Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
By: Ian Willoughby
* The Czech Republic's chief hygiene officer, Michael Vit, says he has
probably caught the swine flu virus.
* The Czech president says he is "very surprised" that Mr Vit did not
have himself inoculated against the disease.
* A man in south Bohemia has become the first person to serve a
sentence of "house arrest" in the Czech Republic.
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Czech Republic's chief hygiene officer "has swine flu"
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The Czech Republic's chief hygiene officer, Michael Vit, says he has
probably caught the swine flu virus, the news website novinky.cz
reported on Tuesday. Mr Vit said he had several symptoms of flu and was
convinced it was swine flu. He had been vaccinated against regular flu,
but not the H1N1 virus, saying he had planned to get a jab against the
latter this week. On Monday the Czech government said that if there is
an epidemic of swine flu it will be up to the chief hygiene officer to
decide whether to introduce mandatory vaccinations for around 200,000
workers regarded as key to the functioning of the state.
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Klaus "surprised" by Vit not getting swine flu inoculation
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Meanwhile, the Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, who has described the
whole issue of swine flu as overblown, has hit out at Michael Vit. Mr
Klaus was quoted by novinky.cz as saying he wished Mr Vit a speedy
recovery, but was "very surprised" that he had not himself been
vaccinated against the disease considering that he had forced through
mandatory inoculation. The Czech president last week came out strongly
against a plan to vaccinate all Czech soldiers against the H1N1 virus;
the idea was later dropped. To date 95 people have died in the Czech
Republic after contracting swine flu.
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First Czech sentenced to "house arrest" serving sentence at home
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A man in Loucovice, south Bohemia has become the first person in the
Czech Republic to serve a sentence of "house arrest", a new form of
punishment introduced this year. The man, who is 46, will have to
remain at home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. for a whole year
and is forbidden from drinking alcohol. If he breaks the conditions of
his punishment, he will have to serve an eight-month term in jail. His
sentence followed a conviction for attacking his partner's lover. Due
to a failure to secure EU funds, electronic tags to monitor criminals
at their homes will not arrive in the Czech Republic until 2011. Until
then, probation officers have to visit those sentenced at home to make
sure they are there.
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Company wins tender to organise state exams while minister threatens to
quit if MPs reject their introduction
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Logica Czech Republic has won a 328-million-crown public tender to
organise state secondary school leaving exams, which are due to be held
for the first time in 2011. The company will provide logistical
services for the exams for the following five years. Plans to bring in
standardised school leaving exams have been put on ice several times in
the past. The minister of education in the caretaker Czech government,
Miroslava Kopicova, said on Tuesday that she would step down if
Parliament does not approve their introduction.
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Taxi drivers up in number while overcharging decreases, say Prague
officials
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The number of licensed taxi drivers in the Czech capital rose by 12
percent last year, with 5,900 registered by the end of 2009. Prague
City Hall says its figures also show an improvement in the quality of
taxi services in the city. Officials say checks revealed that drivers
overcharged for 11 percent of rides in 2007; in 2009 similar checks
uncovered overcharging in only 1 percent of cases. There was also a
significant fall in the amount taxi companies were fined.
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Average cocaine purity in Czech Republic down to 20 percent last year
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The quality of cocaine sold in the Czech Republic has fallen
considerably in the last couple of years, according to experts in the
field. Jakub Frydrych of the police's anti-drug centre told reporters
that the drug was diluted both in its countries of origin and by
dealers in the Czech Republic. Viktor Mravcik of the government's drug
monitoring agency said whereas cocaine seized two years ago was on
average 60 percent pure, last year it was only 20 percent pure. Mr
Mravcik said dealers often cut cocaine with Levamisole, a substance
used to de-worm animals, or Lidocaine, which is found in local
anaesthetics.
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Passenger numbers fell considerably in 2009, says Prague Airport
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Prague Airport handled almost one million fewer passengers in 2009 than
in the previous year, according to information posted on its website.
Some 11.64 million passengers passed through the airport last year, a
fall of 8 percent on 2008. The decrease has been blamed on the
financial crisis. The first quarter of 2009 in particular saw a marked
reduction in flights from Prague Airport, said a representative.
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Irglova and Hansard kick off European tour in Prague
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Musicians Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard kicked off a new European
tour at Prague's Lucerna Hall on Monday night. The Czech-Irish duo, who
won an Academy Award for the song Falling Slowly in 2008, were
promoting their new album Strict Joy; it was produced as part of a band
project called the Swell Season that also features members of Hansard's
group The Frames. They are set to play in Brno on Tuesday night, before
a series of dates around the continent. Marketa Irglova, who is 21, is
the only Czech woman ever to have won an Oscar.
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Cuckoo named Czech Bird of Year 2010
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The Czech Society for Ornithology has named the cuckoo the Czech Bird
of the Year 2010. There are an estimated 35,000 to 75,000 cuckoo pairs
in the Czech Republic, but their numbers have been falling for reasons
that are as yet unknown to ornithologists. The decision to honour the
cuckoo was motivated by a decrease in numbers of the species, as well
as the fact that 2010 is the European Year of Biodiversity.
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Ice hockey clubs fined over fighting
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The ice hockey clubs Sparta Prague and Zlin have been fined CZK 100,000
after mass fighting between their players during a game in the Czech
Extraliga. Two Zlin players also received suspensions, as did one
Sparta player. During Sunday's match, which Zlin won 4:1, seven players
from each side were sent off after a series of fights, with an
Extraliga record of 439 penalty minutes imposed.
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Weather
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Over the next few days, daytime temperatures are expected to reach a
maximum of around 1 degree Celsius. