About Czech Republic

Prague- The Prague Appeal for Iraq conference that started in Prague today called on Czech President Vaclav Klaus "to push for human dignity that has been trampled on in Iraq."

The two-day conference, that strongly criticises U.S. Iraqi policy, has brought together several Czech left-orientated intellectuals, politicians and Middle East experts and about 20 Iraqis.

The Iraqi participants say they are opposed to the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein and they left their country, but now they sharply criticise the Americans' policy. They blame the chaos and violence that reign in Iraq now on the United States.

"The U.S. Administration has been trampled on in Iraq, the Iraqi government is incompetent and far from finding a way out," said Faisal Ismail form the Czech-Iraqi Association, one of the conference organisers.

The conference was first to be held in the Chamber of Deputies, but since there were doubts about certain participants, it was eventually moved to another place in Prague.

Former Chamber of Deputies chairman Lubomir Zaoralek (Social Democrats, CSSD), under whose aegis the conference is held, said that even though he had eventually agreed with moving the conference venue, he believes that such debates have their place on parliamentary soil.

The holding of the conference in the Chamber of Deputies was mainly opposed by the conservative Civic Democrats (ODS).

Public Czech Television (CT) reported that several of the invited people are Hussein's supporters.

Organisers, however, have denied such people's participation in the conference. They said the speakers will speak for themselves, and that they do not represent any political parties or associations.

Besides Zaoralek, the conference was also greeted by Jan Kavan (CSSD), former Czech foreign minister and former U.N. General Assembly president.

He said several times that in spite of "diplomatic equivocation," the United Nations has never legitimatised the U.S.-led operation.

A majority of Iraqi speakers came out in favour of a greater involvement and influence of Europe and the EU in Iraq. The conference that wants to analyse the post-war political, social, economic and security situation in Iraq and the impact of the U.S. invasion on the whole region, is also organised by the Czech Peace Forum.

source CTK:

http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=226385

Posted by Mikes at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Czech Republic vs Sweden 5:7 (1:3, 3:2, 1:2)
Goals and assists: 16. Marek (Čáslava), 27. Hořava (Mikeska, Čáslava), 37. Kroupa (Kutlák, Marek), 38. Marek (Bednář, Hamr), 56. J. Straka (Čáslava) - 5. Fernholm (Ledin), 12. Martensson (Petrasek, Emvall), 16. S. Lindström (Akerman), 27. Enström (Petrasek, Emvall), 30. Enström (Petrasek, Martensson), 51. Fabricius (Martensson, Petrasek), 60. Fabricius (Emvall).
Referee: Zacharov - Monoškov, Gofman (všichni Rus.).
Attendance: 3000

Czech Republic: A. Svoboda - Platil, Hamr, Gureň, Čáslava, Kroupa, Philipp (27. Kutlák) - Bednář, J. Marek, Rolinek - Šimánek, J. Straka, Kohn - Čermák, Kalla, Víšek - Hořava, Mikeska, Kubinčák (41. Skořepa). Trenéři: Alois Hadamczik a Pavel Marek.
Sweden: Henriksson - Akerman, S. Lindström, Holmqvist, Fernholm, Petrasek, Enström, Frögren, Viklund - Umicevic, J. Jönsson, Nordström - T. Eriksson, Wallin, Ledin - Fabricius, Martensson, Emvall - Steen, Andersson, Hynning. Trenéři: Bengt-Ake Gustafsson a Jan Karlsson.

Posted by Mikes at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Czech Republic lost its last game in Chanell One Cup. Our team placed last with 0 points. Our goalie Milan Hnilicka had to be replaced in 4th minute of the first perion because of injury.

Russia - Czech Republic 4:1 (0:0, 2:0, 2:1)
Goals and assists: 22. Ščastlivyj (Aťušov, Volkov), 33. Morozov (Zaripov), 46. Kuljomin (Něprjajev, Koňkov), 50. Morozov (Leščev, Proškin) - 52. Bednář.
Referee: Levonen (Fin.) - Anisimov, Romaško (Rus.).
Attendance: 13 400

Russia: Jeremenko - I. Nikulin, Proškin, Aťušov, Kolcov, Kutějkin, Kornějev, Jemelin, Kondratěv - Morozov, Leščev, Zaripov - Volkov, Ščastlivyj, Charitonov - Antipov, Čubarov, Simakov - Kuljomin, Něprjajev, Koňkov. Trenér: Vjačeslav Bykov.
Czech Republic: Hnilička (4. A. Svoboda) - Kutlák, Platil, Čáslava, Kroupa, Philipp - Bednář, J. Marek, Kohn - Hořava, J. Straka, Rolinek (41. Kubinčák) - Šimánek (41. Kalla), Mikeska, Víšek - Čermák, Polanský, Skořepa. Trenéři: Alois Hadamczik a Pavel Marek.

