foreign business chambers released their sixth report on the investment environment in 12 post-communist countries in Eastern Europe. Ten of them are already in the EU, in addition Germans evaluated non-EU members Croatia and Serbia.

Click on the title to read the full story.

Massive strike to paralyze Czech Republic; president calls for "Reagan approach"

2011-06-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Czech Republic’s labour unions are planning a massive strike on Thursday to protest the austerity measures planned by the country’s center-right government. The strike is expected to affect rail and bus traffic, mining and other industries and is to include a blockade of major highways in cities across the nation. Even Prague’s subway is not likely to operate.
The country’s one-year-old coalition government is threatened by internal disputes and may collapse, bringing on a political crisis.
Czech President Václav Klaus sharply criticized the country’s labor unions. If it were up him, he said, he would fire the striking public transport employees and contract private companies to replace them.
Klaus has said on numerous occasions that he is inspired by the political tradition of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.In the past, he has expressed admiration of Regan's handling of the air controllers' strike in 1981 when he fired them all.

Prague gets black eye as John Malkovich robbed

2011-06-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

John Malkovich was the victim of a burglary at Prague’s five-star hotel Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Thursday during his one-night appearance in the Czech capital.
“I can confirm that a police investigation is under way with regard to a loss of personal items of one of our guests, who I can now name as John Malkovich. The hotel is fully cooperating with police,” said hotel PR manager Katařína Pavlitová.
Malkovich was in Prague for a one night performance at the city’s Rudolfinum theater of the musical recitation “The Infernal Comedy,” which describes the life of an Austrian serial killer.
Malkovich lost cell phones, personal documents and money. His trip to Poland was delayed because he had to get replacement travel documents.

PRAGUE's LESS THAN STELLAR REPUTATION

The burglary will do little for the tourism draw of Prague, slowly recovering from the recession, or for the reputation of the country. Czech President Václav Klaus was recently filmed surrepticiously pocketing a valuable jewelled pen on an official trip to Chile; the footage went viral when shown on YouTube. (See previous post here)

A former Prague mayor also once dressed up as a foreign rock star in an attempt to expose how local taxi companies ripped off tourists. And even the Czech Foreign Minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, joked this week that the mole (krtek) should become the country’s emblem because tunneling (removing the profitable assets from companies and defrauding their shareholders) was a national pastime.

Top of the range hotel suites in the Mandarin Orient, a converted 14th century monastery, cost €795, a night.

In Poland, Obama looks to improve relations with key military ally

2011-05-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

President Obama landed in Poland Friday on the last stop of his four-nation European tour for talks that are expected to focus on improving bilateral relations and the American military presence in Poland. Obama is expectedd to announce rotating F-16 fighter jets from the US airbase in Aviano, Italy, to a base in Lask, central Poland, a largely symbolic gesture in to boost relations with Poland, a key US ally in Europe.
Obama has worked to improve relations between Warsaw and Washington, which took a hit with his announcement in 2009 that he was scrapping Bush-era missile shield plans, including 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a tracking radar in the Czech Republic. The project had much support among local elites, but not among the public.
Eastern European leaders, including regional heavyweights Lech Walesa, the former Polish president, and Vaclav Havel, former Czech president, accused Washington of caving to Moscow, which long argued the system would blunt its own nuclear deterrent. Walesa has declined to meet with Oabama.

Czech police uncover the country's first terrorist cell

2011-05-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

Police in the Czech Republic have uncovered the first ever case of an international terrorist network operating within the country, Radio Prague reports. Eight foreigners from the radical Islamic organisation Shariat Jamaat of Dagestan, were arrested in April after a three-year investigation for proof of their complicity in terrorism in the North Caucuses region. The news is the first evidence of a long-held fear that the Czech Republic may be an apt strategic location for terrorist cells. The suspects are three Bulgarian nationals accused of counterfeiting high-quality ID cards and money. Other members of the group include Moldavians and Dagestanis requesting asylum in the Czech Republic. The last of the group, a Chechnyan, was found in possession of grenades, machine guns, explosives and heroin, according to Czech police. The suspects trained in camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

City of Prague has its own "sponsorship scandal"

2011-04-28T10:27:00.001-07:00

In 2010, the Czech capital city spent CZK 50mil (about $2,9 mil CDN) on a PR campaign advertising the city abroad. Currently, the contract is being looked into by Czech anti-corruption police, and recently also by the new "grand coalition" leadership of the Prague city hall. In January 2011, the Czech Finance Ministry filed a criminal complaint, out of a suspicion that a part of the tender sum paid by Prague - roughly CZK 20mil - got "lost" somewhere in the process. The complaint incited the ongoing criminal investigation.

Is the Czech president a pen stealer?

2011-04-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic whose most notable prior controversy was probably his flat rejection of climate change science—a position that he even appeared on Glenn Beck's show to tour—was caught on video coyly pocketing a ceremonial pen during a recent visit to Chile. What's more, the brazen stylus heist took place in full view of the media during a ceremony to announce a trade agreement. The video shows Klaus clearly admiring the pen, then slowly moving it into one of his jacket pockets as Chilean President Sebastian Pinera speaks to the assembled members of the media.
Now, Reuters is reporting that some Czech citizens are accusing Klaus of being a kleptomaniac. But the president's staffers claim that he had every right to take the pen—and that he was, in fact, acting entirely in line with established Czech state protocols. "We at the Prague Castle always give such a pen to delegations, along with a notepad," presidential spokesman Radim Ochvat told the news agency.

Click on the title to see a video clip from a Czech newscast.

Vaclav Havel's first film has disappointing opening in Prague

2011-03-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Former Czech president and playwright Vaclav Havel directed a film based on his play "Leaving." According to the producer, film festivals in Cannes, Locarno, San Sebastian, and Venice are interested in showing the film. But the film, based on the story of his presidency, had a disappointing opening in Prague. Only 12,000 people came to see it between last Thursday and the weekend. It is the 75-year-old Havels first venture into film directing.

