Copyright (c) 2009 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Monday, November 9th, 2009
By: Chris Johnstone
* The Czech government will meet for a special session on Tuesday to
try and find a new EU Commissioner.
* Talks between Prague public transport bosses and unions broke down on
Monday, increasing the chances of a bus, tram and metro standstill.
* Two army officers who wore Nazi emblems on their uniforms have been
suspended from service.
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Government fails to settle on name of new EU Commissioner
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The Czech government failed on Monday to agree on the Czech candidate
to be its next European Commissioner. The government will now meet for
an extraordinary session on Tuesday morning to try and make some
progress. Selection of a candidate to fill the plum post has been
complicated by the main parties refusing to budge from their demands
that their man gets the job. Prime Minister Jan Fisher made the
surprise suggestion over the weekend that central bank governor Zdenek
Tuma could get the post. That suggestion got the brush off from the
main parties. Civic Democrat leader Mirek Topolanek said on Monday that
parties should advance new candidates at the latest by Wednesday if
there is no breakthrough beforehand. He added that the country's
European reputation is at stake.
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Prague public transport strike looms after negotiations fail
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Talks between unions representing Prague public transport workers and
the city's public transport authority broke down on Monday increasing
the risk of a public transport strike. The unions and a crisis
committee created to deal with the transport authority's problems
failed to agree on a series of demands put forward by unions. Talks are
due to resume on Wednesday with unions warning they will start strike
preparations if there is no breakthrough. The unions are angered by
threatened lay offs and a mooted 7.0 percent pay cut being planned by
managers. They want the city to give a new cash injection to the
operator of Prague's bus, tram and metro network. Prague mayor Pavel
Bem has offered an extra 900 million crowns but unions say this is
insufficient.
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Army officers suspended following uproar over Nazi emblems
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Two officers in an elite army unit serving in Afghanistan who wore Nazi
emblems on their helmets have been suspended with immediate effect.
Czech Defence Minister Martin Bartak announced the punishment on
Monday. He said the behaviour was unacceptable and tarnished the
reputation of Czech units serving abroad.
The newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes reported the officer's conduct the same
day. It said the two officers wore the emblems of two SS units for
almost the whole of their tour in Logar. One of the officers has
expressed regret over the matter, saying he put a Nazi symbol on his
helmet for a joke because it contained the letter H and his name was
Honza.
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White Justice soldier dismissed from army
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Defence Minister Bartak also announced the dismissal of a soldier who
helped found and train a neo-Nazi organisation. Lukas Sedlacek's
involvement in the White Justice movement was revealed last week. The
movement was alleged to have been involved in preparing attacks on
power stations and the kidnapping of highly placed police officers and
Jewish personalities, including Prime Minister Jan Fischer.
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Czech unemployment falls in October
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Czech unemployment fell for the first time in a year in October. The
jobless rate dropped by 0.1 percentage point to 8.5 percent compared
with September according to figures released by the Ministry of Labour
and Social Affairs. The total number of Czechs out of work ready to
take up a job fell by just over 2,000 over the month, dropping below
the half million mark. Some analysts warn that the decrease is mainly
due to seasonal factors with the unemployment trend still upward and
likely to reach 9.3 percent by the end of the year.
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Consumer prices fall in October
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Consumer prices fell in October by 0.2 of a percentage point compared
with October 2008 in what is the first year on year fall in prices
since August 2003, the Czech Statistical Office announced on Monday.
The drop was largely thanks to lower housing costs and cheaper natural
gas. Prices also fell by 0.2 of a percentage point compared with
September. The latest figures take average inflation over the last 12
months to 1.6 percent compared with September's figure of 2.1 percent.
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Details of Communist intelligence network unveiled
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The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and Security Forces
Archive on Monday announced the publication of details of the Communist
regime's intelligence service on the internet. The step is the first of
its kind in a former Communist country according to the institute. It
said the list of names includes 985 staff out of the total 1,028
working at the end of November 1989. Staff worked in foreign embassies
and trade offices, in television and radio and at international
institutions. The intelligence service was wound up in February 1990.
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Czech PM joins Berlin wall commemoration
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Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer will join around 30 heads of state and
government in Berlin to commemorate the 20 anniversary of the Berlin
Wall on Monday evening. The Czech Prime Minister will take part in a
symbolic dismantling of a wall near the Brandenburg Gate. The end of
the Berlin Wall signalled the start of the end of communism in Central
and Eastern Europe and the end of the more than 40 year division
between East and West. The Czechoslovak Communist regime began to
crumble following the suppression of a students' protest 8 days after
the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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Archaeologists wrap up major excavation
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Archaeologists have finished what has been the biggest excavation ever
in the Czech Republic. The work on a 40 hectare site near the city of
Kolin in Central Bohemia uncovered three large Neolithic ditched
enclosures or roundels, one is believed to be the biggest of its type
in Europe. The function of such buildings is unclear with theories
advanced that they could have served a religious purpose, used for
protection during war or were facilities for trade or as a workshop.
Excavation of the site began in April 2008 with around 80 workers
involved. The site forms part of a bypass round the city.
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Weather
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The weather is set to be overcast for the next days with maximum
daytime temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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One on One
Communist deputy chair Josef Skala: reforming the regime was the
ambition of my generation
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Twenty years after the fall of Czechoslovakia's communist regime, the
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia has retained both its communist
label and much of its ideology. In this edition of One on One, our
guest is Josef Skala, who recently became one of the party's deputy
leaders. He shares his views on the totalitarian regime of the past and
the party's prospects in the future.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122046
Current Affairs
Czech emigre shares emotional memories of fall of Berlin Wall
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World leaders past and present on Monday gathered in Berlin for the
20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The celebrations,
which are expected to culminate with the toppling of a symbolic wall of
dominoes, have attracted more than 100,000 people. One of them is
Stepan Benda a Czech emigre who has lived in Berlin since 1968 when he
emigrated from communist Czechoslovakia. He was there when the wall
came down and earlier today he shared his memories of the historic
event.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122036
Current Affairs
Army hit by scandal after daily reveals two officers wore Nazi emblems
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Just three days ago Jan Cermak and Hynek Matonoha - members of the
Czech elite rapid response force serving in Logar, Afghanistan - were
honoured by the Czech defence minister and the country's chief-of-staff
for their performance during duty. Three days later, the two, along
with the army itself, are embroiled in a major scandal. The Czech daily
Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Monday that the two officers from the
elite unit had - unbelievably - worn Nazi emblems on their helmets
during their tour of duty. What's more, the daily says, there is
evidence their superior knew of the situation but chose only to try and
cover the matter up.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122035
Sports News
Sports News 11.9.2009
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In Sports News this Monday: the Czechs come last with only one point at
ice hockey's Karjala Cup, despite taking the lead in all three of their
games; javelin star Barbora Spotakova is named Czech Athlete of the
Year for the third time in a row; and Teplice are now three points in
front in the Czech football league after a win over their nearest
rivals Jablonec.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/122018
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