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December 4th, 2008
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August 2nd, 2006 | Current Issue

Pickle days
In the height of their season, cucumbers tell us how times are changing

Prague banks foiling robberies
But heists on rise nationally, even if many are amateur ones

Police seek to charge reporters
Mladá fronta Dnes faces traffic fines after its police speeding story

Heat taxed power supplies
Country's record July temperatures could hamper the economy

CzechTek grooves calmly
A year after scandal, police report few incidents at 4-day fest

Proposals flood in for National Library
'Whole cultural world' enters competition for Prague's biggest project

Deadlock may lead to new election
ODS chairman still lacks support for coalition government

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BRIEFS


  • TOURISM -
    • European tourists who visit Prague rarely return, according to a report by the Association of Tourist Agencies July 28. Tourism in the capital has peaked, Lidové noviny asserts. The city usually sees a 10 percent increase annually, but this year that figure fell to 4 percent. Prague needs to focus on attracting visitors during the winter months, the report concluded.

  • MEMORIAL -
    • Dozens of politicians and survivors met in Jihlava, south Moravia, July 30 to commemorate the political prisoners executed there after show trials in 1951. The memorial was built by former political prisoners 13 years ago. More than 200 such prisoners were executed in the 1950s in Czechoslovakia.

  • JEHOVISTS -
    • More than 20,000 Jehovah's Witnesses attended the International Jehovist Reunion in Prague July 28–30, the first such gathering in the Czech Republic. Services were held in Czech, English and Russian on three stages at Strahov Stadium in Prague 6. The church claims there are 23,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in this country.

  • MISSILES -
    • Military training grounds in Libavá, north Moravia, are considered by U.S. experts to be the ideal site for an anti-missile base in this country, the Czech News Agency reported July 31. Official sources declined to comment on the report. U.S. officials examined two other sites during a tour in mid-July.

  • DIVORCE -
    • More than 400,000 children are from divorced families, and 47 percent of marriages here end in divorce, according to the Czech Statistical Office. The only EU countries with more divorces are Belgium, Sweden and Finland. Czech couples pay at least 12,000 Kč ($532) for a divorce.

  • ELECTION -
    • Christian Democratic (KDU-ČSL) Chairman Miroslav Kalousek told reporters July 31 that he's in favor of a new election to resolve the stalemate that developed after the June 2–3 general election ended in a hung Parliament. KDU-ČSL's coalition partners, the Civic Democrats, who won the general election, also favor a new vote.

  • TREATIES -
    • The Foreign Affairs Ministry announced July 31 that the Czech Republic has become the fourth United Nations country to ratify 13 international treaties aimed at fighting terrorism. The treaties focus on preventing the abuse of nuclear weapons and will come into effect once 22 UN member nations have signed them.

  • POLAND -
    • President Lech Kaczynski endorsed the death penalty July 28 on Polish public radio, taking Western Europe to task for its widespread stance against capital punishment. He said such a position gives too many advantages to criminals when victims should be the ones favored. The European Union makes the abolition of the death penalty a condition for membership.

  • ITALY -
    • The country's lower house approved a bill July 29 that reduces the sentences of 12,000 prisoners, an effort to reduce prison overcrowding. The bill, which the country's Senate approved July 31, would knock three years off prisoners' sentences. Mafia members, terrorists, rapists and pedophiles are excluded, however.

  • BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA -
    • Four Bosnian Serbs, former commanders of detention camps, were in a Sarajevo court July 29 to face prisoner abuse charges dating to the 1992–95 Bosnia War. The trial is the third The Hague has transferred back to Bosnia, despite protests from the accused that they would not receive a fair trial on their home turf. The Hague has thus far convicted 10 Serbs for war crimes.

  • RUSSIA -
    • An Armenian plane crash in May has been attributed to pilot error rather than a mechanical malfunction. The captain did not properly coordinate with his co-pilot after the autopilot had been turned off, international investigators say. The carrier jet, an Airbus 320, crashed into the Black Sea near the city of Sochi and killed all 113 on board.

  • GERMANY -
    • Germany declared July 30 that it will end its post-World War II open-door policy for Jewish immigrants and has adopted instead a visa point system similar to that of Canada in response to an increase in Jewish immigrants from Russia. Points are awarded based on education, occupation and degree of religious involvement. Victims of the Nazi regime will still be admitted automatically.

  • UK -
    • Catholic Bishops in England and Wales agreed July 13 to transfer the celebration of holy days, excluding Christmas, to Sundays, in an effort make it easier for Catholics to observe these ceremonies. British parishes have seen a marked drop in church attendance in recent years. Holy days affected will be the feasts of the Epiphany, the Ascension, and Corpus Christi.

  • FRANCE -
    • Five thousand people took to the streets of Paris July 29 to protest Israel's attacks on Lebanon. Protestors criticized the United States for its support of Israel, while the French government escaped blame for its position calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah. Organizers were French-Palestinian nationalist groups, French-Lebanese groups and the Communist Party of France.

  • ROMANIA -
    • Romania and Bulgaria agreed July 27 to approve a contract next month that would allow both countries to use a new bridge that spans a common border, the Danube River. The bridge, still under construction, will cost an estimated 226 million euros ($284.8 million/6.4 billion Kč). The Bulgarian government is funding a large chunk of the project, with French and German investment companies also lending a hand.

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