Posted by Mikes at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finland - Czech Republic 3:2 (1:0, 2:2, 0:0)
Goals and assists: 13. Pesonen (Pyörälä, Kontiola), 24. Pyörälä (Kontiola), 39. Pesonen (Puistola, Kontiola) - 24. Marek (Bednář), 29. J. Straka (Kroupa, Čáslava).

Referee: Sjöberg (Švéd.) - Kekäläinen, Lajunen (oba Fin.).
Attendance: 4910.

Finland: Ahonen - Laatikainen, Puistola, Karalahti, Söderholm, Mäntylä, Saravo, Marttinen, Niemi - Pesonen, Kontiola, Pyörälä - Somervuori, Hirschovits, Koskenkorva - Kuusela, Viitaluoma, Uhlbäck - Saarenheimo, Pakaslahti, Haataja.
Czech Republic: Hnilička - Platil, Hamr, Gureň, Kutlák, Kroupa, Čáslava - Bednář, J. Marek, Rolinek - Šimánek, J. Straka, Kohn - Hořava, Polanský (41. Mikeska), Kubinčák - Čermák, Kalla, Skořepa.

Posted by Mikes at 6:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After fracturing his skull in October, Petr Cech has begun light
training, wearing rugby-style protective headgear. The Czech
international told reporters that he was feeling good and hoped to
resume full training in mid-January. Cech's current fitness programme,
at Chelsea's Cobham training ground, apparently involves tennis.

Posted by Mikes at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Prague- President Vaclav Klaus today signed the bill increasing the 2006 state budget deficit by about ten billion crowns that are needed to pay out pensions, and the bill postoponing the new sickness-benefits system's validity until 2008, presidential spokesman Petr Hajek said.

The Chamber of Deputies passed the bill on the increase in this year's budget deficit on December 12.

Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Necas and Finance Minister Vlastimil Tlusty (both Civic Democrats, ODS) said that the pension system would have been otherwise short of some 10 billion crowns this month.

The 2006 budget deficit will thus increase to almost 84 billion crowns from the originally planned 74 billion.

The pension system ran out of money early last year and in 2004 as well, when the then government borrowed a few billion crowns from the Czech Post company.

The amended sickness benefit law adjourns until 2008 the validity of the original law under which the benefits were to be paid by employers for the first two weeks of illness and which was to come into force this January.

The state will thus continue paying out sickness benefits to employees next year, in accordance with the current regulations.

The adjournment has been jointly initiated by the two largest parties, the (ODS) and the Social Democrats (CSSD) and passed by the Chamber of Deputies on December 12.

Necas and his predecessor Zdenek Skromach (CSSD) recently agreed that gradual changes in the sickness benefits system should come into force as of 2008, when the health insurance fees that companies pay for employers are to drop to 2.3 percent from the current 3.3 and the state is to return to firms a half of the sum they paid out in sickness benefits.

One year later, companies' contributions are to further drop to 1.4 percent and the state would no longer pay anything to them, the politicians have agreed.

Posted by Mikes at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Braga's 2-0 win over Grasshoppers, in the UEFA Cup last night, means
that Czech champions Slovan Liberec have failed to advance from Group C
to the competition's final phase. The result ends Czech involvement in
European competition this season. The two other Gambrinus Liga clubs
involved in the UEFA Cup's group phase - Mlada Boleslav and Sparta Praha
- were eliminated on Wednesday night.

UEFA CUP 2006/07
GROUP C - FINAL STANDINGS
1st AZ Alkmaar, 4 games, 10 points - QUALIFIED
2nd Sevilla, 4 games, 7 points - QUALIFIED
3rd Braga, 4 games, 6 points - QUALIFIED
4th Liberec, 4 games, 5 points
5th Grasshoppers, 4 games, 0 points

Posted by Mikes at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Prague- The Education Ministry will not receive subsidies for internet access and computers at schools from the 2007 state budget, public Czech Television (CT) reported today.

The ministry was originally to receive one billion crowns for this purpose until 2010, but deputies did not support it.

Primarily small schools will face problems as the ministry has so far funded their internet access, CT says.

The Association of School IT Experts called on deputies to approve subsidies for computers and internet at schools, but in vain.

"Hardly anybody can realise that we are the second worst in the EU in this respect now, only Greece is behind us," Lenka Suchankova from the association told CT.

Some schools where internet is centrally funded by the Education Ministry will simply lose this possibility. Other schools will be stripped of state subsidies for IT. They will have to halt the purchase of software as well as the maintenance and upgrading of their computer network and IT courses for teachers.

The Education Ministry has promised to find some resources for IT at schools. However, until then schools must fund their internet access from their own pockets or ask municipalities for support, CT said.

