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December 4th, 2008
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April 26th, 2006 | Current Issue

Closed show
Visitors are furious that Prague Castle refuses to extend sold-out exhibition on Charles IV

Car thief brags of prolific success
Man says movie inspired him to take stealing to a new level

Group to sue over caged patients
Restraints still in use two years after minister vowed to ban them

US-DEU is behind 'It's legal' campaign
Poster pitch seen as as a last-minute attempt to build voter support

ODS leading ČSSD in latest polls
Support for smaller parties holds steady; coalitions likely in June

U.S. noncommittal on visas
US Congressional delegation less positive on issue than Cabaniss

Military purchase draws early fire
Critics point to timing, insufficient testing in deal

Where roleplayers go to rumble
Season's biggest melee draws knights and knaves

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BRIEFS


  • KREJČÍŘ -
    • A regional court in Prague upheld the billionaire fugitive Radovan Krejčíř's acquittal April 21 on charges of fraud amounting to 3 million Kč ($130,000). Krejčíř, who fled police last June and is living in the Seychelles Islands, is still being prosecuted in several other cases.

  • STAGS -
    • British officials say they will begin charging fee for rowdy countrymen who call British embassies abroad for help when they get into emergencies or trouble with police. In Prague and other destinations popular with stag parties, high commissions and consulates can charge £84.50 (3,454 Kč/$150) per hour to aid nationals abroad. Some 84,000 UK citizens required help from British officials last year.

  • MEMORIAL -
    • Prague hosted the country's first public Holocaust Memorial Day April 26 to recognize the victims of Nazi persecution. The country previously marked the event with a low-profile gathering in the Pinkas synagogue in Prague or in Terezín, the site of a former concentration camp. The names of hundreds of Czech Holocaust victims were read during the four-hour, open-air ceremony at náměstí Míru.

  • DEBATE -
    • Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek beat his Ústí nad Labem election opponent, Mayor Petr Gandalovič, in TV Nova's political debate April 23, according to a poll. Sixty-one percent of the audience said Paroubek was more convincing. Gandalovič said he has to be more resolute next time and stand up to Paroubek's demagogy.

  • SOLDIERS -
    • The Czech anti-terrorist unit deployed in Afghanistan has been preparing for the arrival of an additional 100 soldiers, the Czech News Agency reported April 25. The unit will aid U.S. anti-terrorism efforts in remote areas of the country. The Czech military has kept the date of the soldiers' arrival secret for security reasons.

  • ITALY -
    • An appeals court officially confirmed that center-left leader Romano Prodi's party held onto a two-seat majority in Parliament April 22 after the country's April 9–10 election, making him Italy's next prime minister. Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister for the past five years, is refusing to concede, vowing to appeal the court's ruling until all options are exhausted.

  • HUNGARY -
    • The country's Socialist-led governing coalition prevailed in a runoff parliamentary election April 23, becoming Hungary's first government to win re-election since the fall of communism. Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany promised reforms to reduce Hungary's massive budget deficit, which is among the worst in the European Union.

  • ROMANIA -
    • Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes April 23 and 24 when the Danube River broke through dikes near the southern villages of Bistret, Spantov and Oltina. More barriers could breach soon as surging floodwaters refuse to retreat as quickly as predicted. The Danube, Europe's second-longest river, is at its highest level in more than a century.

  • UKRAINE -
    • A giant steel arc will encase and safeguard the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster for at least 100 years, Ukrainian officials say. It's the 20th anniversary of the meltdown of the plant's No. 4 reactor. The arc is expected to be completed next year, after which work will begin to remove radioactive material from the site.

  • LUXEMBOURG -
    • Microsoft Corp. gave its opening arguments April 24 during a monopoly trial at the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg. The company is appealing a 2004 European Commission ruling that charged it with illegally using the Windows operating system to hinder competition in European markets. The court is not expected to rule on the case until next year.

  • VATICAN -
    • Pope Benedict XVI asked a Vatican council April 23 to study the use of condoms in AIDS-ravaged countries. Although the Catholic Church condemns all birth control, it is hinting at a relaxation of that stance in an effort to prevent the spread of AIDS. The church may condone the use of condoms among married couples in which one partner is infected with HIV.

  • IRELAND -
    • Climbing fuel prices have caused another price hike in the European airline industry, as Irish carrier Aer Lingus announced April 21 that it would implement a 70 euro ($86/2,000 Kč) surcharge on all its longer routes starting May 15. The hike will increase ticket prices 15 percent, and affect routes to New York, Boston and Chicago, among others.

  • NORWAY -
    • As countries around Europe weigh various prohibitions on public smoking, a court in Norway has ruled against an Oslo hotel that attempted to establish a dues-paying smoking club in an effort to circumvent the country's strict antismoking laws. The court sided with the Health Ministry, which argued against the hotel's claim that creating such a members-only club was its right.

  • FRANCE -
    • The Sorbonne, France's most prestigious university, reopened April 24, after being closed for six weeks as the country grappled with widespread protests against a proposed youth labor law. The university had become a symbol of the uprising and standoff as students occupied it for three days last month before police stormed it and dispersed them.

  • SPAIN -
    • Baroness Carmen Thyssen, a renowned art collector, is threatening to chain herself to a tree along Madrid's famed Paseo del Prado to protest a proposed road change outside her small museum, which contains paintings donated by her family. The road change is meant to eliminate traffic from in front of the nearby Prado museum, but, Thyssen told The Guardian newspaper, her own museum would choke in exhaust fumes.

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