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December 4th, 2008
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July 11th, 2007 | Current Issue

A span of centuries
Revelers celebrate the 650th birthday of legendary Charles Bridge

Holiday traffic death toll rises
Radars and shock campaign part of plan to curb accidents

Initiative targets prison reform
'Parole' would tailor-make criminal rehabilitation

Claims process launched in Israel
Czechs are among the thousands stripped of pre-WWII assets

Search digs up personal history

Millions in compensation paid to Czechs for WWII
Negotiators say morals, not money, is key

And the Crystal Globe goes to ...
Karlovy Vary awards films addressing serious subject matters

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BRIEFS


AIRPORT Prague authorities are discussing building both metro and train connections to Ruzyně Airport, Hospodářské noviny reported July 10. City Hall claims an extended metro line, estimated to cost 40 billion Kč ($2.5 billion), could serve up to 180,000 people daily. Critics of the metro plan say a train extension would be cheaper, at 13.5 billion Kč, and more efficient. Neither project would be completed before 2013, according to the daily.

PRESIDENT Former Foreign Affairs Minister and anti-communist dissident Jiří Dienstbier announced July 9 his intent to run against President Václav Klaus in presidential elections next year, daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported. Three parties are in negotiations to nominate Dienstbier, the paper reported. Klaus is a member of the ruling Civic Democratic Party.
TERRORISM The Center of Muslim Communities in the Czech Republic condemned last month’s terror attacks in the United Kingdom, in a statement issued by Prague Muslims’ representative Vladimír Sanka July 5. Sanka praised the UK government’s response and said terrorist activities stir up xenophobia toward “peaceful” Muslims. Officers disarmed two car bombs in London June 29; a flaming SUV was driven toward Glasgow Airport’s entrance the next day.
BODY The decapitated head of a woman in a plastic bag was found by a group of schoolchildren in Ústí nad Labem July 7, a police spokeswoman told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). An autopsy has determined the victim was between the ages of 17 and 20 and died between two and three weeks ago.
KREJČÍŘ Wanted businessman Radovan Krejčíř was released on bail July 6 from the South African prison where he’s been held since April 21, ČTK reported. Krejčíř is wanted in Prague on charges of tax evasion and conspiring to murder a customs official. He was released on bail worth 3 million Kč while extradition proceedings continue.
DROWNING A Czech man canoeing down the Salzach River in Austria drowned July 7, ČTK reported. The 45-year-old's three companions left the river after signs of danger, but the man paddled on. His canoe tipped over and he was caught in a whirlpool under the weir.

UK One of two suspects in the Glasgow Airport attack was charged July 7. Dr. Bilal Abdulla was charged with conspiring to cause lethal explosions in connection with the June 30 attack. Another man, Kafeel Ahmed, is suspected of driving the gasoline-laden Jeep into the airport terminal but has not been charged.

THE NETHERLANDS The trial of a former Bosnian Muslim Army general, Rasim Delic, began July 9 at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Reuters reported. The tribunal turned down prosecutors’ requests to move the trial to Sarajevo, where they said they would have more access to evidence. Delic is charged with overseeing the rape and murder of Bosnian Serbs and Croats by his troops during the Balkan Wars in 1992–95.
BELGIUM Police in eastern Belgium arrested a man July 5 after a dinner guest discovered the bodies of the host’s wife and 12-year-old stepson hidden in the home’s deep freezer, the Associated Press reported. The guest was attempting to store the dinner leftovers in the freezer when she made the chilling discovery.
 
FRANCE Judges searched the offices of former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin July 6, a day after searching his home, as part of an investigation over allegations that he tried to ruin Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential campaign. De Villepin is accused of trying to use falsified documents to smear Sarkozy, according to The New York Times.
UK A London jury found four men guilty July 9 of attempting to blow up bombs on the city’s transit system July 21, 2005, the BBC reported. Muktar Said Ibrahim, 29, Yassin Omar, 26, Ramzi Mohammed, 25, and Hussain Osman, 28, were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder for trying to detonate bombs on three subway trains and a bus. Two weeks earlier, terrorist attacks on the same transit system had killed 52.   
UKRAINE The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry lifted its entry bans on a number of pro-Russian figures and activists for the sake of “further development in Russian-Ukrainian relations,” the RIA Novosti agency reported July 9. The list included individuals involved in “activities linked to attempts to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” the ministry said.  
RUSSIA The Black Sea resort town Sochi was chosen July 5 as the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics. President Vladimir Putin made an appearance at the International Olympic Committee’s session, held in Guatemala City July 4. The games are Russia’s first since the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
PORTUGAL Only one European site made the cut during a ceremony in Lisbon July 7 to announce the Seven New Wonders of the World. Besides the Colosseum in Rome, China’s Great Wall, Peru’s Machu Picchu, Brazil’s Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Jordan’s Petra, Mexico’s Chichen Itza and India’s Taj Mahal made the list. More than 100 million people worldwide voted over the Internet or by phone.
 
FRANCE President Sarkozy will go against a Bastille Day tradition and refuse to grant pardons to convicts, he announced July 8. Sarkozy’s two predecessors used the July 14 holiday as a day to grant mass pardons as a way of relieving prison overcrowding, Reuters reported. Prison officials warned Sarkozy’s decision could lead to jailhouse rioting.
GERMANY Parliament passed a bill July 6 that forbids drivers under 21 and with less than two years of driving experience to have any alcohol in their blood while driving. The zero-blood-alcohol limit will take effect Aug. 1. Violation could result in fines, license points and a prolonged driving probationary period.

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