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Škola v prirode, a Czech rite of passage

The number of members of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) is steadily falling while their average age increases.

The scandal of David Rath, who resigned as central Bohemian regional governor over bribery charges on Wednesday, has exposed the power of regional party bosses, Jindrich Šídlo writes for yesterday's issue of Hospodárské noviny (HN).

The accusation of David Rath of corruption may have several contrasting impacts on the public, Jirí Pehe writes for yesterday's issue of daily Právo.

The Senior Council is expecting several thousand people to attend the first demonstration of the elderly against planned cuts in pensions rise to be held in Prague on 30 May.

Providers of social services will receive another CZK 140 million this year, Labour Ministry Spokeswoman Viktorie Plívová told CTK yesterday.

A district court judge for Ústí nad Labem has ruled that regional governor David Rath and seven others will remain in custody.

A half of retirees collect pensions lower than the average of CZK 10,740, Czech Social Security Administration's (CSSZ) data show.

MP and Former Regional Governor David Rath, who faces corruption charges, believes that he has fallen into a police trap and that his case has a political core, he said in a statement his defence counsel Adam Cerný presented to CTK yesterday. Rath, who has been arrested and taken into custody, said he felt like a political prisoner, and compared his case to the imprisonment of Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

The government yesterday agreed with Ireland's protocol to the Lisbon Treaty on certain guarantees.

Chamber of Deputies Chairwoman Miroslava Nemcová (ODS) yesterday called on the senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) to make David Rath resign as a member of parliament.

The government has approved continuing the Czech Republic's mission in Afghanistan through 2014, while gradually reducing the number of personnel.

A poll conducted by the STEM agency shows that the majority of Czechs rate the right-of-centre Civic Democratic Party as the main proponent of government reforms despite the fact that TOP 09 holds key ministries.

The resolute action of the police in the case of suspected bribe-taking of David Rath is praiseworthy, but the scandal once again harms Czech politics and the country's image abroad, President Václav Klaus said yesterday.

The Czech Republic has opened its diplomatic mission in Armenia in the building of the Polish embassy in Yerevan, the Foreign Ministry told CTK yesterday.

Deputy governor Robin Povšík has said Mr Rath has resigned from the regional assembly and therefore as regional governor. Rath also left the senior opposition CSSD yesterday. He's however kept his mandate of a deputy, though the central Bohemia CSSD branch urged him to give it up, deputy regional governors Miloš Petera said. According to Povšík, Rath had been escorted by the police to his Prague office yesterday, where he followed through with his decision.

The government will have the management of the state's pension account checked by the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) to disprove the opposition's claim that the funds are being mismanaged, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jaromír Drábek (TOP 09) said after a cabinet meeting yesterday.

The tabloid Blesk went too far violating the rules of common decency with a shocking joke in a report on a Romani family abusing welfare benefits, Daniel Kaiser writes for yesterday's issue of Lidové noviny (LN).

The arrest of David Rath on suspicion of bribery reveals that the Czech approval system makes embezzlement of EU funds very easy, Julie Hrstková writes for yesterday's issue of Hospodárské noviny.

Hastal Restaurant has been developed by years of traveling and searching.

Throughout a lifetime of working in the hospitality industry and 10 years of traveling throughout the world, Stephen Black, the creator and owner of Hastal Restaurant now has found the location to share his love of fine food and great service to Prague and its loving travelers.
Stephen is a fun-loving Australian, always on hand to help with any customers' requests.

No agreement on a pay increase for doctors and nurses has been reached, Prime Minister Petr Necas, Health Minister Leoš Heger and union leaders said after their meeting yesterday.

A Prague 7 court yesterday handed out two prison sentences and one suspended sentence to former members of the Communist secret service StB for having abducted and beaten up dissident Petr Placák in June 1989.

A so-called "collision official" may be appointed to decide on the placement of children in practical schools instead of their parents, Lucie Obrovská of the ombudsman's office said at a conference on the education of the disadvantaged yesterday.

One-tenth of Czechs believe that the government is fighting corruption, a drop from almost one-fifth a year ago, according to the STEM agency's poll released to CTK.

The senior ruling Civic Democrats (ODS) want the government's church restitution bill, now discussed by parliament, to oblige churches to prove their former ownership of the property that is to be returned to them, Marek Benda said after yesterday's meeting of ODS deputies.

The Czech military will be training with troops of states of Nebraska and Texas, Miroslav Žižka, first deputy chief of staff, said yesterday.

The opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) are seriously putting the Czech Republic's drawing of EU funds at risk, Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said yesterday in reaction to the arrest of CSSD regional governor and MP David Rath.

Catholics from the Polish town Wroclaw, where the Czech football team will play during EURO 2012, are looking to convert Czech atheist fans, daily Právo reported yesterday.

The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry will be installing a system from IBM that in an attempt to prevent errors in the payment of social benefits, daily Hospodárské noviny (HN) reported yesterday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seven cabinet members will visit the Czech Republic on Thursday.

Václav Klaus is unlikely to join any political party once his presidential term ends next March and will likely create a think tank and, when convenient, transform it into a new political party, Lukáš Bek writes for weekly Týden out yesterday.

At least two devices operated by unknown private owners have been used to wiretap phones illegally, daily Lidové noviny (LN) reported yesterday, citing police.

The Czech army needs to prepare for the time after the end of operations in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra said yesterday at a seminar in the Senate dedicated to the Czech army's foreign missions.

Russian harpsichordist Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya, 26, has won Prague Spring's 64th harpsichord contest.

Some 74% of Czechs do not agree with the reforms carried out by the country's centre-right government, according to a poll by the STEM agency released yesterday.

The government coalition and the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) have agreed on the presidential campaign spending limit of CZK 50 million for both rounds.

Opposition groups yesterday announced details of their protest against the government's austerity measures planned for 22 May.

Thousands of children annually have to deal with their parents' divorce according to data of the Czech Statistical Office.

Political parties should not be exploiting the tension between Roma and the ethnic majority in their election campaigns, Štefan Tišer, chairman of Equal Opportunities Party (SRP), said yesterday.

The government is doing a poor job informing citizens on its reforms according to the latest poll conducted by STEM and released to CTK on Friday.

Public Affairs will elect its new leadership on 23 June.

The issue of property return to churches is not and hasn't been a decisive factor for the Catholic church, Prague Archbishop Cardinal Dominik Duka said Saturday.

The widely criticised electronic health records called IZIP, subsidised by the state-controlled General Health Insurance Company (VZP) for the past ten years, will be scrapped, Prime Minister Petr Necas and Health Minister Leoš Heger agreed on Thursday.

"Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948," the latest memoirs by former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright will hit the country's shelves in autumn.

Ethiopia's Deressa Chimsa won the International Prague Marathon yesterday.

Former Greens' leader and environment minister Martin Bursík is considering running for the post of party leader again, Tyden.cz yesterday quoted an interview with Bursík for the weekly Týden out today.

Government members will discuss simplifying the process of releasing minor offenders from prison at a Wednesday meeting, Justice Minister Jirí Pospíšil (Civic Democratic Party, ODS) yesterday told the commercial television station Prima.

The Defense Ministry will see approval from the government with using up to CZK 2 million on development and humanitarian projects in Afghanistan.

Thieves stole bicycles and equipment worth roughly CZK 1.63 million from participants of World Cup in mountain biking held yesterday.

A Mother's Day tribute