Activists protest foreign workers’ poor labour conditions at forestry firm

2011-03-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of activists gathered outside the Czech Agriculture Ministry in Prague on Sunday to protest against poor labour conditions for foreign workers at a state-owned forestry firm. The organizers said hundreds of workers from Vietnam, Romania and Slovakia were abused and exploited while working for the firm; some of them said they were forced to work 12-hour shifts without getting full pay. The activists asked the authorities to properly investigate the case, and to make sure the workers receive the rest of their wages.

Czech military police raid Czech Television in search of documents

2011-03-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday, March 11, a few minutes after six p.m., a military police unit consisting of masked men armed with submachine guns raided the Prague headquarters of Czech Television, the Czech Republic's public broadcaster.
The army unit was sent to find a document the network used in 2007 when covering an affair involving Miroslav Krejčík, a former head of the Czech military intelligence. Back in 2007, the document was ranked as classified. A spokesman for the network said the military police visited the the CT offices the day before and were given one of the copies of the document, which is now declassified. The Czech news agency CTK said the police is investigating who leaked the document in 2007.
Czech Television has filed a complaint against the military police for abuse of power and has asked for its documents to be returned. The spokesman said that the police confiscated many personal items, lists of sources, and documents about important affairs in the Czech Army and Defense Ministry, unrelated to the 2007 military intelligence affair.
After five hours spent at the headquarters of the Czech Television, the unit left with bags full of documents and other items. Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas called the raid unacceptable. Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra suspendedput three senior officers, including the chief.

Eighty per cent of Czechs think too many foreigners are in their country and they represent a security threat

2011-03-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

The Internet newspaper The Prague Daily Monitor reports:
". . . there are over 400,000 foreigners registered in the Czech Republic, according to the latest records of the Foreigners Police. Another study showed that one out of eight people living in Prague is a foreigner. However, according to a different study conducted by the STEM agency two years ago, two out of three Czechs think foreigners represent a security threat and 80 percent consider the number of foreigners working in the country too high.

But now there are NGOs who help integrate foreigners by spreading information and language courses.

Xenophobia was spread by the former Communist regime but it seems democracy has not brought enlightenment.

Click on the title to read the full story.

Berlusconi's girl friend hogs spotlight at Vienna opera ball

2011-03-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

"Ruby", the young woman at the heart of a sex scandal involving Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was the star attraction at the Vienna Opera Ball, a highlight of the Austrian social calendar. The Moroccan-born pole dancer Karima El Mahroug, nicknamed "Ruby the Heart Stealer," joined entrepreneur Richard Lugner in his box alongside former "Dallas" actor Larry Hagman -- who had swapped his usual cowboy hat for a top hat -- and attracted frenzied attention. Dressed in a gold evening gown, the 18-year-old hogged the media limelight with photographers jostling to photograph her. A debutante even asked her to autograph her bouquet. In recent years, the 78-year-old Lugner, who briefly starred in his own reality television show, secured the company of Baywatch stars Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra, striptease queen Dita von Teese, and US socialite Paris Hilton.

Conflict or interest suspicions abound as leading Czech figures take questionable vacations

2011-02-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

In July 2009, a set of photos was leaked to Czech media showing Czech politicians, businessmen and lobbyists vacationing in Tuscany, Italy. The photos created a major scandal in the Czech Republic and shed more light into suspected personal connections between Czech political and business elite, and conflicts of interest that emerge from them. Now, some 18 months later, it appears that the jet setting of Czech politicians and businessmen goes on. ast week, Aktualne.cz journalists managed to take photos of a group of Czech managers arriving at Prague airport from a holiday in Dubai, where they played golf. The group included people who award and receive public contracts worth billions of taxpayers money. In the group was director general of Czech Railways Petr Žaluda, (pictured) director of Prague Public Transport Company Martin Dvořák, and co-owner of Škoda Transportation Tomáš Krsek. The state-controlled companies Czech Railways and Prague Public Transport Company are key strategic partners of Škoda Transportation, which has been awarded public contracts worth billions from them. As in the previous Tuscany affair, it is not known who paid the vacation. The three businessmen were accompanied by Pavel Suchánek, a deputy for the ruling Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and head of the budget committee of the lower chamber of the Czech Parliament, CEO of Czech energy giant ČEZ Martin Roman, and an influential lobbyist Roman Janoušek, who is being investigated by police.

Hungary to leave controversial media law’s core intact

2011-02-18T19:29:00.001-08:00

Hungary has drafted a new version of its media law after criticism from the European Commission. Most of the controversial sections will remain unchanged. The government says that the amendments won’t change the legislation much. They will only make the law “more precise,” while preventing “Hungary from losing its prestige,” said Zoltan Kovacs, Hungarian state secretary in charge of communication. The Hungarian parliament could approve the changes within two weeks, Mr. Kovacs said. The Fidesz party, after winning last year’s general election in a landslide, introduced a new media law Jan. 1 to address what it saw as imbalanced and sensationalist media content. Critics have said the legislation may be used to gag the press while decisions will be made by the ruling party’s loyal appointees to the Media Council, which is to oversee the industry. The new media law drew criticism from the European Commission and brought protesters to the street. (pictured)

Czech lower house chair nominates Sir Nicholas Winton for Nobel Peace Prize

2011-02-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

The chairwoman of Czech Parliament’s lower house, Civic Democrat Miroslava Němcová, has nominated Sir Nicholas Winton (pictured) for the Nobel Peace Prize. Ms Němcová told reporters on Thursday that she had asked the speaker of the UK’s House of Commons, John Bercow, and the chair of Israel’s Knesset, Reuven Rivlin for support; Mr Rivlin agreed while Mr Bercow said he was not in a position to nominate Nobel Peace Prize candidates. Sir Nicholas Winton, who organized a rescue of nearly 700 mostly Jewish children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939, has already been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In January, the deputy chair of the Czech Senate, Přemysl Sobotka handed his proposal to the Norwegian ambassador in Prague. Among those saved by Winton was Czech-born Canadian TV journalist Joe Schlesinger, now retired from the CBC, who emigrated to Canada after escaping from Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia in the late 1940s. Winton is 101 years old.

