LIBRARY

Opinion is divided on daring design plans unveiled March 2 for a new branch of the National Library slated for Letná Park. The design by Czech-born, London-based architect Jan Kaplický features a curved, brightly colored exterior that has been compared to an octopus. Culture Minister Václav Jehlička approves, but National Gallery Director Milan Knížák worries that it could mar the historical lines of the Hradčany cityscape, daily Právo reported March 6.

Prague Archbishop Miloslav Vlk refused to hand over control of St. Vitus Cathedral to the state March 6, despite a Supreme Court decision that awarded the state ownership. The Feb. 16 ruling overturned a district court’s decision last fall that decided the church was the rightful owner. Prague Castle spokesman Petr Hájek said March 6 was the date set for the handover, but Vlk said the date is still being negotiated. The cathedral was seized by the communists in 1954, and the church and state have been battling for ownership since 1992.

Eight former officers in the Czech military have been charged with corruption, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported March 5. The officers are accused of fraudulently awarding contracts worth 482 million Kč between 1997 and 1999, a spokeswoman for the investigation said. The deals were for equipment repairs and airfield reconstruction. Charges were also laid against a civilian military employee and two members of the company that won the contracts.

Regional Development Minister Jiří Čunek has severed ties with the lawyer for his bribery case after it became known that she also represents a man accused of trying to bribe a witness against Čunek, daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported March 6. Roman Vaškůj, a businessman in Vsetín, east Moravia, where Čunek formerly served as mayor, was arrested March 3. Police say Vaškůj offered Čunek’s former secretary 750,000 Kč ($35,145) to change her testimony. Čunek is accused of accepting a 497,000 Kč bribe in 2002 while mayor.

Children of immigrants staying illegally in the Czech Republic may be able to freely attend public schools, ČTK reported March 5. Currently, most schools require proof of legal residence before admitting children from non-Czech families. According to Prague’s Counseling Center for Refugees, a drafted legal amendment would force schools to change that policy in line with international human rights conventions.

SLOVAKIA

Three people died following an explosion at an army ammunition facility March 2. Dozens were injured and five are still missing. The facility, near the town of Nováky, is used to deactivate ammunition such as mines and missiles. After the explosion, Defense Minister František Kasický offered his resignation.

Several days of riots in Copenhagen have resulted in more than 600 arrests and dozens of injuries. The riots started after police evicted a group of squatters March 1 from a downtown building that had been a popular youth cultural center. The building, which a Christian congregation bought six years ago, was demolished March 5.

Kosovo’s former prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, went on trial in the UN tribunal at The Hague March 5 for alleged war crimes. Haradinaj and two of his associates are accused of organizing the murder, rape and torture of Serbs during the 1998–99 war for independence from Serbia. Haradinaj resigned as prime minister in March 2005, after he was indicted.

The United Kingdom sent a 10-member crisis team to help find five British tourists who were kidnapped in Ethiopia March 1. London’s Daily Mirror is also reporting that 60 troops from the country’s SAS Standby Squadron — a rapid response team — were sent to look for the tourists, all of whom are employees or relatives of employees of the British Embassy in Addis Ababa. Thirteen Ethiopians were also kidnapped and five were later found near the border with Eritrea.

Islamic terrorists decided to bomb commuter trains in Madrid in 2004 because Spain was considered the weakest of the three countries involved in the invasion of Iraq, a Madrid court was told March 5. The source, a Spanish police chief whose identity is protected, is a witness testifying in a case against 29 suspected terrorists accused of orchestrating the bombings. A total of 191 people were killed when bombs ripped through four trains in March 2004.

The Georgian government has refused to recognize the March 4 parliamentary elections held by the breakaway region of Abkhazia, calling the polls illegal. Abkhazia broke away from Georgia after a brief war in the early 1990s. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has criticized Russia for backing the breakaway region in an attempt to continue manipulating ex-Soviet states.