Posted by Mikes at 5:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

UEFA CUP 2006/07
GROUP STAGE - MATCHDAY 5
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13TH, 2006
GROUP G
Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Israel) 1, Mlada Boleslav 1
Half Time: 1-1
Goals: 26th Barda - 39th Kysela

Needing a win, Mlada Boleslav go out of the UEFA Cup after being held to
a draw in Israel.

Mlada Boleslav Team: Miller - Palat, Rajnoch, Brezinsky, Nesvadba (86th
Rolko) - Kysela, Abraham (80th Vaculik), Matejovsky, Polacek (68th
Holub) - Sedlacek, Kulic

ALSO IN GROUP G
Paris Saint-Germain (France) 4, Panathinaikos (Greece) 0
Rest Day: Rapid Bucuresti (Romania)

GROUP G - FINAL STANDINGS
1st Panathinaikos, 4 games, 7 points - QUALIFIED
2nd Paris SG, 4 games, 5 points - QUALIFIED
3rd Hapoel Tel-Aviv, 4 games, 5 points - QUALIFIED
4th Rapid Bucuresti, 4 games, 4 points
5th Mlada Boleslav, 4 games, 3 points

http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/uefacup/FixturesResults/Round=2365/match=85067/report=RP.html

Posted by Mikes at 5:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After not so easy match Czech Republic won 2:0 agains not so hard oponent in preparing match for upcomming enent in Euro Hockey Tour Russia.

There was no video evidence for the first goal, but the result of the match was not much affected by this.

Complete lineups and match details:

Czech Republic - Belarus 2:0 (1:0, 1:0, 0:0)

Goals and assists: 10. Kohn (J. Straka, Čáslava), 31. Irgl (Kalla, Hubáček).
Referee: Šindler - Bláha, Kalivoda.
Attendance: 10.465.

lineups:
Czech Republic: Hnilička - Hamr, Platil, Kroupa, Čáslava, Gureň, Kutlák, Ficenec, Philipp - P. Sýkora, J. Marek, Rolinek - Šimánek, J. Straka, Kohn - Irgl, Kalla, Hubáček - Bednář, Mikeska, Skořepa. Trenéři: Alois Hadamczik a Pavel Marek.

Belarus: Šabanov - Leontěv, Cvetkov, Kostjučenov, Glebov, Žurik, Svito, Černook, Makrickij - Dudik, Židkych, Michalev - Strachov, Borovkov, Sacharov - Gorbokoň, Kukuškin, Volček - Čuprys, Volkov, Kulakov. Trenér: Curt Fraser.

Posted by Mikes at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SPARTA DENY IVERSEN BID REPORT
Sparta Praha have denied a report, in the Czech tabloid Aha, that
they're trying to sign 30-year-old Norwegian striker Steffen Iversen.
According to Sparta spokesman Lukas Pribyl, the club was interested in
Iversen's services last year but he's no longer on their list of
transfer targets.

COACH PETRZELA SIGNS NEW SIGMA DEAL
Coach Vlastimil Petrzela has signed a new two-year contract with Sigma
Olomouc, having reportedly turned down offers from Poland, Serbia,
Russia and Ukraine to do so. "I'm staying at Olomouc mainly because I'm
enjoying working with the young players here," the former Zenit St.
Petersburg boss explained. "I'm lucky to have them … In the youth here
there's great potential."

SCOTLAND: SIONKO SCORES ON RANGERS RETURN
Coming back from injury, Libor Sionko celebrated his return to the
Rangers starting line-up with a goal in his side's 3-0 win over
Hibernian. Rangers remain in second place, 16 points behind rivals Celtic.

OPAVA WIN 'OSTRAVA CUP' INDOOR TOURNAMENT
SFC Opava were the unexpected winners of the first annual Pohar Mesta
Ostravy (City of Ostrava Cup) indoor football tournament. The second
division side beat Jablonec 2-1 in the final, which was played at
Ostrava's CEZ Arena, to win 400,000 crowns in prize money. In the
third-place playoff, Banik Ostrava beat city rivals Vitkovice 6-2.

***********
Source: SportovniNoviny.cz, iDnes.cz, CT Teletext and PragueTV

Posted by Mikes at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Otakar Motejl, 74, proposed by the Senate, will be ombudsman for another six years as the Chamber of Deputies re-elected him in a secret balloting today, Chamber election commission head Petr Tluchor (Civic Democrats, ODS) said.

Motejl's candidacy was supported by 99 out of 188 deputies present.

Other three candidates did not succeed in the lower house.

President Vaclav Klaus has nominated Jiri Witzany, former vice-chancellor of the Czech Technical University (CVUT), and John Bok, head of the Salamoun association in support of independent judiciary in the Czech Republic. The Senate has also proposed senator Jitka Seitlova (for Independent movement) for ombudsman.

