President Klaus says both sides to blame in conflict over South Ossetia
President Klaus has said both sides are to blame in the military conflict over South Ossetia.
In a statement for Czech Radio, Mr. Klaus said that he strongly condemned both Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia and the massive intervention of the Russian military. He said that to lay the blame exclusively at Russia’s door would be unjust, and noted that with the separation of Kosovo, Russia had obtained a strong justification for its action. The president likewise rejected the comparison with the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, saying that the circumstances in the Caucuses were entirely different.
Cabinet on crisis in Georgia
Earlier this week, the Czech Foreign Ministry released a statement saying Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be fully respected and indirectly blaming Russia for causing the crisis. Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said that the Czech Republic would like to participate in the EU peacekeeping mission in the region. The Czech Cabinet is to debate the situation in the Caucuses next Wednesday.
Czechs welcome Polish-US missile deal
Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Tomáš Pojar has welcomed Poland’s decision to host US interceptor missiles on its territory, as part of Washington’s missile defense shield. The Czech government has committed to hosting a US tracking radar on its territory which is likewise part of the US missile defense programme. Although both Prague and Warsaw have now reached agreement with Washington, its missile defense plans for Central Europe still need to be approved by the two countries’ parliaments.
Police charge two men in connection with Eurocity train crash
The police on Friday filed charges against two civil engineers who were in charge of the reconstruction of a bridge that collapsed onto the rail tracks near the town of Studénka last Friday causing a train accident in which seven people were killed and dozens more injured. The police say the two engineers knew the static of the bridge was impaired and did not take sufficient measures to prevent it from collapsing on the tracks. If found guilty, they could spend up to ten years in jail.
Town hall moves to prevent neo-Nazi gathering
The Hradec Králové town hall has moved to prevent a neo-Nazi gathering over the weekend. The town hall on Friday cancelled a contract for the lease of the open-air cinema where the gathering was to take place. The organizers are to receive financial compensation for the last minute cancellation. Meanwhile, police in the East Bohemian town of Hradec Králové have been bracing for the gathering which was to have been attended by several hundred neo-Nazis from around the Czech Republic and abroad. The gathering was scheduled to coincide with the death of one of Hitler’s closest aides and associates Rudolf Hesse.
Senator Štětina leaves for Tbilisi
JaromÃr Å tÄ›tina, a senator from the Green Party and a former war reporter, has left for Tbilisi, Georgia in order to assess the situation in person. The senator says he plans to stay in Tbilisi for about a week and do some reporting like in the old days. He will be in contact with Czech representatives and Czech journalists on the ground.
Tourist numbers dip
Czech hotels and other accommodation facilities registered 3.4 million guests in the second quarter of this year, down 0.1 percent year-on-year, the Czech Statistical Office announced on Friday. Tourists stayed in the Czech Republic for 2.9 nights on average, compared to three nights seen a year earlier. The figure applies to both foreign and domestic guests.
Czechs take silver in double canoe
Czechs Jaroslav Volf and Ondřej Štěpánek won silver medals in the double canoes final at the Summer Olympics in Beijing on Friday. They finished third in the semi-finals, giving a faultless performance in the final ride. They were only beaten by Slovakia’s Hochschorner borthers; the German double canoe Felix Michel and Sebastian Piersing were running second but keeled and finished last.
Weather:
Saturday should be overcast and rainy with temperatures between 14 and 18 degrees but we can expect a slight warming at the end of the week when temperatures will gradually return to the 20s.
(radio-Prague)
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