Copyright (c) 2008 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
By: Daniela Lazarova
* The Czech military base in the Afghan province Logar came under
rocket fire on Monday night, the fourth attack on the base in two weeks.
* The Czech Army has dismissed complaints from soldiers in Afghanistan
regarding the alleged poor quality of their Dingo 2 armored vehicles.
* The Czech Finance Ministry has announced a plan to raise guarantees
for bank deposits to 50,000 euros, in line with a decision by EU
finance ministers on Tuesday.
========================================================================
Czech military base in Logar comes under attack
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Czech military base in the Afghan province Logar came under rocket
fire on Monday night. No injuries are reported. Six rockets were fired
at the base, home to the Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team, but only
one of them hit its target. Czech troops fired back and detained four
insurgents whom they later handed over to the Afghan authorities. This
is the fourth attack on the base in the past two weeks. Ten Czech
soldiers were injured in two of the previous attacks. The Czech
government wants to send 200 more troops to the base to improve
security. However, it is not clear if the plan will win approval since
the opposition parties are unwilling to support it, saying that the
country needs to review its goals in Afghanistan and even consider
withdrawing its troops from the country.
An opinion poll conducted by the STEM agency suggests that the majority
of Czechs are against sending more troops to Afghanistan. Two thirds of
respondents said they did not agree with the government's plan.
========================================================================
Czech Army denies Dingo vehicles are faulty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Czech Army has dismissed reported complaints by Czech soldiers in
Afghanistan who say their Dingo 2 armored vehicles are not fit for
purpose. The newspaper Lidove noviny quoted soldiers as saying the
Dingo had a weak engine and was very sensitive to the type of fuel
used. However, the chief of staff of the Czech Army, Vlastimil Picek,
said that the problems could be caused by bad quality diesel fuel and
that the army was now waiting for the results of an analysis. The
Ministry of Defense in September signed a contract to buy another 15
Dingos for more than 30 million crowns (1, 600 000 US dollars) each.
========================================================================
Czech Finance Ministry plans deposit guarantee hike
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Czech Finance Ministry has announced a plan to raise guarantees for
bank deposits to 50,000 euros, in line with a decision by EU finance
ministers. European Union finance ministers agreed at a meeting on
Tuesday to raise minimum bank deposit guarantees in Europe to 50,000
euros from 20,000 euros currently. Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek
said the Czech measure was permanent, unlike the EU deal which is valid
for a year. The Czech government will also guarantee the full amount of
deposits, against the current limit of 90 percent.
========================================================================
Czech hospitals severely understaffed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The head of the Czech Doctors' Association Milan Kubek has warned that
the level of health care in Czech hospitals could soon drop due to a
severe lack of doctors and nurses. He says the problem lies in low
expenditures on health care and that both doctors and nurses are
leaving the country for better paid jobs abroad. In late June, Czech
hospitals registered 628 vacancies for doctors. Mr. Kubek said the lack
of staff led to employees being severely overworked. He also pointed to
the aging of doctors, two thirds of whom are over 50, one fifth over 60
and a mere 7 percent under 40 years of age.
========================================================================
Social Democrat candidates to sign pledge of loyalty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Central Bohemian branch of the Social Democratic Party is demanding
a pledge of loyalty from all candidates running in local elections, due
to be held in ten days' time. If elected Social Democrat
representatives should vote against a party resolution or are not
present at key votes without a valid reason, they may be fined up to
four million crowns. The proposal was put forward by the Central
Bohemian election leader David Rath and approved by 85 percent of votes
at a regional party conference. Although critics say that the pledge is
unethical none of the party's candidates have publicly opposed the move.
========================================================================
Head of National Anti-Drug Centre to leave his post in February
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The head of the National Anti-Drug Centre Jiri Komorous has confirmed
that he plans to leave his post on February 1st of 2009. Mr. Komorous
is leaving at his own request. He has headed the centre since 1995 and
told journalists on Tuesday that after 17 years in office it was time
for a change of guard. He said he intended to continue working in the
field of drug law-enforcement but would not disclose his plans for the
future.
========================================================================
Vaclav Havel says people need to rethink their priorities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The current cult of economic growth at all costs may harm civilization,
the former Czech president Vaclav Havel said in an interview for Z1 TV,
a Czech digital television channel, on Monday. Reflecting on the global
financial crisis, Mr. Havel said the cult of consumerism, growth and
permanent change could lead civilization into an abyss. The
dissident-playwright-turned-president suggested that a certain degree
of market regulation here and there could help prevent serious economic
crises but it would not change people's growing obsession with money.
He said an existential revolution of some kind was needed to make
people recover their wits and re-think their priorities.
========================================================================
Photos documenting 1968 invasion on display in Vienna
------------------------------------------------------------------------
An exhibition of rare photos showing the crushing of the Prague Spring
reform movement in 1968 is on display at a gallery in Vienna. The
photographs were taken by Austrian photographer Franc Goess who worked
for Paris-Match magazine and happened to be in Prague at the time of
the Soviet led invasion. He made 100 shots of the groundbreaking event
but they were never published, languishing for decades in an archive.
Following an April premiere in Prague - to mark the 40th anniversary of
the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia - the collection is now on
show at the Westlicht Gallery in Vienna. It will remain on display
until mid-October.
========================================================================
Weather
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The coming days are expected to bring a warm spell with sunny skies and
day temperatures between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Affairs
Appreciation of design "absolutely different" than a decade ago, says
director of Prague's biggest design festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The annual Designblok festival has just got underway at a number of
venues in Prague, and this year it's bigger than ever. Now celebrating
its tenth anniversary, Designblok gives people in the capital a unique
opportunity to see up close the cream of furniture, interiors and
fashion from the both Czech Republic and elsewhere in the region.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/109044
Current Affairs
Police raid headquarters of alleged money-laundering operation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Police in Prague say they've uncovered a huge money-laundering
operation located in the city centre. According to the police
anti-corruption unit, a firm based on Prague's Narodni street had
laundered hundreds of millions of dollars, apparently via a bureau de
change and a complex of holiday apartments.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/109043
Special
Promotion of Czech culture overseas rewarded at Gratias Agit ceremony
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A brass band opens the Gratias Agit award ceremony in Prague's
Cerninsky palac on Friday. The ceremony itself, and the party that
follows, are in the words of Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg the
single biggest event staged by the Czech Foreign Ministry each year. On
Friday, the awards were given to a handful of exceptional individuals
from around the world, a few of whom we'll be talking to later. But
first, here's organiser Zuzana Opletalova explaining what the awards
are about:
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/109024
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