Motejl said that he would like to consider possible improvements of the ombudsman's work before his new term in office starts. He will present his visions for another six years in his annual report that he must submit to parliament by March 2007.

Motejl said he would not plan any fundamental changes in the ombudsman's office and he would not demand that his powers be extended either.

During the past six years, the ombudsman received some 30,000 citizens' complaints while he was authorised to handle almost 60 percent of them.

Ombudsman is to defend citizens again red tape and protect their rights.

He has the right to interfere in the proceedings of particular cases in administrative offices, including ministries, but he is not authorised to order institutions to take concrete steps.

Ombudsman can only report shortcomings to a higher body or to the Chamber of Deputies or possibly release the case in public.

MPs will also elect deputy ombudsman in late January, 2007, as current deputy ombudsman Anna Sabatova will end in office on January 31 and she will not run for the post again.

Motejl, lawyer by profession, worked as a defence counsel. In May 1968 he became a Supreme Court judge in Prague, but he was fired in 1970 during the "normalisation" following the 1968 Warsaw Pact troops invasion of Czechoslovakia, which crashed the Communist-led reform movement.

In the 1970s and the 1980s, Motejl defended dissidents and representatives of the underground culture, including the legendary band Plastic People of the Universe, in framed-up communist trials.

After the collapse of communism in November 1989, Motejl was the chairman of the Supreme Court of the Czechoslovak Federation from 1990 and of the Czech Republic after Czechoslovakia'split in 1993.

In 1998, he was appointed justice minister in the Social Democrat (CSSD) government of Milos Zeman. He left the post in October 2000 since, he said, he failed to push through a judiciary reform.

Two months later Motejl became the first ombudsman in the Czech Republic. In 2002, he was one of the four considered CSSD candidates for president.

Motejl will take ombudsman's oath in the Chamber of Deputies within 10 days, his current mandate expires on Monday.

source CTK:
http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=225604

Posted by Mikes at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Czech Environmental Inspection (CIZP) has imposed a fine of about 2.5 million crowns on the Philip Morris tobacco company for drawing more underground water than what the Kutna Hora municipality authorised it to draw, the server Aktualne.cz reported.

It said this is a record fine the CIZP has imposed on a company for a violation of the law on underground water protection this year.

Philip Morris, seated in Kutna Hora, central Bohemia, exceeded the allowed consumption of underground water by 50,000 cubic metres in the past three years.

Not even the nearby chemical plant Draslovka faced such a high fine for failing to prevent a leak of extremely dangerous cyanides to the Elbe river this January, the server says.

Philip Morris has paid the fine. Its representatives have admitted breaching the law. To defend themselves they say they had to draw more water as the underground water level threatened the UNESCO-listed historical buildings of a former monastery that are owned by Philip Morris now.

The company asserts that it drew underground water but did not use it for production purposes.

In an updated permit the company has reportedly raised the volume of underground water Philip Morris is authorised to draw.

Another two companies have been fined over the same "misdemeanour" as Philip Morris but in both cases the fines were much lower.

source CTK
http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=225636

Posted by Mikes at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dusan Uhrin Jr.'s Mlada Boleslav squad set off for Israel this morning,
knowing that only a victory would see them advance from Group G.

UEFA CUP 2006/07
GROUP STAGE - MATCHDAY 5
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13TH, 2006
Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Israel) vs. Mlada Boleslav (8:45pm Czech Time)
Venue: Bloomfield Stadium, Jaffa, Israel
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT4 Sport

ALSO IN GROUP G
Paris Saint-Germain (France) vs. Panathinaikos (Greece)
Rest Day: Rapid Bucuresti (Romania)

GROUP G STANDINGS
1st Panathinaikos, 3 games, 7 points - QUALIFIED
2nd Hapoel Tel-Aviv, 3 games, 4 points
3rd Rapid Bucuresti, 4 games, 4 points
-----------
4th Mlada Boleslav, 3 games, 2 points
5th Paris SG, 3 games, 2 points

Posted by Mikes at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CMFS COULD GIVE TOPFLIGHT CLUBS MORE INDEPENDENCE
CMFS (Czech football association) Deputy Chairman Jaroslav Vacek told
journalists yesterday that he's considering giving Gambrinus Liga clubs
more independence in the running of the Czech Republic's top division.
According to Vacek, who's responsible for the league's top two
divisions, the change depends only on the clubs and their owners being
willing to shoulder the extra responsibility.

But Vacek warned that, as in other countries, the key commissions
involved in running the game must remain under CMFS control. He added
that while the CMFS isn't in opposition to the men who bring most of the
money into Czech football, he thought some of their suggestions would be
difficult to implement.

