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Copyright (c) 2008 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
By: Chris Johnstone
* The Czech Prime Minister has called for the EU to force Canada to
change its stance on visas.
* The main Prague Stock Exchange index has pushed through the 1,000
point barrier.
* The number of Czech abortions has risen, bucking a long-term decline.
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Czech PM stresses need for EU action over Canadian visas
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Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer on Tuesday welcomed expressions of EU
solidarity over Canada's re-imposition of visas on Czechs. But Mr
Fischer underlined that what Prague is really seeking is EU action that
would force Canada to return to a visa-free regime. The prime minister
was speaking after a meeting with President Vaclav Klaus. EU foreign
ministers on Monday voiced their solidarity with the Czech Republic
over the re-imposition of visas on July 14 but did not discuss
retaliatory steps. The European Commission should first of all come up
with its stand by September. Canadian authorities said on Tuesday they
had given out 1,360 visas so far with less than 1.0 percent of
applications refused.
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Prague Stock Exchange passes 1,000 point mark
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The Prague Stock Exchange's main index passed the 1,000 mark on Tuesday
for the first time since October last year. The PX index was last above
1,000 on October 14, before a wave of panic selling sparked by worries
about the state of the US and worldwide financial sector. In February
the index fell to a low of 628.5 points. Over recent days shares on the
Prague exchange have been caught up in a surge by stocks worldwide.
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Number of Czech abortions edges up in 2008
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The number of women undergoing abortions in the Czech Republic rose
last year. The Institute of Health Information and Statistics said
2008's total climbed to 41,446 cases compared with 40,917 a year
earlier. This translates into 16.35 abortions per 1,000 women of child
bearing age. The institute said the slight rise in abortions was partly
explained by the trend of women postponing childbirth till later in
life when the risks are higher. Even so, the number of abortions has
fallen to a quarter of the level it was in the early 1990's. That is
largely thanks to the greater availability of the birth control pill.
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Police re-launch investigation into mining company sale
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Czech police have said they will reopen an investigation into the sale
of the country's second biggest coal mining company, Mostecka Uhelna.
The case was running for almost a decade until it was shelved a year
ago. The reopening follows the discovery of new evidence by the Swiss
general prosecutor who launched an investigation in the Spring,
according to Czech Television. The investigation centres on suspicions
the 1998 acquisition of the company - now re-named Czech Coal - could
have been funded by billions of crowns which should have been set aside
for re-cultivation of former mining sites but found its way into
foreign bank accounts.
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Finance Ministry to revise public deficit figure
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The Ministry of Finance says it will be forced to revise its budget
deficit figures for this year because of the worse than expected
economic situation. The ministry promises a new version of the 2009
budget by mid-August which could see the deficit ballooning to 200
billion crowns or beyond. The ministry only in June said that the
deficit should not exceed 170 billion crowns. Since then however it has
deepened its prediction of how much the economy will shrink this year
to 4.3 percent.
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Czech police face cash shortage for operations
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Czech police are also facing budget problems. In this case, money for
covering operational expenses is short to the tune of around 900
million crowns. This threatens the force with being unable to fuel
patrol cars, pay energy bills or buy paper. On the other hand, a
shortage of around 3,500 staff nationwide means that the force is
saving even more on the wages bill. Minister of Interior Martin Pecina
said on Tuesday that the government should rush through changes that
will allow unspent cash from one section of the budget to be used in
another. The entire system should be overhauled next year so that
budgets corresponded with costs, he said.
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Christian Democrats oppose planned pre-election TV debate
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The Christian Democrats have objected to plans for a two-way debate
between leaders of the two main parties ahead of October's elections.
The party has protested Czech Television's plans for a debate between
leaders of the Civic Democrats and Social Democrats on the last Sunday
ahead of the vote. They say such a format risks distorting the vote.
They want the two-way debate widened to include more parties. Christian
Democrat leader Cyril Svoboda said that the recently re-elected head of
the public broadcaster had a chance to show his mettle against pressure
from the two main parties.
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Return of the last Tomi Tour tourists
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The last Czech tourists with crashed tour operator Tomi Tour have
returned home. A Czech airlines plane brought the last 115 tourists
back from Egypt on Tuesday morning. Around 3,200 Czechs who had booked
with the tour operator were abroad when its collapse was announced on
July 17. Most of the tourists were stranded in Turkey, Egypt and Spain.
Holiday bookings were being taken minutes before the collapse was
announced.
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Sparta Prague offered chance of revenge in Panathinaikos tie
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Sparta Prague take the field against Greek team Panathinaikos on
Tuesday night for a chance of playing in the European Champions League.
The first leg of the third pre-qualifying round offers the Czech side a
chance of revenge. The Athenian team blocked Sparta's chances of a
place in the top European competition last year with wins at home and
away. Sparta Prague has not featured in the Champions League for the
last three seasons.
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Weather
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The weather will remain unsettled over the next days with sunny periods
interrupted by showers and storms. Daytime temperatures will range
between 20 and 29 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Current Affairs
Archaeologists excavate site of Roman hospital in south Moravia
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Archaeologists in south Moravia have begun excavating the site of a
Roman hospital which is described as the largest preserved site of its
kind north of the Danube. Indeed, it was part of a fortified complex
that was the northernmost outpost of the Roman Empire in the region in
the second century.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118725
Current Affairs
Czechs see flat prices taking downward dive
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After years of seeing their bricks and mortar assets rising in value,
Czechs are now coming to terms with falling prices for flats and
houses. But while gloom and doom mongers predict that a lot worse is
still to come, some analysts can see signs of a recovery.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118724
Current Affairs
Communists in row over whether to apologise for past regime
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A row has broken out in the Communist Party over whether or not to
apologise for crimes committed by Czechoslovakia's former Communist
regime. Twenty years after the Velvet Revolution, the party still
largely remains a pariah on the political scene - at least on the
national level. An apology would theoretically be one step towards
political acceptance.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118723
Current Affairs
Government launches second phase of project to repatriate foreign
workers
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The Czech Interior Ministry on Monday unveiled plans to repatriate
another wave of foreigners from non-EU countries who have lost their
jobs. The government's voluntary return scheme, offering laid-off
workers cash and a plane ticket home if they agree to leave the
country, has been extended to cover another 4,000 people. For the first
time, the government is also planning to help those living illegally in
the Czech Republic to return home.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118722
Talking Point
Why did so many Czech Roma apply for asylum in Canada?
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Two weeks ago Ottawa imposed visa restrictions on Czechs after more
than 1,700 Czech Roma, or gypsies, sought refugee status in Canada in
the first six months of this year. That was a huge increase on the 650
or so in the whole of 2008, which was already a high figure. So, what
led so many Czech Romanies to apply for asylum in Canada?
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118707
One on One
Student leader turned energy security trouble shooter
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Vaclav Bartuska was one of the leaders of the student protests which
toppled the Czechoslovak Communist regime in November 1989. Recently he
has been the Czech energy security trouble shooter and has been
recruited as an advisor by Sweden's current EU presidency. I asked Mr
Bartuska how he became one of the leaders of the student protests.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118705
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