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Copyright (c) 2008 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Sunday, August 31st, 2008
By: Ian Willoughby
* The Constitutional Court will begin assessing whether the EU's Lisbon
Treaty is compatible with the Czech constitution in September.
* Former Czech president Vaclav Havel says the EU should clearly name
Russia as the aggressor in the South Ossetia crisis.
* The Czech Republic's smallest coin, the 50-heller piece, ceases to be
legal tender at midnight on Sunday.
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No date set for ruling on constitutionality of Lisbon Treaty, says
court head
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The Czech Constitutional Court will begin assessing whether the
European Union's Lisbon Treaty is compatible with the Czech
constitution in September, its chairman Pavel Rychetsky said on Sunday.
However, Mr Rychetsky said he could not say when the court would issue
a decision. The Czech Senate, which is dominated by the somewhat
euro-sceptic Civic Democrats, sent the Lisbon Treaty to the
Constitutional Court for consideration earlier this year. The Czech
Parliament is expected to vote on ratifying the reform treaty after the
court issues a ruling, although the future of the document has been
thrown into doubt following its rejection by Irish voters - all 27 EU
members must ratify Lisbon before it can come into effect.
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EU should clearly label Russia aggressor, says Havel
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When the European Union discusses the South Ossetia crisis at a special
summit on Monday it should clearly name Russia as the aggressor in the
conflict, says former Czech president Vaclav Havel. Speaking on a TV
debate programme on Sunday, Mr Havel said the Russian bear was
trampling on the Georgian dwarf. He said the Czech cabinet had
initially adopted a correct position, but then seemed to retreat after
talks with the current Czech president Vaclav Klaus; ministers, Mr
Havel said, were now saying it was not necessary to establish the
culprit but to look to the future. He said Georgia may have made
mistakes but it was always necessary to say who the victim was and who
the aggressor.
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Fifty-heller coin no longer tender from midnight Sunday
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The Czech Republic's smallest coin, the 50-heller piece, ceases to be
legal tender at midnight on Sunday. The aluminium coin, which weighs
less than one gram, is worth half a crown. Analysts say they do not
expect an increase in prices in the wake of the coin's demise. There
are believed to be over 400 million 50-heller pieces in circulation.
The coin and the 20-crown note, which also ceases to be tender on
September 1, can be changed at high street banks for a period of one
year. After that it will be only possible to change them at the Czech
National Bank, until August 2014.
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Czech Post planning to close 179 branches
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The Czech postal service is planning to close 179 branches in small
municipalities, Czech Post's general director Karel Kratina said on
Sunday. A list of the villages and towns affected will be announced by
the end of next week. Czech Post currently has 3,387 branches, almost
half of which only have one counter. The branch closures, which are
opposed by the mayors of many of the municipalities affected, will lead
to savings of over CZK 30 million a year. Mr Kratina said despite rises
in fuel prices the cost of stamps would not increase.
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New school year gets underway on Monday
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Hundreds of thousands of children around the Czech Republic are
preparing for the start of the new school year on Monday. Both
elementary and secondary schools will have fewer pupils than last year;
the latter will open their doors to over 820,000 children, while just
over half a million are enrolled in the country's secondary schools.
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Greens to perform hip-hop song on stump
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Green Party candidates to the regional assembly in Moravia-Silesia are
planning to address voters in an unusual manner - by rapping. Nine
Green candidates are planning to perform a hip-hop song entitled We All
Want Healthy Children at public meetings ahead of elections this
autumn, the website novinky.cz reported. The song's writer, regional
deputy party leader Ladislav Vrchovsky, says the Greens want to address
people with a modern outlook and the young.
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Romany affairs council to discuss asylum applications in Canada
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The government council on Romany affairs is planning to discuss in two
weeks' time the controversial issue of the high number of Czech
Romanies seeking asylum in Canada, the minister for human rights and
minorities, Dzamila Stehlikova, told reporters on Saturday. The prime
minister, Mirek Topolanek, said last week economic factors not human
rights were behind an increase in Czech asylum applications in Canada.
Romany leader Ladislav Bily criticised the prime minister's comments,
as well as statements made by Minister Stehlikova and Interior Minister
Ivan Langer. Nearly 500 Czech Romanies have applied for asylum in
Canada since it dropped visa requirements for Czechs in November;
Ottawa had introduced the restriction in response to a large influx of
Czech Romanies in the late 1990s.
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Paraguyan student wins main prize at Fresh Film Fest
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The 12-minute short I Hear Your Scream by the Paraguayan director Pablo
Lamar has won the main competition at the Fresh Film Fest festival of
student films in the west Bohemian town of Karlovy Vary. Nearly 3,000
people attended the 200 pictures screened during the five-day festival,
which came to an end on Saturday night.
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September should be relatively warm, say forecasters
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September should be relatively warm with temperatures of up to 28
degrees Celsius, the Czech Hydrometerological Institute said on Sunday.
However, the start of the month should also be cloudy with rain,
showers and even storms at times.
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Weather
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It should be mainly sunny with the chance of storms over the next few
days. We can expect temperatures of up to 26 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Letter from Prague
Kde domov muj?
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I always found it quite funny that the main verse of the Czech national
anthem, Kde domov muj is not a statement - where my home is, but rather
a question, where is my home? It seemed a perfect question for a son of
Czech parents who immigrated to Britain before I was born. When I was
small, I knew that my parents had come from another country to the one
where we lived and where all my friends were from, but often found it
difficult to understand. "We can't be there, because some bad things
have happened" was the simplistic answer given to an inquisitive child.
Yet, at home we would speak Czech and eat mostly Czech food. In fact, I
even learned to speak Czech before I learned English. Often, teachers
at kindergarten, I've been told, would call home to ask what on Earth I
was saying to them.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/107725
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