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November 22nd, 2008
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July 9th, 2008 | Current Issue

Sealed deal
After Condoleezza Rice's signature, radar treaty awaits approval by Parliament

Public drinking bans take effect
Meanwhile, stricter littering laws result in hundreds of violations

Country could face noise penalties
Maps indicating pollution levels not up to EU standards

Politicians reveal finances
New law requires MPs to publicly report their earnings and gifts

Czech police to help out in Croatia
Local officers stationed at tourist hot spots for busy summer season

Exhibition remembers Prague Spring
Forty years on, texts and pictures speak of brutality and resistance

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BRIEFS


FRANCE Ingrid Betancourt announced her intention to re-enter Colombian politics and possibly run for president again, Reuters reported July 6. She wants to continue fighting for the release of about 700 hostages still held by the rebel group FARC. Betancourt was given a clean bill of health by French doctors a few days after her rescue from a FARC camp.

SPAIN One man died and some nine people were injured in the opening hours of Spain’s annual bull-running festival in the northern town of Pamplona, the BBC reported July 7. While many of the injuries were caused by a bull, the death resulted from the man’s fall from a wall during celebrations Sunday.
UK Londoners marked the third anniversary of the suicide bomb attacks July 7 that killed 52 bus and subway passengers, the Associated Press reported. Mayor Boris Johnson and City Minister Tessa Jowell were among those who laid flowers outside King’s Cross railway station. Survivors and victims’ families visited the three underground stations where the bombs went off, and Tavistock Square, where another bomb destroyed a bus.
ITALY The Italian government declared a year-long “state of emergency” in a bid to save the ancient city of Pompeii, the BBC reported July 7. Analysts say the ruins are suffering from a lack of investment and mismanagement. Officials also intend to appoint a commissioner to oversee the site. The ruins are one of the nation’s biggest tourist attractions.
GERMANY A man was arrested after tearing off the head of a wax figure of Adolf Hitler at a newly opened branch of Madame Tussauds in Berlin, the BBC reported July 5. Hitler’s inclusion in the exhibition was controversial since it is illegal in Germany to display Nazi symbols, but organizers said that without him the exhibition of German history would not be complete.
AUSTRIA Vice Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer said July 7 that he will recommend an early election, indicating that the days of the country’s “grand coalition” government are over, the Associated Press reported. Austria has a so-called grand coalition government between the People’s Party and the Social Democrats. Speculation about new elections has circulated for some time.

DRIVERS The number of Czech citizens driving without a license has almost doubled, reaching more than 1.8 percent, up from 1 percent a year ago, Transport Ministry expert Pavel Nosek said July 7. Those without licenses accounted for one-quarter of the 9,900 drivers who were given the maximum penalty of 12 points in the past two years, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported.

EU Most Czechs are not interested in the Czech Republic’s forthcoming EU presidency, according to a survey released by the polling institute CVVM, ČTK reported July 7. Some three-fourths of Czechs show no interest in the issue, while only 22 percent of those polled do. The Czech Republic will assume the six-month presidency, now held by France, Jan. 1, 2009.
MATERNITY Some overcrowded maternity wards have stopped accepting expectant mothers, such as Prague’s Thomayer’s Hospital, which is declining admission to any woman due earlier than January 2009, the news server Aktuálně.cz reported July 7. Other hospitals are requiring that women register with them between the 12th and 13th week of their pregnancy.
EXPLOSION Russian authorities say Czech equipment supplier Hoerbiger Žandov is responsible for a May explosion in the refinery of Surgutneftegaz oil holding in Russia that claimed five lives, ČTK reported July 6. An investigation concluded that the explosion was caused by the worn condition of the equipment. Hoerbiger Žandov is based in Switzerland, and produces valves and other component compressor parts.
LISBON The Constitutional Court could issue a statement on whether the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with the Czech legal order in September, Chairman Pavel Rychetský said July 4. Judges had been dealing with the EU reform treaty since they received the proposal from the Senate six or seven weeks ago. The treaty, which replaced the rejected European constitution, must be ratified by all 27 member states to take effect, ČTK reported.
INFLATION Consumer prices rose 6.7 percent in June, slowing from a 6.8 percent growth in the previous two months, the Czech Statistical Office announced July 8. Inflation accelerated in transport, while prices of alcoholic drinks and tobacco grew more slowly. In recreation and culture, prices of package holidays increased 3.2 percent due to the upcoming summer season, according to ČTK.

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