ENGLAND: BAROS GOAL SALVAGES VILLA DRAW
With his first English Premier League goal in eight month, Milan Baros
rescued a point for Aston Villa last night, leveling the score at 2-2 in
their game against Sheffield United.

***********
Source: CT Teletext and prague.tv

Posted by Mikes at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Complete race coverage form official A1GP pages:

Sentul - New Zealand’s Jonny Reid has secured a double victory at the Gudang Garam A1GP Sentul, Indonesia event. In a rain-affected and incident-filled Feature race, Reid won by just over two seconds from Germany’s Nico Hülkenberg and France’s Nicolas Lapierre.

Polesitter Reid led into the first corner and withstood heavy pressure from Mexico’s Salvador Duran and Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr for the lead. Hülkenberg, starting from third, pulled level with Duran through turns five and six, but it was Kerr who finally found a way into second, driving round the Mexican on the inside of turn seven. South Africa’s Alan van der Merwe had an outstanding start, moving from eighth to fifth by the second sector and past Duran into fourth by the end of the first lap.

Relishing the wet conditions, Hülkenberg put Reid under heavy pressure for the lead over the first lap and drew level with the New Zealander down the pit straight at the end of the lap using the PowerBoost button. Reid however kept his line and jinked to the right down the straight into turn three to defend his lead from the German. Hülkenberg tried the same move the following lap but this time made it stick and powered through into the lead of the field. Willi Weber’s protégé then went on to pull out a six second lead over the next five laps.

Hülkenberg held the lead until the first round of pit stops. As the heavy rain that had delayed the start of the race cleared and the track started to dry, it was a gamble for teams on whether to opt for wet or slick rubber. Reid was amongst the first to stop on lap 16, with Hülkenberg pulling in two laps later. The German’s stop was slightly slower at 37.8secs, but the advantage the German had built over the preceding laps was enough to put him back out ahead of Reid. Even a brief excursion into the gravel at turn two on lap 19 was not enough to delay the young German.

Over the next two laps Reid however put in a series of times over a second quicker than Hülkenberg to close the gap to just under a second by lap 24. As the track started to dry, drivers returned to the pits for a set of slick Cooper tyres; Hülkenberg stopping on lap 30. With clean air in front, Reid put the hammer down to record a quick series of laps and when he stopped on lap 33, he came out in front of the German in the lead. “It was not a straightforward race at all and the weather came in and played a big part in that race,” said Reid. “After the start of the race I was struggling quite a lot and at the pit stop we made a change and the car was much, much better as you could see in the lap times. I snatched back the lead and pushed hard to get a gap. We put a lot of push on at the end and I just got my head down.

Great Britain’s Kerr was looking good for another podium spot behind the Kiwi and the German until France’s Lapierre caught and passed him down the straight on lap 34. With strategic use of the PowerBoost, the Frenchman pulled level down the pit straight, taking the inside line through turn one. Kerr tried to fight back, but with no PowerBoosts remaining, Kerr struggled to find defend his line.

A solid fourth position for the Englishman looked assured until he ran wide at turn four on lap 39, spun and stalled. A five minute safety car period was called to recover the car and when it withdrew it was a sprint to the finish, with only three minutes remaining.

Reid made an excellent start and held onto his advantage over a charging Hülkenberg to win by 1.178secs, the Kiwis’ first A1GP Feature race victory, “Fortunately I was able to take the win today. Germany and myself have shown clear pace in qualifying for the first half of the season and I am confident we can keep that pace up. We have got a good thing going with the alliance with Germany and it is working well so I have every confidence that I can put two wins on the board at home. I am looking forward to it and I will push hard to do that.”

Hülkenberg second position retained the series lead for Germany. “I got a pretty good start and was immediately behind Jonny. I could see nothing, it was so hard to work out the braking points and that was why it took so long until I overtook Jonny or he made a mistake. I didn’t see a lot so when I overtook him I had a very good car and everything was fine. On my second set of tyres I made a mistake and I don’t know what was wrong the car was much worse. I had oversteer, understeer and it was just much, much worse than before. It was very slippery to the end and there was a lot of power oversteer because it was still not dry, but we had changed the slicks and from the beginning to the first corner I knew it was a lot better there was a lot more grip from the first corner.”

France moved up from seventh to third overall, following an excellent start and race-long battle with Malaysia. Lapierre was pleased with his result, France’s fourth podium of the year, “It was a pretty good race for us considering our starting position. The race was okay. We struggled a bit at the beginning with the first set of tyres, I don’t know why exactly. Then the second set was okay and we were able to come back fighting with Great Britain and my team made a great call to change to slick tyres. The end of the race was good and certainly we had Pakistan and Australia between me and Nico after the safety car so I could not do anything, but we need to start a little bit more in the front and we will be okay.”

