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November 21st, 2008
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May 16th, 2007 | Current Issue

The diary of a young boy
The sister of holocaust victim Petr Ginz, whose personal writings are newly translated into English, helps unlock a painful chapter in history

May Day incident was 'inhumane'
Rights groups renew call for independent police monitoring

Backlash over idea of civilian patrols
Memories of snooping from communism still too close for comfort

Shootings spur gun-use debate
NGOs say officers behave badly, police defend actions and blame quality of bullets

New trains to ease the commute in the capital
City planners seek to relieve crowded transport with parking and rail changes

The little plastic car that could
The Trabant, a signature socialist-era car, continues to enchant many Czech fans

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BRIEFS


RADAR The 38-member U.S. team examining the Brdy military district is due to end its work May 19. The team is focusing on hydrology and geology, quality of infrastructure and accessibility to determine whether the area is a suitable one to host a missile-defense radar base. The United States started negotiations this month with Czech officials about hosting the base here.

MURDER Bulgarian gang member and convict Emil Dossev was transferred to Prague May 14. Dossev had been sentenced in absentia by a Czech court on charges of illegal possession of arms and the murder of a prostitute in Dubí, north Bohemia, in 1996. A judge ruled that his trial will be reopened.
DEBATE Experts debated the Czech Strategy of Sustainable Development May 14 at the Forum of Sustainable Development in Prague. The public can comment on the strategy until the end of June; the government will access it in November.
SMUGGLED Officials in South Africa uncovered 10 rare, venomous snakes inside videocassette cases mailed from the Czech Republic, according to a May 14 Reuters report. Authorities in both countries are launching investigations. The snakes were sent to the Pretoria zoo.
MISSING A 13-year-old girl who was taken from her custodian after the woman was arrested on child abuse charges May 7 escaped from an orphanage May 12. The custodian, 30-year-old Klára Mauerová of Kuřim, is suspected of binding and starving her 8-year-old son.
TEMELÍN Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said May 14 the country may lose its patience with Austrians who blockade the border in protest over the Temelín nuclear power plant. The latest blockade, the most extensive in seven years, closed 12 of the 16 border crossings.

RUSSIA President Vladimir Putin sealed a deal May 12 with the presidents of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan for a gas pipeline from their countries to Russia. The deal stymies U.S. and European efforts to gain more access to the fuel-rich region. Russia currently resells Central Asian gas to Europe for double the price it pays, The New York Times reported.

UK Chancellor Gordon Brown is stepping up his campaign to become leader of the United Kingdom’s ruling Labour Party after Prime Minister Tony Blair officially announced his resignation May 10. The new leader will be announced at a party conference June 24, and Blair will officially leave his post June 27. Blair has given his endorsement to Brown.
POLAND Poland’s constitutional court struck down key parts of a new law May 11 that would have required 700,000 Poles working in the public service to be vetted for past ties to communist-era secret police. The law had been strongly supported by the ruling Law and Justice Party.
TURKEY An estimated 1.5 million rallied in the city of Izmir May 13 against the ruling Islamist party, despite a May 12 bomb blast in the city that killed one person. The rally was the third of its kind in recent weeks, illustrating the growing rift between Islamists and the strongly secular opposition. General elections are scheduled for July 22.
ARMENIA Ruling parties won a large majority in parliamentary elections May 13 that were endorsed for the first time by the European Union and international observers as being fair. Elections in 2003 were described as being below democratic standards. Presidential elections are scheduled for next year.
PORTUGAL Authorities in Portugal have named Briton Robert Murat a suspect in the disappearance of a young British girl, the BBC reported May 15. Madeleine McCann, 4, went missing May 3 while vacationing in Portugal with her parents.  UK celebrities and business figures have pledged millions of pounds as a reward for her safe return.
UK A police oversight board ruled May 11 that the 11 police officers involved in the July 2005 shooting of a Brazilian man in a London subway will not face disciplinary action. The ruling confirms a decision by prosecutors last July not to press charges. Jean Charles de Menezes was killed by police the day after terrorist attacks on London’s transit system killed 52.
SERBIA Thousands of Serbians celebrated in the streets after the country’s musical act won the annual Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki May 13, the Associated Press reported. Singer Marija Šerifović won with her performance of the ballad “A Prayer.” The 52-year-old music show is one of the world’s most-watched nonsporting television events.

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