Copyright (c) 2009 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
By: Jan Richter
* The Czech foreign minister has promised to send observers to Iraq for
the country's general elections in January, 2010.
* Swine flu has claimed its seventh victim in the Czech Republic.
* Two new sections of the D1 motorway have been completed, connecting
Prague with the north-eastern city of Ostrava.
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Czech foreign minister: Czechs will send observers to Iraq
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Speaking in Baghdad at the end of his two-day visit to Iraq, the Czech
foreign minister, Jan Kohout, promised Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
that the Czech Republic would send observers to Iraq to monitor the
course of general elections scheduled for January 2010. Commenting on
business relations, Mr Kohout said that agreements on investment
protection and double taxation avoidance between the two countries
needed to be signed to promote the interest of Czech companies on the
Iraqi market. In Baghdad, Mr Kohout also launched an exhibition titled
"1989 through the eyes of photographers".
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Czech authorities register seven swine flu deaths
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Seven people have died of the swine flu in the Czech Republic to date.
The country's chief hygiene officer, Michael Vit confirmed the number
on Wednesday after tests showed that a 42-year old man who died in a
hospital in Plzen, western Bohemia was infected with the H1N1 virus.
Mr Vit said that three out the country's 14 regions have reached
epidemic levels, with more than 2000 patients per 100,000 inhabitants.
Vaccination against the swine flu began earlier this week. Health
authorities are now distributing some 95,000 vaccines, while another
90,000 vaccines should be delivered in early December.
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Central Bohemia H1N1vaccination over irregularities in vaccine
identification
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In related news, health workers of the Central Bohemian region
temporarily ceased on Wednesday vaccinating people against the H1N1
virus over irregularities in vaccine identification. The authorities
said that the numbers on the vaccines differed from those on their
delivery certificates. The distributing company dismissed the claims,
saying that all the vaccines delivered had been properly labelled.
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Motorway connects Prague and Ostrava
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Two new sections of the D1 motorway opened on Wednesday, connecting the
city of Ostrava, in north Moravia, with the Czech capital. The
construction of the new 12- and 18 -km-long stretches cost 7.6 billion
crowns, or more than 440 million US dollars, the Czech road authority
said. The completion of the two motorway sections is expected to
improve the overall traffic situation in the region. The final section
of the motorway, leading up to the Polish border, should be completed
by 2012.
Just hours before the new sections opened, an Indian national crashed
his car after driving onto the new road. He drove through a large tent
put up for Wednesday's official opening, and ended up in the ditch. No
one was hurt in the accident, the news agency CTK reported.
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Three new ministers to be appointed on Monday
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Three new cabinet ministers will be appointed at the start of next
week, Prime Minister Jan Fischer told reporters on Wednesday. The names
of the new ministers of environment and European affairs, together with
the new head of the cabinet's legislative council, will be announced
later this week, the prime minister added. The current minister for
European affairs, Stefan Fule, has been nominated the Czech candidate
for Eurocommissioner, while the environment minister Ladislav Miko is
set to return to his position in the European Commission. The post of
the legislative council chair has been temporarily taken over by the
justice minister.
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European Commission officials continue inspections at Czech energy firms
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Anti-trust officials from the European Commission continued on
Wednesday with inspections at the Czech energy giant CEZ and the EPH
firm over allegations of anti-competitive behaviour. A CEZ spokeswoman
said the inspections are expected to last several days. The European
Commission officials are looking into whether CEZ had worked to block
competitors in order to boost its own position as the country's
dominant wholesale power supplier, either acting alone or in
conjunction with other firms.
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Lawsuit against singer legend Marta Kubisova dismissed
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A court in Prague dismissed on Wednesday a lawsuit against the singer
Marta Kubisova, filed by her colleague Helena Vondrackova over an
allegedly breached contract. The two singers, who were part of the
popular Golden Kids trio in the late 1960s, were planning an
anniversary tour. Ms Kubisova later backed out of the plans, and her
colleague demanded 1.3 million crowns from her in damages. The court
said there was no proof that a contract had been concluded between the
two parties.
Helena Vondrackova successfully pursued her career in the 1970s and 80s
after the Golden Kids split in 1970. However, Marta Kubisova was banned
by communist authorities over her disapproval of the 1968 Soviet-led
occupation of Czechoslovakia, and only returned to performing after the
fall of communism.
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Organizers of Geert Wilders' lecture still searching for venue
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The organizers of a Prague lecture to be delivered by the Dutch
anti-Islamist politician Geert Wilders are having trouble finding a
venue for the event. Mr Wilders' planned appearance at the Czech Senate
was banned, and efforts to set up the lecture at Prague's Aventin
Palace have also come to nothing after the palace management distanced
itself from the event. Mr Wilders has been invited to present his views
and screen his controversial movie, Fitna, by a Czech anti-Islamist
website and Civic Democrat senator, Jiri Oberfalzer. On Monday, a Czech
Muslim organization also invited Mr Wilders to a debate on the subject.
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PhD programme at Plzen University's law school temporarily halted
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The law school of the West Bohemian University in Plzen was ordered on
Wednesday to temporarily stop accepting graduate students for PhD
programmes. The school, which was recently entangled in a fast-track
degree scandal, is however allowed to continue its undergraduate
programmes. The Czech Education Ministry's Accreditation Committee said
the ban would be lifted as soon as the situation "consolidates". Both
the university's officials and students' representatives have welcomed
the decision.
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Weather
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Several temperature records were broken on Wednesday, and the current
fine conditions are expected to last for a few more days. Highest
daytime temperatures should range between 7 and 11 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Current Affairs
New gluten-free beer arrives on Czech market
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A Czech micro-brewery in Ostrava is now producing gluten-free beer, a
product that is bound to delight Czech sufferers of Celiac disease- a
condition of intolerance to gluten, a protein found in most grains, and
also in regular beer.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122558
Current Affairs
Special ombudsman may be introduced to help "clean up" Czech football
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The head of the Czech-Moravian Football Association has said he is
considering a new idea to help combat corruption and injustice in Czech
football - the office of a new football ombudsman. The FA head, who was
elected in the summer with a strong mandate to "clean up" the sport,
has received a slew of complaints on his desk, addressing a number of
issues including charges of allegedly corrupt refereeing, questions
which a football ombudsman might be better suited to address.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122557
Current Affairs
European Commission competition office swoop turns up heat on CEZ
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European and Czech competition watchdogs have carried out raids on
Czech energy companies. The unprecedented action has been sparked by
suspicions that local electricity giant CEZ has been using sharp
practices to corner the local market and increase prices.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122556
Czechs in History
Karel Kramar: first Czechoslovak PM but flawed popular politician
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Karel Kramar earned his place in history as the first prime minister of
Czechoslovakia. But his political career spanned more than four
turbulent decades. We look at a life than included a death sentence,
assassination attempt and birth of a new state.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122545
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