Italy finished a remarkable fourth after starting 15^th on the grid. The Netherlands were a strong fifth and Malaysia was a solid sixth, despite Yoong reporting tyre pressure problems on his second set of rubber. The USA’s Phil Giebler had another consistent performance, running with the top three throughout the first part of the race and battling wheel-to-wheel with Kerr for third on lap 24, but his efforts were ultimately not rewarded when he lost time with a spin and stall on lap 43. Marshals got the American back on the road, but the damage was done and Giebler slipped back to 10^th.

Last season’s Feature race winner Sean McIntosh had an eventful race after he almost crashed into the South African pit garage after a routine tyre change. The team had chosen slick tyres, but McIntosh hit a puddle and slewed into the South Africans. He then failed to finish after a wheel came loose and flew off his car on lap 38.

Germany continues to lead the nations’ standings going into the sixth race of the year in Taupo, New Zealand, from 19 – 21 January 2007. The visit will be A1GP’s first trip to the track and the first visit of the season to the Southern Hemisphere.

Posted by Mikes at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Interior Minister's Inspection has not found who in the police force was responsible for the leak to the media of the police wiretapping recordings in the case of the alleged bribery of Freedom Union-DEU deputy Zdenek Koristka, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Jana Matejusova told CTK today.

She said that no policeman would be charged in connection with the leak.

A police team that is investigating the possibility of the state attorneys to be responsible for the leak has not yet completed the case, she said.

On Tuesday, the Interior Minister's Inspection shelved the case of the leak since it failed to find any reason for the launch of criminal prosecution, Matejusova said.

The criminal complaint in connection with the leak and the publication of the wiretapping of conversations between Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman and his aide Marek Dalik that appeared on the Aktualne.cz. news server, was filed by ODS's lawyer Petr Toman.

In 2004 the anti-corruption police unit accused Dalik and lobbyist Jan Vecerek of offering Koristka, on behalf of the then opposition ODS, ten million crowns and the post of Czech ambassador to Bulgaria, in exchange for voting against the new coalition government of Stanislav Gross (Social Democrats, CSSD) in the crucial confidence vote.

The state attorney first refused to approve taking the suspects into custody and then he stopped the prosecution altogether. Finally the case, in which Topolanek was also involved, was shelved.

Koristka insists that Dalik and Vecerek really wanted to bribe him on behalf of the ODS, while the two reject any accusation, pleading not guilty.

According to Aktualne.cz, the police wiretapping have proved no crime, but its certain parts suggest that Dalik and Vecerek were discussing with the ODS the strategy of their behaviour during the police questioning and sought the information about its course.

source CTK:
http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=224766

Posted by Mikes at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The High Court in Prague today abolished the verdict that acquitted former children's choir Bambini di Praga head Bohumil Kulinsky of sexual abuse of two underage female members of the choir.

The case is to be re-appraised by the lower-level court in Hradec Kralove, east Bohemia.

Kulinsky, 47, is suspected of abuse of a total of 49 girls from his choir. The Hradec Kralove court dealt with only two of the cases. The remaining 47 have been handled by a court in Prague.

Kulinsky pleads non-guilty.

In the first of the cases on which the High Court decided today, the plaintiff accuses Kulinsky of having sex with an underage girl in a hotel during the choir's training stay in the Giant Mountains in 1991.

In the other case, Kulinsky harassed another girl on a similar occasion in 1999.

The police accused Kulinsky in November 2004 of corrupting the morals of youth and of sexual abuse. He spent 219 days in custody. He was released in early July of 2005.

source: CTK
http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=224681

Posted by Mikes at 4:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The government decided to raise the minimal wage by 45 crowns to 8,000 per month as from next year at its night session, Labour and Social affairs Minister Petr Necas said.

The unions wanted the increase to be higher while employers insisted on the wage being frozen at its current level.

The government only rounded up the wage, Necas said adding that the previous Social Democrat-led government radically raised the wage this year.

"The wage was radically raised during this year, a move that was motivated by the forthcoming general election (in June). If the pace continued, certain branches, such as textile industry, would cease to exist," Necas said.

He said that higher minimal wages would threaten mainly jobs for people with a low qualification.

Milan Stech, chairman of the umbrella trade union organisation CMKOS, said on Tuesday that the planned raise by 45 crowns is "one of the first more distinctly anti-employee steps the government [in power since September] has taken."

He said it will result in further deepening of the gap between low- and high-income people.

Trade unions proposed to raise the minimal wage to 8,500 crowns. They said the minimal wage should not drop below 40 percent of the average wage that stood at almost 20,000 crowns in the third quarter this year.

The minimal wage increased twice this year. For the first time it was raised from 7,185 to 7,570 crowns in January, in July it grew to 7,955 crowns.

source: CTK
http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=224632

Posted by Mikes at 2:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At an informal "football breakfast" press briefing in Prague yesterday,
CMFS (Czech football association) General Secretary Petr Fousek
announced that tickets for March 24th's Euro qualifier against Germany
will be distributed via the usual lottery system.