Czech all-news channel goes off the air

2011-01-29T19:25:00.000-08:00

Not three years into its existence, the Z1 television channel stopped broadcasting Jan. 25. The station was established in June 2008 as a 24-hour news channel and later focused on financial news. In its first year of operation, the station lost 240 million Czech Crowns. It continued to lose millions of crowns in 2009 and 2010, bringing the station's total loss to nearly 650 million Crowns. The station also underwent a restructuring in 2010, which failed to bring in profits, said Patrik Tkáč, the company's marketing director. The business daily Hospodářské noviny wrote that the station's biggest error was counting on an expanding luxury market, which it was targeting. Z1 held a market share of 0.9 percent in January, according to HN estimates, compared with Czech Television's 24-hour news channel, ČT24, which held 4.4 percent.

Brno's new streetcars change seating arrangement after passenger protests

2011-01-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

The City of Brno in the Czech Republic received spanking new streetcars designed by Porsche and built by the Czech Skoda works.

Passenger instantly disliked the seats that faced each other. They did not like sitting so close together and it made the aisles very narrow. They launched a protest.

The transit authority listened and changed the seats to the traditional configuration.

An added bonus is that the new arrangement created 12 additional standing places while keeping the same number of seats.

European Union deputies confront Hungarian leader over law on news media

2011-01-19T19:52:00.000-08:00

Some European Union deputies in Brtussels waved blank newspaper pages emblazoned with the word “censored,” while others protested by sticking tape over their mouths as Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban,(pictured) clashed with critics over his country’s controversial news media law in the European Parliament on Wednesday. Accused of stifling press freedom, Mr. Orban reiterated recent statements that he would amend the legislation if it were found incompatible with European law, but then took on his critics, accusing them of insulting the Hungarian people.
“We lived under a dictatorship for 40 years,” Mr. Orban said at the Parliament, in Strasbourg, France. “I will not stand for you contesting the democratic aspirations of Hungarians.” For Mr. Orban, the session provided an uneasy start for his and Hungary’s turn at the rotating six-month European Union presidency. The media law has become a symbol for wider worries about the drift of politics in Hungary — where critics say Mr. Orban has stoked nationalist fervor and consolidated power. The new law requires news organizations to register with an authority appointed by the Hungarian Parliament, where Mr. Orban has an overwhelming majority. The news outlets are required to respect “human dignity” and observe balanced reporting and can be fined for a breach of the rules. Critics fear that Mr. Orban’s allies will use the law to stifle opposition.

Slovak premier says her country benefited from joining the Eurozone

2011-01-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

Slovakia's Prime Minister Iveta Radičová is convinced that in spite of all the recent problems with the common European currency, it was doubtlessly beneficial for Slovakia to adopt the euro. Radičová said this in an interview with Aktualne.cz, a Czech Internet news website. Slovakis refused to participate in the bailout of Greece and there has been speculation that it was looking foir a way to abandon the Euro.
But Radicova said that Slovakia has benefited from joining the eurozone and she sees no damage caused to Slovakia by adopting the euro.
"On the contrary, for us, as an open economy, it is a profitable step. In addition, the common currency is a very good mechanism that prevents governments from starting inflationary spirals," she said. She said she favoured default over a bailout for Greece and other countries in trouble.

Jiri Dienstbier, noted Czech dissident, dies at 73

2011-01-09T16:46:00.001-08:00

Jiri Dienstbier, the reporter turned dissident who joined Vaclav Havel to help topple one of East Europe’s most repressive regimes and then served under Havel in Czechoslovakia’s first post-communist government, died Saturday after a long illness. He was 73. Dienstbier secured his place in history for his prominent role in the dissident movement led by Vaclav Havel that agitated for observance of human rights during the final years of communist power in Eastern Europe.

Hungarian radio station first to be cited under harsh new media law

2011-01-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

Hungary's new all-powerful media authority has opened an inquiry into a small private radio station, Tilos, for broadcasting a number by US rapper-cum-actor Ice-T (pictured).
A letter from the NMHH authority, published on the radio's website, said it opened its investigation in September after the radio ran Ice-T's "Warning, it's on" that month at 1730 local. NMHH said the song was "gangster-rap" and "could influence the development of minors in a negative way". Tilos should have broadcast it after 2100, it said. Ice-T, also known for his role as an NYPD detective in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", said on twitter "I love it! The world still fears me. Hahaha!" The radio on the other hand countered that it had few listeners aged under 16 and that even among young English-speakers in Hungary, few would be able to understand the rapper's lyrics. Hungarian websites said the NMHH stand recalled the Communist days of the 60s and 70s when censors warned against the destructive potential of Punk.

Slovakia Leaving EU? Newcomer Nation May Be Looking For Exit

2010-12-31T07:58:00.000-08:00

Bells pealed and fireworks shot across midnight skies in Bratislava two years ago, as Slovaks celebrated not only the New Year but also their country's long-sought entry to the club of nations using the continent's common currency, the euro.
Fast forward to the dying days of 2010 – after the eurozone's debt crisis forced the bailouts of Greece and Ireland and painful austerity measures across the region_ and one thing is clear: while Slovaks will again turn out in droves on Dec. 31, the cheer will have nothing to do with belonging to the euro. Two years ago, the euro was viewed as a safe haven of financial stability, insurance against wild swings of national currencies that could throw national budgets out of kilter and threaten economic growth. For Slovakia, it also signaled arrival into the prosperous club of EU nations less than two decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Now, as eurozone nations are asked to help bail out others overwhelmed by debt and the risk of contagion spreads beyond Ireland and Greece, adopting the common currency is no longer a top priority for former communist countries still outside the zone. And in newcomer countries, like Slovakia, some now see the euro as a burden, not a blessing.
Some in the Slovak leadership are even looking for a way out.

Click on the title to read the full story in the Huffington Post.

