Top Czech News - Prague Daily Monitor

Prime Minister Petr Nečas says the government will suspend ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Responding to a wave of protests in the Czech Republic and elsewhere, Nečas said that the government would not allow a situation where civic freedoms and free access to information would be threatened and added that the government will still analyse the issue and its potential impact on daily life.

The number of cases of child harassment on the internet is increasing, according to the Children's Crisis Centre.

Prime Minister Petr Nečas said yesterday that he expects party representatives to hold a number of meetings in the weeks to come to find a compromise on Czech stance on the EU's fiscal responsibility pact.

President Václav Klaus yesterday signed laws simplifying the state recognition of professional qualifications of experts from EU states.

Health Minister Leoš Heger intends to propose the merger of his ministry with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Lidové noviny (LN) reported yesterday.

Meteorologists have observed -39.4 degrees Celsius yesterday morning, the coldest temperature this winter, in Kvilda, in the Šumava mountains.

The new payment system of welfare benefits, launched by the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry in January, does not sufficiently protect applicants' personal data, the daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) reported yesterday.

Prague City Council Friday set up a second tent for the homeless that can accommodate 40 people.

Prime Minister Petr Nečas (Civic Democrats, ODS) met Education Minister Josef Dobeš (Public Affairs, VV) on Friday to discuss problems with drawing EU funds.

Some 150 Czechs and foreigners took part in the annual swimming competition called 'Branické ledy', plunging into the ice-cold Vltava River on Saturday.

President Václav Klaus underwent a cataract surgery during after having sprained his ankle on Tuesday, Presidential Office Spokesman Radim Ochvat said Sunday.

Some 300 Czech patients have received low-quality hip-joint implants, the manufacturer Depuy has announced.

Prime Minster Petr Nečas and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg will meet on Tuesday to discuss the planned European fiscal agreement.

Some 30 people demonstrated outside the Syrian embassy in Prague on Sunday.

Police are barring increasing numbers of people from their households due to domestic violence.

Members of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Petr Nečas demanding that the country join the EU budget pact.

Demonstrations against Czech participation in ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, were staged in several cities on Saturday.

The Czech Republic has the highest number of tick-borne encephalitis cases in the EU.

Czech scientists are helping upgrade nuclear reactors for the U.S. Navy, weekly Ekonom reported yesterday, quoting experts who link the cooperation to Westinghouse's status as one of the bidders for Temelín nuclear power plant's extension.

Prime Minister Petr Nečas yesterday repeatedly dismissed in parliament the junior opposition Communists' (KSČM) suspicion of being spied on by his government.