Prague's Toyota Arena (Letna) stadium, where the game is to be played,
will have a capacity of just 18,000 that night, of which 11,000 tickets
are allocated to Czech fans and 3,000 to German fans. The remaining
4,000 will be held back for the CMFS's own needs or distributed to
national team sponsors.

The process of allocating tickets to Czech fans is set to take place
between January 10th and January 26th. Individual fans will be able to
apply for no more than four tickets each.

Posted by Mikes at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

GOL MAGAZINE LODGES BALLON D'OR PROTEST
The weekly magazine Gol, which represents the Czech Republic in the
voting for the Ballon d'Or (European Footballer of the Year) award, has
sent an official complaint to organizers France Football.

Gol's editorial team are unhappy that no Czechs figured in the 50
players nominated for the latest award, and have drawn particular
attention to the short-listing of Lyon and France goalkeeper Gregory
Coupet ahead of Petr Cech.

"While Cech played at the World Cup in Germany and gave excellent
performances, Coupet didn't play a single minute," Gol wrote to the
French publication. "[Coupet] played, of course, a big role in Lyon's
title win, but Cech was part of Chelsea's title win in England."

ITALY: FIVE-GAME BAN FOR NEDVED
The Italian disciplinary commission have banned Pavel Nedved for five
league games, after the Juventus midfielder was sent off near the end of
Friday's Serie B game with Genoa. After being red-carded in injury time,
for stamping on an opponent, Nedved then reportedly insulted the referee
and stamped on his foot. Juventus plan to appeal.

RUSSIA: MARES SET TO LEAVE ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG
Czech international defender Pavel Mares looks set to leave Zenit St.
Petersburg, after nearly four years with the club. According to Sporting
Director Konstantin Sarsania, Mares has received offers from elsewhere
in Russia, and abroad, and Zenit won't stand in the way of a move.

ROSICKY AND POLAK BOTH OUT OF ACTION
Czech international midfielders Tomas Rosicky and Jan Polak both face at
least two weeks out of action.

Rosicky suffered a hamstring injury in Arsenal's English Premier League
game against Tottenham on Saturday, and will almost certainly miss
tonight's Champions League game against Porto and Sunday's league
showdown with Chelsea. The injury, to his right thigh, is similar to,
but less serious than the one he recently suffered to his left leg.
Arsenal's website is predicting a three-week layoff.

Polak, on the other hand, is expected to undergo an operation on his
tonsils on Wednesday. As a result, the Nurnberg midfielder is expected
to sit out the rest of the calendar year.

SLOVACKO'S VOZABAL SET TO JOIN MOST
After six months with bottom-of-the-table Slovacko, midfielder Martin
Vozabal is set to join SIAD Most. The 28-year-old has reportedly already
arranged a deal with Most and is now waiting for the two clubs to agree
a transfer fee.

UNDER-19s & UNDER-17s LEARN EURO QUALIFIER OPPONENTS
The draws were held yesterday for the "Elite" qualifications rounds of
UEFA's Under-19 Championship and Under-17 Championship. The Czech
Under-19s have been drawn with England, Russia and the Netherlands, in a
group from which only the winner advances. The Under-17s have been drawn
with Slovakia, Italy and Ukraine, and again, only the group winner
qualifies for next year's final tournament.

UNDER-17s WIN IN FRANCE
In a friendly game in Balma, France yesterday, the Czech Under-17 team
beat their French counterparts 2-1. Goals from Hamburg's Miroslav
Stepanek and Brno's Lukas Marecek secured the win, against a team that
won the 2004 European championship.

Source: CT Teletext

Posted by Mikes at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New passenger car sales fell by 2.2 percent year-on-year to 114,421 units in January to November, while imports of used cars rose by 28.6 percent to 168,840 vehicles, the Association of Automotive Industries has said.

Used cars accounted for nearly 60 percent of all passenger cars newly registered in the period,

The drop in passenger car sales was offset by an increase in sales in the category of light utility vehicles which includes adjusted passenger cars enabling buyers to deduct VAT.

Light utility car sales grew by 29.4 percent to 44,113 units. Overall sales, including passenger cars, rose by nearly 5 percent to 158,534 vehicles.

The top-selling car make in both categories was Skoda Auto with 47,803 passenger and 10,470 utility cars sold.

In the category of passenger cars, Renault came second with 7,622 units sold, ahead of Volkswagen with 6,709 units.

Volkswagen came second also in the category of light utility vehicles with 5,376 sold units, ahead of Ford with 5,001 units.