Hungarian president signs controversial media law

2010-12-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

Hungarian President Pal Schmitt Thursday signed into law controversial legislation that gives the government greater control over news media outlets, despite mounted criticism by other European Union nations. The new media law takes effect January 1, the day Hungary takes over the rotating EU presidency. It imposes large fines on all broadcasters, publishers, and Internet outlets that distribute content authorities say is offensive, unfair, and not in the "public interest." Germany Thursday expressed hope that Budapest would act to change the law, which has been criticized as infringing on free speech. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban rejected the idea, and attributed criticism to a lack of understanding of the situation in Hungary.

Hungarian PM rules out changes to controversial new media law despite international outcry

2010-12-24T05:51:00.000-08:00

Hungary's prime minister is ruling out any changes to the country's contentious new media law despite an international outcry over press freedom. The law approved by parliament Tuesday and set to take effect Jan. 1 will greatly expand the state's power to monitor and penalize private news outlets. Media watchdogs and several European countries, including heavyweight Germany, have criticized it. Prime Minister Viktor Orban told private Hir TV television on Thursday that "we have no intention whatsoever" of changing the law. Hungary will assume the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union on Jan. 1.

TV technician jumps from Romanian parliament balcony

2010-12-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

A Romanian television technician was severely injured Thursday when he flung himself from parliament’s balcony in protest at the centre-right government of Emil Boc’s austerity measures. Adrian Sobaru, 40, threw himself off, shouting “Boc, you have stolen the children’s future,” witnesses said. Mr. Sobaru, an electrician working for public television, suffered several facial fractures but his condition was stable, a spokesman for the emergency hospital in Bucharest said.Local media said he was protesting at the austerity package adopted in July, which reduced by 15% an allowance aimed at helping his family take care of an autistic son. The incident took place as lawmakers prepared to start debates on a no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition. Parliament was suspended for an hour, and the motion was eventually defeated in the absence of opposition MPs.

Czech president pardons former communist prosecutor in notorious show trial

2010-12-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has pardoned Ludmila Brožová-Polednová (shown at left at the 1950s trial), a former communist prosecutor who is serving a six year sentence for her part in the judicial murder of democratic politician Milada Horaková in the 1950s. Ludmila Brožová Polednová, who is now 89, is the last living participant in one of the most notorious show trials of communist-era Czechoslovakia and is the sole person tried in connection with the murder. In 2007 she was found guilty and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. The sentence was overturned, but the following year she was tried again, found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison. After a series of unsuccessful appeals, Brožová-Polednová became the Czech Republic's oldest prisoner when in March 2009 when she was incarcerated at a special geriatric facility in central Bohemia. Her case has evoked mixed reactions with some people pleading clemency in view of her advanced age.

Spy-quake: Czech secret services to be streamlined

2010-12-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

The Czech government plans to reform the country's intelligence agencies. In a speech in Bratislava, Slovakia, Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas said that having three intelligence services - civilian intelligence, civilian counter-intelligence, and military intelligence - is a luxury the Czech Republic cannot afford.
"I think that the right way would be a merger, which means to have one intelligence agency and one counter-intelligence agency," said Nečas. However, there is disagreement and it is not sure whether the government will be able to implement the reform. The plans are likely to produce conflicts not only between the coalition parties but also between the intelligence agencies which would be forced to lay off some of their officers.
"Each agency would try to persuade you that it is the one that should be the base of the transformation, with the other agencies being rogues - and I am using almost exact words here. The level of rivalry between them is unprecedented," Nečas said.
Czech governments have been discussing such reforms for years. There was no explanation why Necas chose a visit to Slovakia to make a speech on this subject. The Czech Republic and Slovakia were one federal state until it broke up in 1990.
During the Communist era, the Czechoslovak secret service was one of the most efficient in the Soviet bloc, probably only surpassed by that of East Germany.

T

Part of a bronze monument to children of Lidice stolen

2010-11-23T20:53:00.000-08:00

Part of a bronze monument to the child victims of the World War II Nazi massacre at Lidice was stolen, presumably for scrap metal. One figure from a group of life-sized bronze statues at the Lidice memorial in central Bohemia was taken last week, leaving local people shocked, Radio Prague reported.
The Nazi regime murdered the inhabitants of Lidice and razed the small village to the ground in 1942, as part of reprisals for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the German governor of Bohemia and Moravia. Men from the village were executed, while almost all of the women and children were later killed at Nazi death camps.
In all, 82 of the village’s 103 children died in the gas chambers, and it was in their honour that a group of life-sized bronze statues was erected at the Lidice Memorial in the 1990s. It had taken over two decades to create them all.
Last week one of those statues was broken off at the feet and stolen.

Former U.S. ambassador accuses Czech minister of bribe demand

2010-11-12T12:58:00.001-08:00

Former US ambassador to the Czech Republic William Cabaniss has accused Czech ex-deputy defence minister Martin Barták of soliciting a bribe. The daily Mladá fronta Dnes quoted Mr Cabaniss on Friday as saying that in 2008, Mr Barták asked for “millions of dollars” for his assistance in solving problems the Czech truck maker Tatra had with a commission for the Czech army. Mr Barták, who now serves as deputy finance minister, has denied any wrongdoing. A Tatra truck is pictured.

Czech interior minister calls lack of EU support against Canadian visas "scandalous"

2010-11-08T13:09:00.000-08:00

Radek John, the Czech interior minister,(pictured) has criticized the European Commission and several EU countries for their lack of support in the visa dispute between the Czech Republic and Canada. At a meeting of EU interior ministers, John said the lack of solidarity on the part of the EU was “scandalous”. Canada reintroduced visas for Czech citizens in July 2009 over increasing numbers of asylum seekers from the Czech Republic, mostly Romas. The European Commission has repeatedly voiced support for Prague and even considered imposing visas on Canadian diplomats; on Friday, however, a report by the commission said progress had been made on the issued and no special measures were necessary.

