Copyright (c) 2008 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
By: Rosie Johnston
* Over 250 Czechs have applied for asylum in Canada since Ottawa
introduced visa-free travel for Czechs five months ago.
* The Cuban press has accused the Czech ambassador to the United States
of working for the CIA.
* Former Czech international Ivan Hasek has rejected the job of Czech
national football team coach.
========================================================================
More than 250 Czechs seek asylum in Canada following lifting of visa
restrictions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over 250 Czechs have applied for asylum in Canada since Ottawa
introduced visa-free travel for Czechs five months ago, the Canadian
Embassy in Prague said on Monday. Ottawa imposed travel restrictions on
Czechs in 1997, in reaction to a flood of asylum seekers. It eventually
lifted them ten years later, on November 1, 2007. In the first five
months of visa-free travel, 261 Czechs have sought asylum in Canada.
But the Canadian Embassy said on Tuesday that there was no risk of
Ottawa re-introducing visa requirements in light of the figures. The
Czech Republic does not yet enjoy permanent visa-free relations with
Canada, but a spokesperson for the Czech Foreign Ministry said that the
two governments were closely cooperating on the matter.
========================================================================
Cuban press accuses Czech ambassador in US of CIA involvement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cuban press has accused the Czech ambassador to the United States
of working for the CIA, writes Hospodarske noviny on Tuesday. The paper
Granma Internacional claims that Petr Kolar was selected and recruited
by the CIA in the late 1980s. The Czech Foreign Ministry has responded
by saying that the claims are 'nonsense' and deserve no further
reaction. The Czech Republic has long been a strong critic of Fidel
Castro's regime. The Czech ambassador in the US, Petr Kolar, recently
told an American newspaper that Cubans should 'take the situation into
their own hands' and strive for regime change.
========================================================================
Prague-based Radio Free Europe says it is under internet attack
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Prague-based broadcaster Radio Free Europe has said that several of
its websites had been attacked on Monday, suggesting that the
Belarussian government could be to blame. The network said in a
statement that the assault had begun on Saturday and had not yet been
countered. Radio Free Europe's Belarussian service has been the worst
affected by the bug, though web sites serving Iran, Russia and
Azerbaijan have also been hit. The station moved its headquarters to
Prague from Munich, Germany, in 1995. It broadcasts in 28 languages to
21 countries including, most recently, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
========================================================================
PM, Prague mayor and transport minister sign memorandum to redirect
Prague traffic
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Politicians signed a memorandum on Tuesday which pledged to redirect
Prague's 'Magistrala' - a main traffic artery which leads through the
heart of the capital. Transport Minister Ales Rebicek, Prague Mayor
Pavel Bem and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek all put their signatures
to the document. The plan is to shift the motorway, which currently
cuts across the top of Prague's Wenceslas Square, underground, and to
scale down its capacity. Prague City Hall has said that the memorandum
is by no means binding, but that it would like to see the project
realized by 2014.
========================================================================
Foreign Ministry: Rice not to visit Prague because Czechs 'too busy'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Czech Foreign Ministry has said that US Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice will not be visiting Prague next week at least in part
because Czech officials would not have enough time to speak to her
about important matters. It was announced on Monday that Mrs Rice, who
was due to arrive in Prague on May 5 to sign an agreement paving the
way for a US radar on Czech soil, would not have the time to visit. But
on Tuesday, the Czech Foreign Ministry said that on that date it would
be playing host to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and so
it would not have time for talks with Mrs Rice. The treaties which Mrs
Rice was expected to sign next week have been shelved until June, Czech
Prime Minsiter Mirek Topolanek said Monday.
========================================================================
Palackeho namesti to remain Prague's Hyde Park
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prague's equivalent of London's Hyde Park, where demonstrations can be
held without a permit, will remain Palackeho namesti, Rudolf Blazek
from Prague City Hall said Tuesday. The city hall was considering
moving the capital's speaker's corner to Letna in Prague 6 or Vypich in
Prague 7. But councilors in both of these districts were unhappy with
the proposals and so no such move will be made, Mr Blazek said. The
council has, however, extended the number of days on which a permit
will be needed to protest on the square. Those wishing to stage a
demonstration on May 1, September 28, October 28 or November 17 must
now seek approval to do so in advance.
========================================================================
Police to deploy 1000 officers to monitor May Day demonstrations in
Prague
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In related news, police have said that they will be deploying more than
1000 officers to monitor the 35 events scheduled to mark May Day in
Prague this year. A police spokesperson said that the majority of
officers would be sent to monitor a meeting of far-right extremists on
Strelecky Ostrov, and a demonstration on Wenceslas Square, being held
by supporters of the Czech Communist Party. According to the Czech
police, the number of events being staged this year is particularly
high because the Prague Jewish Community alone will be organizing some
20 or so rallies in the vicinity of the town's historic Jewish Quarter.