Lorry sales grew by 16.3 percent to 9,069 vehicles in January to November. Bus sales rose by 18.2 percent to 890 units, and motorbike sales were up by quarter at 18,844 units.

source CTK
http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=224502

Posted by Mikes at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1st Sparta Praha, 36 points
2nd Slavia Praha, 34
3rd Liberec, 33
4th Mlada Boleslav, 30
5th Jablonec, 25
6th Brno, 25
7th Ceske Budejovice, 25
8th Teplice, 25
9th Ostrava, 21
10th Plzen, 21
11th Most, 19
12th Sigma Olomouc, 18
13th Kladno, 18
14th Zlin, 14
-----------
15th Pribram, 13
16th Slovacko, 9

Posted by Mikes at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sparta move back to the top of the table, in the final game before the
winter break.

The Gambrinus Liga resumes on the weekend of March 10th, 2007; the
second division restarts on March 16th, 2007.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4TH, 2006
Kladno 0, Sparta Praha 2
Half Time: 0-1
Goals: 7th Kolar, 63rd Rezek
Attendance: 3,455

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2ND, 2006
Slovacko 0, Tescoma Zlin 0
Attendance: 5,335

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 2006
Slovan Liberec 2, Dynamo Ceske Budejovice 0
Half Time: 0-0
Goals: 54th Kostal, 63rd Zapotocny (penalty)
Attendance: 5,645

Slavia Praha 2, Banik Ostrava 1
Half Time: 0-0
Goals: 55th Vlcek, 90th(+1) Necid - 62nd Rajtoral
Sent Off: 21st Besta (Ostrava)
Attendance: 5,283

Sigma Olomouc 3, Mlada Boleslav 1
Half Time: 1-0
Goals: 29th Janotka, 51st Hubnik, 83rd Schulmeister - 68th Sedlacek
Attendance: 4,527

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 2006
SIAD Most 3, Jablonec 1
Half Time: 2-0
Goals: 11th Brzezina, 33rd Prasil, 62nd Zboncak - 65th Valenta
Attendance: 4,590

Viktoria Plzen 2, Marila Pribram 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goals: 10th Fillo, 90th(+4) Krbecek
Sent Off: 32nd Parizek (Pribram Goalkeeper)
Attendance: 3,101

Brno 2, Teplice 2
Half Time: 0-0
Goals: 66th Strestik, 82nd Kuncl - 76th Benat, 87th Kroupa
Attendance: 2,740

Posted by Mikes at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The crown corrected losses after the morning's fall to the dollar, firmed to Kc21.00/$ and closed at Kc21.03 at 5:00 p.m., and vis-a-vis the euro it was hovering around Kc28.00, server Patria Online has said, adding that the foreign trade results had no effect on it.

The foreign trade surplus reached Kc4.35bn for Oct, a bit more than the expected Kc4bn.

The result is no surprise, said Tomas Vlk of Patria Finance.

"Investors are focusing on other more attractive markets, for instance, Slovakia," said Next Finance analyst Vladimir Pikora.

The crown fell to the dollar to Kc21.12 in the morning on the US currency gain.

"Short-term speculators have been successful after a couple of days pushing the US currency to a stronger level to the euro beyond $1.33," said J&T analyst Lukas Ruzicka.

At 5:00 p.m. the dollar was weaker trading at $1.3315/EUR.

The European Central Bank will raise interest rates at a session on Thursday, and the crown can fall modestly as a result as it will less attractive in terms of interest rates, said Pikora.

Many players can be expected to take advantage of the weaker crown to prepare themselves for its firming in the future, he added.

source CTK:
http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=224555

Posted by Mikes at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The programme "Seven magnificent reforms for the future," submitted by the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) earlier today, may be a good fundament for drafting the programme of a reform-minded government, the Social Democrats (CSSD), the Christian Democrats and the Greens told CTK.

The CSSD has found in it a number of discrepancies with its ideas, but there is a chance of making from the document a compromise formula in the days to come, CSSD deputy chairman Bohuslav Sobotka told journalists.

The ODS, too, considers the 20-page text as a working material, ODS deputy chairman Petr Necas said after a 60-minute meeting of negotiators.

Necas said that by next Friday expert teams would delete from it the controversial points about which leaders of the four parties would decide on Monday.

The ODS has drafted the programme entitled "Seven magnificent reforms for the future" and handed it today to the CSSD, the KDU-CSL and the Greens whose representatives have started to discuss it.

The fundamental changes are to concern several major topics: public finances and taxes, pension and social systems, health care, business environment and labour market, restricted regulation, reform of the police and fight against corruption.

The Czech presidency of the EU and European funds is the seventh area.

The draft programme contains concrete terms by which the parties would like to implement the change and a list of amendments to the laws that are under preparation.

source CTK
http://www.ctk.cz/zpravy/anglicke_view.php?id=224556

Posted by Mikes at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)