Slovak prime minister gets "woman of the year" award from Glamour magazine

2010-11-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová has been awarded a “Woman of the Year 2010” award by Glamour magazine. She will receive the award on Monday in New York's Carnegie Hall.
“In some countries we have had the right to vote for less than 100 years, so the entry of women into political leadership has caused a tsunami,” Glamour quoted Radičová as saying.Others award winners include leaders and heads of state from Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Lithuania, Finland, Iceland, India, Croatia, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Kyrgyzstan and Liberia.

Prague’s National Theatre to offer venues for wedding ceremonies to offset budget cuts

2010-11-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

Prague’s National Theatre is considering a new service -- offering its historic venues for wedding ceremonies. The theatre management said the new service should partly cover the government's cuts in its budget for 2011. Couples could get married in one of the boxes in the theatre main building, for around 35,000 crowns (about $2,000CDN), or, during the summer break, on stage of the Estates Theatre, at roughly 90,000 crowns(about $5,000 CDN). The Czech culture minister, Jiří Besser, however told Czech Radio he opposed those plans, given the historic significance of the theatre, as well as the high divorce rate in the Czech Republic.

Czech Republic's corruption ranking worsens

2010-10-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Czech Republic dropped from 52nd to 53rd position in Transparency International's (TI) Corruption Perception Index 2010 (CPI) among 178 countries assessed, released Tuesday. Last year the Czech Republic dropped from 45th to 52nd position. The country gained mark 4.6 this year on a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 means the highest corruption. It ranks among the worst in the EU. TI says the result is a mark for the previous Czech governments of Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democrats, ODS, in power 2007-2009) and Jan Fischer (unaffiliated, in power 2009-2010).
"No anti-corruption measure has been taken on government level in the past one and a half years when the country was in a permanent election campaign. Politicians only talk about anti-corruption measures, but it is high time to start to implement them," David Ondracka, director of the Czech branch of TI, said.

Czech opposition gains control of senate; may slowdown plans to cut spending

2010-10-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

The opposition Social Democrats have won control of the Czech senate in mid-term elections, allowing them to slow government plans to cut spending. Voters were choosing 27 of the 81-seat chamber and the left-wing Social Democrats now have 41 seats. The gains could allow them to block the ruling right-wing Civic Democrats' plan to send more troops to Afghanistan.

RCMP in Hamilton, Ont. charge 10 in alleged Hungarian 'slavery' ring

2010-10-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

RCMP say members of an alleged human trafficking ring brought 16 Hungarians to Canada on the promise of a more prosperous life, then stowed them in basements and fed them scraps while collecting their government cheques. A total of 10 people were charged this week by Hamilton Niagara RCMP following a 10-month joint investigation with the Canada Border Services Agency. The investigation was launched when one alleged victim reported the family's conduct. Additional people later reported similar stories to police.

Hungarian chemical sludge spill reaches Danube

2010-10-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

A Hungarian soldier in protective gear helps with the clean-up operation.

Toxic red sludge from a spill at an industrial plant in Hungary has reached the river Danube, officials say.They said alkaline levels that killed all fish in one river were now greatly reduced, but were being monitored. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called the spill an "ecological tragedy". There are fears the mud, which burst out of a reservoir on Monday, could poison the Danube. Countries downstream from Hungary, including Croatia, Serbia and Romania, are drawing up emergency plans. A million cubic metres (35m cu ft) of the sludge spilled from a reservoir at an alumina plant in Ajka in western Hungary. Four people were killed and about 100 injured.

Hungary declares emergency as toxic mud spill kills four

2010-10-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hungary declared a state of emergency Tuesday after a toxic mud spill that swamped villages killed four people and injured 120 in what officials said was the country's worst-ever chemical accident. Eight injured were in a serious condition and six people were missing after the walls of a reservoir of residue at an aluminum plant broke on Monday afternoon and officials feared the death toll could rise. Three villages were swamped with 1.1 million cubic metres (38.8 million cubic feet) of toxic red sludge from the reservoir in Ajka, 165 kilometres (102 miles) west of Budapest. The red mud is a toxic residue left over from aluminum production and contains harmful substances such as lead as well as highly corrosive elements.

Prague no longer golden; residents want to leave

2010-10-04T04:34:00.000-07:00

More than one third of Prague's inhabitants would like to move to a different place during their lifetime, according to a poll conducted by the Dema agency. Citing their reasons, most of them stated they want more contact with nature, breathe healthier air, and to own a house, instead of living in a flat. Half of those who think about leaving the capital already know when they want to do it. Some 21 percent would prefer to leave Prague in two years, 32 percent in five years.

Hungarian and Slovak governments create hot line to discuss disputes

2010-10-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Hungarian and Slovak foreign ministries have agreed to inform each other of all disputed issues via a special hot line to avoid future diplomatic and political controversies about which they learned only in the press, the publication Budapest Report reports. The two ministries considered the new initiative to be their early warning system to avoid any future "political tsunamis” before issues are blown out of proportion. The ministries said they wish to strengthen ties in all areas and avoid discrepancies, while building trust and cooperation between the two nations. Slovakia reportedly promised to fully support Hungary during its presidency of the European Union during 2011. Hungary has reportedly asked Slovakia to abolish all laws related to discrimination against its Hungarian minority and teaching of the Hungarian language.

17 people connected to Hungary's Jobbik party charged with terrorism

2010-09-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

The Hungarian State Prosecutor has charged extreme-right leader Györge Budaházy and 16 other people considered his associates with committing terrorism and other violent crimes, the MTI news agency reported. According to the indictment, Budaházy set up a gang in 2007 to commit attacks on Hungarian MPs and thereby put pressure on the legislature. That same year, members of the gang evidently shot and threw Molotov cocktails at the homes of two Hungarian MPs. In February 2008, they committed similar attacks in several places outside of the capital. Gang members threw Molotov cocktails at the office of the Hungarian Socialist Party and the Free Democrats’ Party in Budapest. Police report they also attacked buildings connected to left-wing circles and gay communities.

Czechs stop Google's Street View data collection

2010-09-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection (UOOU) rejected for a second time Google’s application to collect personal data in the central European state of 10.5 million, saying the process could potentially break the law.