Jewish groups are staging so many events so as to prevent other groups,
especially neo-Nazis, from holding rallies in the city's Jewish
district.
========================================================================
Exhibition of Czech crown jewels at Prague Castle ends
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Czech crown jewels are being packed away on Tuesday, having been on
public display for the last ten days. Over the last week and a half,
over 30,000 people have visited Prague Castle to view the crown jewels,
which only go on display on special occasions. This year, the jewels
were shown to mark the 90th anniversary of an independent
Czechoslovakia and President Vaclav Klaus's re-election. Seven
representatives of church and state gathered ten days ago to unlock the
safe in which the jewels were held, they will meet again on Tuesday
evening to return the crown jewels to their protective chamber within
Prague's Saint Vitus' Cathedral.
========================================================================
Press: national airline and Prague airport could be sold to single
investor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The national airline CSA and Prague airport Letiste Praha could be
privatized at the same time, the daily E15 wrote on Tuesday, citing
Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Fuksa. Mr Fuksa told the paper that the
government was willing to adopt a more flexible approach to the
privatization of the two state assets, and would consider selling both
companies at the same time. Czech private equity group Penta
Investments as well as Indian industrial conglomerate Essar, in a joint
venture with Germany's Hochtief, are among the potential bidders in
both companies, the daily said. Analysts say the airline's value is
between 4 billion and 6 billion crowns, while the state's 92-percent
stake in the airport is expected to generate between 80 billion and 100
billion crowns.
========================================================================
Football: Hasek rejects post of Czech national coach
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former Czech international Ivan Hasek has rejected the job of Czech
national football team coach in no uncertain terms. Mr Hasek was asked
to take over when Karel Bruckner stands down after Euro 2008. But on
Monday he released a statement, which said that he had 'absolutely no
interest whatsoever' in the job. Hasek's snub follows a similar
rejection last week from Slavia Prague coach Karel Jarolim. With Hasek
and Jarolim both out of the picture, attention now turns to FK Teplice
coach Petr Rada and Vitezslav Lavicka, manager of the Czech Republic's
Under 21 side.
========================================================================
Weather
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It will be grey and rainy over the next couple of days with
temperatures ranging between 16 and 20 degrees.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Talking Point
No dumplings please, we're Czech - local cuisine throws off shackles of
drab past
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Czech capital Prague has just become the first city in the former
eastern bloc to receive a coveted Michelin star. The world-renowned
guide to fine dining singled out the city's Allegro restaurant -
located inside the Four Seasons Hotel - for dishes such as "yellow-fin
tuna caramelised with ginger on panzanella tartar with sesame seeds,
red onion and orange and sour tomato sorbet". It's a far cry from
goulash and dumplings. But as Rob Cameron finds out in Talking Point,
the standard of Czech cuisine is very much on the up.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/103562
Current Affairs
Economic downturn could make Czech Republic more attractive to American
visitors, says head of CzechTourism in US
------------------------------------------------------------------------
With thousands of Americans visiting the Czech Republic every year, the
United States is one of the most important markets for CzechTourism.
How does the state tourist board go about attracting US tourists? And
after the boom of the 1990s, can it persuade Americans to keep coming
back? At her New York office, I discussed those questions and more with
Michaela Palkova-Claudino, director of CzechTourism in the US.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/103546
Current Affairs
Government and City Hall officials planning to transform the city centre
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and Prague Mayor Pavel Bem on Tuesday
signed a memorandum on a proposed makeover of the Prague city centre.
The plans include revamping the Czech capital's somewhat jaded main
thoroughfare Wenceslas Square and redirecting the busy four-lane road
(the so-called magistrala), at its top end. The ambitious project could
be launched in three years' time.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/103545
Current Affairs
Greenpeace occupies radar base site as Condoleezza Rice trip postponed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plans to build a radar base 70km southwest of Prague as part of the
U.S. missile defence shield encountered a minor setback on Monday, as
it emerged that U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice will not visit
Prague on May 5th to sign a bilateral agreement on the base. The news
came as activists from the environmental group Greenpeace occupied the
patch of land where the base is to be built.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/103544
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-mail is sent to you automatically according to the settings you
chose at http://www.radio.cz/en/subscribe. To change the settings, click
here. (C) 2008, Radio Prague - the international service of Czech Radio,
all rights reserved. http://www.radio.cz, E-mail: cr@radio.cz
