News

Top court bans far-right Workers’ Party

In a breakthrough ruling on Wednesday, the Czech Supreme Administrative Court banned the far-right Workers Party. The court ruled that the Workers’ Party spreads xenophobic and chauvinist views and had racist undertones in its materials. The party’s programme also exploited homophobia and fears of foreigners and immigrants, the court said. While Czech politicians have welcomed Wednesday’s ruling, Worker’s Party head Tomáš Vandas said the group would appeal the ruling and run in May’s general elections.

Wednesday’s ruling is the result of a second attempt by the government to ban the party, which it maintains is a dangerous offshoot of the neo-Nazi movement. An initial attempt at the start of 2009 was dismissed by the court for lack of evidence.

Survey: Most small, mid-sized Czech firms consider bribes necessary to win public contracts

Some 60 percent of small and mid-sized Czech companies believe it is necessary to pay some form of bribe in order to win public contracts, according to a survey of 550 Czech firms. The study, conducted by the Czech Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, also suggests that more than 25 percent of the companies would be ready to pay bribes to get such contracts. Meanwhile, 44 percent of the firms surveyed said they would be willing to blow the whistle should they learn about corrupt practices. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said the numbers were very high, while the head of the association said many companies were angry about the situation.

Archaeologists fail to find St Agnes’ remains

Archaeological research in Prague’s St Haštal church failed on Wednesday to discover the remains of the 13th century Czech saint, Agnes of Bohemia. The archaeologists lowered a camera into a vault near the altar of the church that was believed to be the saint’s tomb. However, the remains found there come from the 18th century, rather than from the Middle Ages.

St. Agnes, a daughter of the Bohemian King Přemysl Otakar I, renounced a life of wealth and comfort to found a Franciscan Convent in Prague in 1232. She died in 1282 and was canonized a few days before the start of the Velvet Revolution in November 1989. Her remains are believed to have been hidden during the Hussite wars and were never rediscovered.

Social Democrat leader asks for probe into multi-billion army deal

Social Democrat leader Jiří Paroubek asked the Czech government on Wednesday to investigate a multi-billion purchase of 107 Austrian armoured vehicles for the Czech army. The daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported that in 2002, the producer of the Pandur vehicles, the Austrian firm Steyr, was ready to hire a lobbyist to arrange meetings with Czech politicians. The deal, worth 10.7 billion crowns, or nearly 567 million US dollar, was concluded three years later. The Austrian company in the end did not hire the lobbyist. However, the Czech Republic ended up paying more then three times the price per one vehicle than Portugal, which ordered the same model at around the same time.

Energy giant ČEZ stops disconnecting users suspected of stealing electricity

The Czech energy giant ČEZ stopped on Wednesday disconnecting users suspected of stealing electricity. The company’s head, Martin Roman said such interventions in the past were in line with Czech law but admitted they did not always follow the firm’s code of ethics. ČEZ will now file lawsuits against customers suspected of stealing electricity, instead of immediately disconnecting them from the grid.

ČEZ has recently been criticized over harsh treatment of its customers who the company suspected of stealing electricity. Several media outlets also published video footage earlier this month depicting the paramilitary-style training of the firm’s anti-theft unit.

Ministry to address impeding lack of technical experts

In related news, the Czech Education Ministry is going to support science education to address an impending shortage of technical experts, Education Minister Miroslava Kopicová told reporters on Wednesday. Ms Kopicová met with the head of the Czech state-controlled energy giant ČEZ, Martin Roman, who said the firm was going to need some 12,000 energy experts by 2020. However, far fewer students graduate from the country’s technical universities. Minister Kopicová suggested making science education more attractive to pupils at elementary schools and establishing scholarships and internships for university students.

Historian Jiří Pernes becomes new head of Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes

Historian Jiří Pernes is set to become the new director of the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, the institute’s spokesman said on Wednesday. The institute’s council chose Mr Pernes over four other candidates who applied for the post, including the institute’s current director, Pavel Žáček. Mr Žáček faced criticism over the publication of an article by one of the institute’s researchers which accused the writer Milan Kundera of collaborating with Czechoslovakia’s communist secret police, allegations rejected by Mr Kundera and questioned by other experts.

Auction site Ebay to launch Czech platform

The US-based action website Ebay will launch a new platform in Czech and five other languages by the end of March, the company said on Wednesday. Ebay believes that allowing buyers to navigate in their native languages will boost cross-border transactions. The website will also offer its on-line payment system, PayPal, in six new languages. Ebay said the Czech Republic and five other countries were chosen based on demand. Last year, the number of registered users of the website rose by 3 percent to 90.1 million.

Czech farmers to plant no flax this season for lack of demand

For the first time ever, Czech farmers will plant no flax this season due to dwindling demand. The country’s last industrial flax-growing plant near Polička, in eastern Bohemia, will close down by the end of May as a result, the company’s head said on Wednesday. While in 1991, flax was grown on 21,000 hectares, the plant was last year only grown on 148 hectares. In the early 1990s the Czech Republic had some 26 industrial flax-growing plants.

Czech figure skater complains about unfair refereeing in Vancouver

Czech figure skater Michal Březina complained on Wednesday about unfair refereeing at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Březina received 78 points for his performance at men’s short programme, finishing ninth. However, he said he performed better at the Olympics than at last year’s European Championships where he got 79 points. Another Czech figure skater Tomáš Verner ranks 19th after first phase of the competition.

Weather

The next few days should be cloudy, with occasional drizzle or freezing rain. Highest day temperatures should range between -3 and +3 degrees Celsius.