Only one of the shooter's victims was a Roma

2010-09-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

As Slovak authorities started to piece together the mass shooting in Bratislava, the newspaper SME reported that only one of the victims was a Roma. Bratislava's police chief says the gunman's motive may never be known. He was known as a loner and police have not been able to come up with a motive. There was also some criticism of the police response. Th government declared Thursday as a national day of mourning for the victims.

Eight killed, 13 seriously injured in Slovakia shooting

2010-08-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

Eight people, including the gunman, died and 13 others were seriously injured in a shooting incident in the Slovak capital Bratislava on Monday. According to a report of the TASR news agency, the incident occurred at around 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) Monday in Devinska Nova Ves district on the outskirts of Bratislava. An unidentified middle-aged man attacked a family of Roma minority, killing six of its members. He then started shooting on people in the street and neighboring houses with an automatic gun and other weapons, fatally injuring a 50-year-old woman on a balcony.
"Policemen arrived two minutes after they got an emergency call and saw the presumed murderer coming out of the house," police chief Jaroslav Spisiak said at a press conference, adding that the gunman fired at the police and also indiscriminately at the passers-by. When the police got the man cornered, he committed suicide, said Spisiak.
The deadly shooting spree is the worst of its kind in more than a decade, the police said. One of the relatives of the murdered family told local reporters that the gunman lived in the neighborhood and had threatened them. She accused him of having anti-Roma racist attitudes.
But the police said the motive of the shooting is still under investigation.

Victims of 1968 Soviet-led invasion remembered at Prague ceremony

2010-08-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

A ceremony was held at the Czech Radio building in Prague on Saturday honouring the victims of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 21, 1968. Warsaw Pact troops had entered the country during the previous night, halting the liberalisation reforms of the Prague Spring. Speaking at Saturday’s memorial ceremony, the chairman of the Senate, Přemysl Sobotka, paid tribute to the Czechoslovak Radio journalists who had kept the public informed about the invasion; he said that listeners did not hear the truth again until 21 years later, when the communist regime fell. Over 100 people were killed in the violence that followed the occupation. The greatest losses were recorded at the Czech Radio building on Vinohradská St, which had become a rallying point for resistance.

Click on the title to read my 40th anniversary story on the invasion, published in te National Post. -- PR

The fashion challenge of the new Slovak coalition government

2010-08-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

Lukas Fila, a writer in the English-language Slovak Spectator published in Bratislava, commented on the country’s new government’s fashion challenge.
For starters, he wondered why Richard Sulík, speaker of Slovakia’s Parliament, decided to attend a lunch with foreign ambassadors wearing white linen pants, a white shirt, and no tie.
“The case illustrates a broader problem members of the new coalition seem to have with clothing,” he wrote. "Prime Minister Iveta Radičová at first refused to wear stockings, despite warnings by protocol experts. She eventually gave in: ‘I can report that the stockings are on. There will be no headlines,’ Radičová told journalists on her official trip to Poland. But she also announced plans to set up a commission to review the dress code ‘to accommodate the needs of the 21st century’, and ‘reflect the fact that a woman is prime minister.’”
“MP Igor Matovič (pictured) announced the terms under which he would support the government manifesto and stay in the SaS party’s caucus in parliament standing in front of a huge Slovak flag – wearing linen pants, a black T-shirt and a pair of flip-flops. The leader of the ‘Ordinary People’, a group of MPs likely one day to launch a separate party, has been seen wearing a suit ever since. But one has to wonder just how ordinary the man will be.
“Luckily, at least some politicians are fashion-cautious. Deputy Minister for Social Affairs Lucia Nicholsonová visited the Luník IX Roma ghetto wearing high heels, tight pants, a perfectly fitting white blouse and a designer handbag. Must have been some sight for the locals.
“What does all this say about the new ruling coalition? On the one hand, it shows a lack of experience, a sense for showing-off, and a nostalgia for life before politics. On the other, it proves that the country is not run by people who were born in suits, raised by party congresses, and indulge in formal displays of power and superiority. A welcome change to (former prime minister) Robert Fico, who never smiled and rarely missed a chance to remind his audience that he was ‘the chairman of the government of the Slovak Republic’”.
“So even if all members of the new elite start wearing ties, let’s hope they don’t lose their human touch. . . ..”

Floods hit Czech Republic and all of Central Europe causing heavy damage

2010-08-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Continuing heavy rainfall has seen rivers in parts of the Czech Republic break their banks, leading to flash floods that have driven hundreds of people from their homes. Areas suffering from floods are the north and north-east of the country. The region of Liberec has been hard hit. Around a thousand people had to be evacuated from their homes on Saturday, with some scrambling onto rooftops as they waited for help. Power lines, parts of train routes and roads have all been affected. The nearby Fýdlant was practically cut-off by floodwaters, which also flowed right through the centre of the town, leaving property damaged and cars overturned. Four casualties in the region have since been confirmed. The calamity has led two regions – Liberec and Ústí nad Labem – to declare states of emergency.

Twenty per cent of Czech fathers not biologiocal parents; DNA expert

2010-07-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

A leading DNA specialist claims that 20 percent of Czech fathers are not the biological parents of their children. The assertion comes in the wake of a historic court ruling that no longer requires a male partner to pay support for a child that is not his. The Family Law, introduced in 1964, states that after six months following the birth, a man had to financially support the child of his partner even if it was consequently discovered that the baby was not his. The ruling, delivered July 14 by the Constitutional Court ordered a support ordr cancelled after a man produced DNA tests that showed he was not the biological father. His wife was having an affair for two years during their marriage. The Justice Ministry is considering changes in the law.
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Epic battle in Czech Republic over Alphonse Mucha works

2010-07-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

When the Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha created The Slav Epic, he would have had no idea that one day his masterpiece depicting the proud history of the Slavs would become the focus of more contemporary Czech life: low politics and money grubbing. The grandson of the artist, John Mucha, said he intends to appea an earlier Prague court ruling that dismissed an injunction filed by his family designed to prevent Prague City Hall from unilaterally moving the 20 giant paintings that comprise The Slav Epic to its new home in Prague, Veletrzni palace, where the National Gallery is located. The Slav Epic is currently housed in the chateau in Moravsky Krumlov, a town in the Moravian Region, where it was put by the Communists, who had little use for the work of an artist that had espoused Czech nationalism. Yet, according to Prague City Hall, the bad state of the chateau means that The Slav Epic needs to be moved, with an opening date in Veletrzni palace set for the end of September. In its appeal, the Mucha family disputes that moving the paintings to Veletrzni palace would be any safer, nor does the new home meet the condition that Mucha and his patron, the late US millionaire Charles R. Crane, laid down when they bestowed the work to Prague City in 1928: that it should be exhibited in a proper space especially created for it, something that has never happened. This week, officials in Moravia blocked moving the paintings until the ownwership gets sorted out.

