Last week 22/2007

In this week's news summary, mystery surrounds missing „Anička,“ Amnesty blasts Romany education, and an architect's balloon stunt backfires. The tropical heat that swept across the Czech Republic was so hot that it caused Prague tram tracks to buckle.

The government approved the prolongation of uranium mining at Žďár district's Rožná mine. Česká televize (Czech Television) held an open day. Experts protested against a new television commercial for Fernet in which Sagvan Tofi says alcohol is the best medicine for a bad day.

An abstract painting by František Kupka was auctioned in Prague for a record 13.4 million crowns. Education Minister Dana Kuchtová wants to tighten control on home-schooling due to the abuse of eight-year-old Ondřej. The case of Vsetín businessman Roman Vaškůj, who is suspected of perpetrating fraud in connection with light heating oil in the mid-1990s, finally made it to court.

„No stench wafted from the flat, perhaps because of the nearby school cafeteria,“ iDnes.cz wrote about the discovery of the body of a man who had died 12 years earlier in his flat in Nový Jičín. Supporters of Prague 5 Mayor Milan Jančík took control of the Civic Democratic Party's Prague 5 organization when just 291 of 555 party members participated in a vote to protest his practices.

Vratné lahve (Empties), the latest film from Jan and Zdeňek Svěrak, became the biggest box office success in Czech history, and has been seen by its millionth viewer. Přerov city hall filed suit against the Olomouc region over its opposition to the planned privatization of the city's hospital.

The government approved its „savings backpack“ financial reforms. According to the STEM polling agency, the Czech Army has the confidence of over 60 percent of the populace, while just 40 percent of Czechs have faith in the police.

Prague architect Radek Martišek had a hot-air balloon launched from the future location of the new National Library building in order to show that it would overshadow the Prague skyline more than architect Jan Kaplický claims; the stunt, however, proved the opposite.

The Museum of the City of Prague (Muzeum hlavního města Prahy) opened an exhibition called „From Beaver River to Stínadla,“ commemorating the 100th anniversary of author Jaroslav Foglar's birth. Jiří Paroubek placed ads in newspapers asking why Mirek Topolánek is afraid of him.

„The education of Romany children is one of the most pressing problems and needs immediate attention,“ declared the director of Amnesty International's Czech branch, Zdeněk Rudolský, upon the release of the organization's new report on the state of human rights.

The presidents of central, eastern, and southeastern European countries gathered in Brno. Following the announcement that the television series Nemocnice na kraji města (Hospital at the Edge of Town) would continue, it was reported that new episodes of the television series Sanitka (Ambulance) would be made. Dance performances were held in Prague streets as part of the Tanec pro tanec (Dance for Dance) festival. Sparta's football team won the cup.

The Novohrad forests are closed to hikers as they are being cleared of windfall. Aneta Langerová was splashed across the covers of magazines. A court ordered parliamentary deputy David Rath (Social Democratic Party – ČSSD) to apologize to Deputy Health Minister Pavel Hroboň, a former employee of public health insurer Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna, for groundlessly claiming that the health part of the Civic Democratic Party's (ODS) program was financed from VZP money.

Mladá fronta Dnes printed on one full page a letter from a lost little girl who was never lost, and in fact probably never even existed, but writes about herself in the masculine gender and trusts the president. Entrepreneur Karel Komárek gained control of the oil and gas exploration company Moravské naftové doly.

High-school leaving exams were held. The government decided to sue the European Commission because it allocated the Czech Republic fewer emission allowances than it deserves.

„It is logical that a transaction of that volume and significance is accompanied by a number of private interests which are disappointed by the finance ministry's responsible approach, and so they have created demand for media criticism that is willingly satisfied by reporters like Jan Macháček from Hospodářské noviny,“ Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said in the press, reacting to criticism that the sale of part of ČEZ is not transparent.

It was reported that 23,000 „test-tube“ babies have been born in the Czech Republic since 1982. Russian investors announced a plan to build a log-cabin village on the Lipno lakeshore.

An election model created by opinion pollsters CVVM did not confirm the view that the popularity of the ČSSD and the ODS is converging; according to the agency, if the ODS won 35 percent of the vote, and the ČSSD 29 percent, the current coalition would have a comfortable majority of 109 in the Chamber of Deputies.

President Václav Klaus supported the building of an American radar base in the Czech Republic, declaring that he was „on the ‚yes‘ side, but I say a qualified ‚yes,‘ a structured ‚yes,‘ not an enthusiastic ‚yes!‘“ The insurance company Česká pojišťovna ranked Czech cities according to safety for drivers and pedestrians; of the regional cities, Plzeň ranked best and Ústí nad Labem the worst. The media reported that the Cannes film festival was under way. A techno party was held in Dobrá Voda, in the Pelhřimov region.