News
PM defends Czech stand on fiscal treaty
Speaking at his party’s ideological conference, Prime Minister Petr Nečas defended his decision for the Czech Republic to stay out of the EU’s fiscal treaty and slammed the opposition Social Democrats for misleading the public with regard to what it would bring. Mr. Nečas said the Social Democrats were capitalizing on their positive stand to the treaty without telling Czechs that its ratification would effectively prevent them from fulfilling their policy programme. The ideological conference of the Civic Democratic Party is focussing mainly on planned austerity measures in the coming years and the need to communicate them to the public.
Social Democrat MEP breaks ranks to thank PM
The Social Democratic Party has distanced itself from a statement made by party member and MEP Richard Falbr who publicly thanked the Czech prime minister for not signing the EU’s fiscal treaty. Mr. Falbr was the only Social Democrat to openly disagree with his party’s position on the issue, noting that the fiscal treaty had been rejected by the European Trade Union Confederation and that as a former chairman of the Bohemian and Moravian Trade Union Confederation he understood the reasons for that and felt the need to state his position.
Bavarian police report steep rise in drug trafficking from Czech Republic
Bavarian police are dealing with a steep rise in drug trafficking from the neighbouring Czech Republic. The Bavarian authorities say the problem concerns mainly the home-made drug pervitin, known in Germany as Crystal, which is being smuggled across the border both by Czech dealers and by German nationals who buy it on Czech territory to take home. While in 2009 police confiscated 1 kilogram of the drug, in 2011 the overall amount was 17 kilos. The Bavarian authorities complain that excessive tolerance toward drugs in the Czech Republic is to blame.
Czech Republic to host Japanese children
A group of 27 children from the tsunami-devastated region of north-east Japan are to spend a week-long wellness stay in the Czech Republic. The visit has been arranged by the Czech-Japanese society which set up an aid fund for the victims of the natural disaster which struck Japan a year ago. The event was organized with the aid of the Czech Olympics Committee and gymnastics queen Věra Čáslavská who won three gold medals in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo and is extremely popular in Japan. In 2010 Japan honoured Věra Čáslavská with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun for her contribution to cultural understanding between the two countries.
Public Affairs members give evidence against Vít Bárta
Several members of the junior Public Affairs party have testified against Vít Bárta, head of the party’s parliamentary group, who is to go on trial for bribery on Monday, according to Saturday’s edition of Mlada fronta Dnes. Mr. Bárta is suspected of having bought the loyalty of at least two former party members, Kristyna Kočí and Jaroslav Škárka to whom he handed over large sums of money in cash. While Vit Bárta admits to having given them money he claims the transactions were “personal loans”. If found guilty Mr. Bárta, who is widely perceived as the party’s de-facto leader, could face a sentence of up to six years. Jaroslav Škárka is also being tried for accepting the bribe.
Nine-year-old boy believed drowned
Police have called off the search for a nine-year-old boy who fell into the Bilina river, in the north of the country, while playing with a group of children on Friday afternoon. Teams of rescuers are said to have combed the banks of the entire stretch of the river and divers searched the river bed without success. The accident happened near the town of Usti nad Labem.
Gerard Depardieu to shoot in Chotešov
A historic film starring Gerard Depardieu is to be shot in the town of Chotešov in west Bohemia next week. A French crew has rented out the local cloister for the filming of L’Homme Qui Rit based on a novel by Victor Hugo. An advance crew has been on-site for a week now and Mr. Depardieu is expected to arrive “any day” for next week’s filming. The townspeople are said to be awaiting his arrival with immense anticipation. The popular French actor was last seen in these parts 12 years ago when he starred in Les Miserables, part of which was filmed in west Bohemia.
Weather
The coming days should be partly cloudy to overcast with daytime highs between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius.