Female Czech MPs pose for calendar

2010-07-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

Female members of the Czech parliament have posed for a glamorous calendar to highlight the growing presence of women in Czech politics. The 2011 calendar features four women MPs from the Public Affairs party wearing little in the way of clothing in a series of images that dispatch the traditional image of staid and serious parliamentarians. The country returned its highest ever number of women MPs at the last general election. Two other women, one the party's candidate for the mayor of Prague, make up the numbers, with each politician photographed twice for the calendar, which will be sold for charity.

Milk vending machines a success in Czech Republic; eat your heart out Coca-Cola!

2010-07-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

The installation of milk vending machines or “milkomats” (pictured) across the Czech Republic significantly boosted dairy sales last year, Radio Prague reports. Due to their great popularity, farmers are now gearing up to expand the range of produce available through vending machines. Other dairy products are already available at some locations, and even vegetables, meat and honey may soon follow.

Across the Czech Republic, the number of coin-operated milk vending machines has grown from about a few dozen earlier this year to over two hundred – and counting. The “milkomats” have been a hit with customers.
“Customers are tired of chain stores, their uniform range of products and the fact that they do not know where the groceries on sale come from," says Jan Veleba, head of the Czech Agrarian Chamber.

Farmers can buy milk vending machines from companies such as Toko, which has an 80-percent share of the Czech market. The firm is now planning to provide new types of vending machines that could hold other goods, such as vacuum-packed fresh vegetables, butter, honey and even fresh meat. Fresh cheeses are already available at some locations.

Vaclav Havel making debut as film director at age 73

2010-06-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

Former Czech president Václav Havel is to begin filming an adaptation of his play Leaving on Thursday, a Prague newspaper reported. Shooting will take place over two months in the east Bohemian town of Česká Skalice. Mr Havel is making his debut as a film director at the age of 73. Leaving, which was first performed on stage in 2008, is about a politician's painful adjustment to a new life after leaving politics. It is Havel's first play in 20 years.

Slovak centre-right asked to form coalition

2010-06-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

Slovakia's president has asked a centre-right leader to form a government, after Prime Minister Robert Fico said he had failed to do so. Four right-of-centre parties won a majority in recent polls, but Mr Fico's party was the single biggest winner. President Ivan Gasparovic has now asked centre-right leader Iveta Radicova (pictured) to form a coalition by 8 July. The centre-right campaigned on a programme of austerity, and has pledged to improve ties with Hungary. Slovakia's economy contracted by almost 5% in 2009, and the country posted a deficit of 6.8%. The four centre-right parties won 79 out of 150 seats in elections on 12 June, while the alliance led by Mr Fico's centre-left Smer party won 71 seats

Half of Prague's pubs and bars expected to ban smoking

2010-06-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

The number of smoke-free restaurants in Prague is likely to increase significantly. Or, at least they will bear the appropriate sign. Before 1 July 2010, pubs and restaurants in the Czech Republic will have to choose one of the following three labels: smoking allowed, smoking prohibited, or mixed. The latter label is reserved for those establishment that have spaces for smokers and nonsmokers physically isolated. New legislation says that the owners must indicate the character of their establishment visibly with a stick-on label.

Will there be a no smoking revolution in the Czech Republic? It appears that at some places, it will. Pavel Hlinka, the president of the Czech association of hotels and restaurants, says that as much as half of Prague's establishments will choose the "no smoking" way. Hlinka bases this estimate on discussions with members of his association.

Slovakia coalition fighting for survival

2010-06-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Slovakia's three party governing coalition is fighting for survival in a parliamentary election on Saturday, challenged in a tight race by the center-right opposition. Prime Minister Robert Fico's left-leaning party — which has promised to maintain the welfare state, in contrast to the budget-cutting being implemented in several other European countries — appears according to polls to be heading for the largest share of the vote. And the chances of its junior coalition partner, the ultranationalist Slovak National Party of Jan Slota, were boosted by the recent escalation of tension in the traditionally difficult Slovak-Hungarian relations. Yet that may not be enough for a majority because another coalition partner, the party of former authoritarian Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, might not clear the five-percent threshold necessary for parliamentary representation, polls indicate. A trio of center-right challengers might be able to form a governing coalition with a good election result and support from two ethnic Hungarians parties.

Czech Republic voters move to right in general election

2010-05-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

Results from the Czech Republic's general election suggest centre-right parties may form the next government. The left-wing Social Democrats narrowly won, with 22.1% of the vote, the Czech Statistical Office said. But Jiri Paroubek quickly resigned as leader of the party, saying the country was "on track for a right-wing coalition".
The conservative Civic Democrats have 20.2%, but potential allies could boost that towards a majority. One of them, TOP09, has 16.7%, while the centrist Public Affairs party has 10.9%. It is still unclear who will become prime minister.

