News | All stories

Police on Friday charged four Austrian citizens, members of a motorcycle gang, of public disturbances and damaging private property. The four men were arrested on Thursday after an incident in which they damaged a car and threatened its passengers in eastern Bohemia. The gang was reportedly on its way to a bike riders’ gathering in Poland. If convicted, the men could spend two years in jail.

The trial against Tatra truck maker CEO Ronald Adams, charged with bribery, is due to begin in Brno on June 6, a spokeswoman for Brno city court said. Mr Adams allegedly offered a 20-million-crown bribe to then deputy defence minister Martin Barták in exchange for army contracts for the firm. Mr Barták, who reportedly testified against Mr Adams, has also been charged in the case.

The lower house of the Czech Parliament on Friday approved legislation that will strip jailed MPs of their salaries and other benefits. The bill, put forth by the coalition Civic Democrats, won the support of 119 MPs in the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies. The legislation comes at a time when two MPs – former Social Democrat David Rath and an ex-Civic Democrat Roman Pekárek are in prison, the former awaiting trial for corruption, the latter serving a five-year sentence for similar charges. The bill will now be debated in the Senate. Lawmakers are also discussing a bill that would strip convicted MPs of their seats in the lower house.

Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych beat world number one Novak Djokovič 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 at the Rome Masters on Friday, to reach the tournament’s semifinals. Berdych, seeded sixth, was one set down and was losing 2:5 in the second set but made a remarkable comeback, winning five games in a row. In the third set, Berdych converted his fourth match point, scoring only his second career win against the Serbian player. Berdych will play either Rafael Nadal or David Ferrer in the semifinal.

The 19th international book fair and literary festival Book World Prague is underway. The event brings together writers and publishers from around the world including US author Robert Fulghum and British writer Stephen Clarke. Slovakia is the festival’s guest of honour this year with a series of programmes dedicated to Slovak literature. The Book World Prague 2013 goes on until Sunday.

President Miloš Zeman has refused to appoint literary historian Martin C. Putna a university professor. Mr Putna, a teacher at Prague’s Charles University, is one of the president’s most vocal critics, and supported Mr Zeman’s rival for the presidency in January’s vote. The rector of Charles University has demanded an explanation from the president’s office; for his part, President Zeman said he would only reveal his motivation in court. Mr Zeman has come under criticism from some Czech politicians over his decision.

In an operation in Czech border areas, customs officials have confiscated fuel imports worth 3.5 million crowns, a spokeswoman for the customs said. The inspections took place on Thursday and Friday when officials checked all fuel transports crossing the border to the Czech Republic for documents proving VAT had been paid. Tax evasions on fuel imports annually cause losses of between five and eight billion crowns, according to the customs’ estimates.

The European Commission has approved Czech company Agrofert’s acquisition of German bakery chain Lieken AG, the commission said in a statement on Friday. Lieken, Germany’s leader in bread making, was previously owned by the Italian company Barilla; the sale was closed in February. Agrofest Group, owned exclusively by Mr Andrej Babiš, is the largest Czech agriculture and food holding.

A major EU-wide survey ranks the Czech Republic as a relatively tolerant country to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons. The poll, conducted by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights among 93,000 people in the bloc’s member states plus Croatia, found that around 26 percent of gay people have faced attacks or violent threats due to their sexuality which is the same share as registered in the Czech Republic. Another 20 percent of those surveyed said they had been discriminated against at work or when looking for a job; in the Czech Republic, 10 percent of LGBT people said they faced such discrimination.

Heavy storms are expected to hit western Czech Republic on Friday evening, meteorologists have warned. The storms could be accompanied by strong winds and hail. The warning applies to the regions of Karlovy Vary, Plzeň, central and southern Bohemia and western parts of the Ústí region. Torrential rain could cause local flooding, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute said, and asked people in the likely affected areas to secure doors and windows on their houses.