Czech president, Archbishop sign agreement on historic cathedral in Prague

2010-05-24T19:02:00.001-07:00

President Václav Klaus and the Archbishop of Prague Dominik Duka have signed an agreement in Prague on the joint administration of St Vitus Cathedral – ending an 18-year-long property dispute. The agreement outlines that the historic site, which Mr Klaus called an “exceptional national symbol” will be run jointly by the state and the Czech Catholic Church, meaning that the Church will withdraw a complaint filed at the Constitutional Court. Archbishop Dominik Duka’s approach to settling the dispute comes in marked contrast to that of his predecessor, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, who opposed a similar deal and threatened to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. Twice in the past, lower Czech courts ruled in favour of the Church, but in the last decision the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the state. The Church lost control of St Vitus Cathedral in 1954, several years after the Communists seized power in then-Czechoslovakia.

Heavy rains threaten floods in Czech Republic, Hungary

2010-05-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

Heavy rains are expected to continue in parts of the Czech Republic and other parts of Central Europe over the next couple of days. Forecasters said Moravia, Silesia and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands would see high levels of rainfall until Tuesday morning, with the Pardubice and Hradec Kralové regions also likely to experience persistent downpours. Flooding is a significant threat in some areas. A number of rivers were rising fast on Sunday evening, with some having reached the highest level of flood alert and more expected to follow. Flood waters have reached several towns in northern Hungary.

Czech visa issue emerges as Can-EU free-trade obstacle

2010-05-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

Canada's decision to impose visa requirements on Czech visitors is emerging as a potential stumbling block in efforts to strike an ambitious free-trade deal with the European Union. Officials on both sides of the bargaining table have told The Canadian Press that European negotiators are citing the requirement as a concern that must be addressed. Ottawa hopes to strike an even more comprehensive deal than the North American Free Trade Agreement by the end of 2011, and predicts such a treaty could boost the country's GDP by $12 billion annually. The initial negotiating rounds have gone smoothly, and the sides remain confident there will be a deal -- but the next step is to address more contentious issues. A European Union official said one of those "stickier issues" will be the travel restriction, and that EU negotiators will seek to overturn it.

Czech Social Democratic Party's deputy leader attacked at rally;

2010-05-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

With elections just three weeks away, the two largest parties on the Czech political scene the Civic Democrats and the Social Democrats, have been ridiculing each other on billboards across the country for weeks. Now a violent attack against the deputy leader of the Social Democrats, Bohuslav Sobotka, (pictured) at an election rally in the South Moravian city of Brno on Wednesday evening has added even more fuel to the bitter rivalry. Sobotka had just finished his speech when he was approached by a man from the audience and punched in the face. Visibly shaken, the former finance minister was taken to hospital, where he will remain under supervision until Thursday afternoon. Police arrested the perpetrator, a 48-year-old man who was heavily intoxicated at the time. Polls show the Social Democrats leading. The party has curtailed its election rallies and said it would no longer give interviews to several national newspapers whom it blames for the whipping up the public.

Austrian president beats challenger from the ultra-right

2010-04-26T17:14:00.001-07:00

Exit polls indicated that Heinz Fischer, the Social Democratic incumbent, was last night on course to retain the Austrian presidency after a campaign overshadowed by a far-right politician's controversial views on the country's strict anti-Nazi laws.
Mr Fischer won 78.9 per cent of the vote, trouncing Barbara Rosenkranz, a 51-year-old mother of 10 and candidate of the far-right Freedom party, who secured 15.6 per cent, according to a poll by ORF television.

Czech official says Canada may lift visa requirements within a few months

2010-04-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

The Czech deputy interior minister, Lenka Ptáčková Melicharová, has said that Canadian visas for Czech nationals could be lifted in several months. She made the comment on Friday after a meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels, saying that if Canada did not resolve the visa issue the Czech Republic could block the ratification of a trade agreement being negotiated between Canada and the European Union. Ottawa reintroduced visas for Czechs last July after receiving a high number of applications from Czech asylum seekers. most of whom were Romas. Canada took similar steps in 1997.

EU emergency talks called on volcanic ash air chaos

2010-04-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

Airspace closed as of midnight Sunday EDT:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, UK

EU transport ministers are to hold emergency talks by video conference on easing the volcanic ash cloud chaos paralysing air travel across Europe. Sixty-three thousand flights have been cancelled in four days, with millions of passengers stranded worldwide. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said: "We cannot just wait until this ash cloud dissipates." Airports and airlines question the need for curbs said to be costing airlines alone $200m (£130m) a day.

A row has broken out over Kaczynski burial plan

2010-04-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

A row has broken out over the decision to bury Polish President Lech Kaczynski in Wawel cathedral in Krakow - a place reserved for Poland's kings and heroes. Hundreds have taken to the streets of the southern city in protest at the plan for a second consecutive night. Thousands have joined an internet campaign against it. Mr Kaczynski died in a plane crash on Saturday along with his wife and many senior officials. A date for a presidential election will be set after the funeral on Sunday.

Acclaimed Polish film director Andrzej Wajda dubbed the burial arrangements "misplaced" and "hastily made as emotions ran high", in an open letter published by the newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza.

Drunk foreigner in serious condition after falling from statue of St. Wencelas in Prague

2010-04-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

A 24-year-old man is in a serious condition after falling from the statue of St Wenceslas on Prague’s Wenceslas Square in the early hours of Wednesday. The man, who is not Czech, was drunk at the time. He is reported to have broken several bones and sustained other injuries in the fall, which took place around 3:30 am. The man refused to comply with police calls for him to get down. When he did decide to dismount the statue he slipped when half-way down and plunged several metres to the ground. The man could now also face a fine.

Czech media did not identify the nationality of the man.

To see a surveillance video of the fall, click on the title.

Democracy, Hungarian-style: George Jonas

2010-04-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

George Jonas in the National Post:

"Three days ago, Hungary's democracy undid some of the damage it inflicted on itself in 2002. This was the year when, for some inexplicable reason, Hungarians elected the same communists they rebelled against in 1956 and finally escaped in 1989 -- well, maybe not the same communists, but their kith and kin, along with their hangers-on and their apologists.

"Now, after eight years, Marxism's kissing cousins are gone. They took some 19% of the vote, leaving 100% of the damage and detritus. And the fat lady is still to sing."

Click on the title to read the full column.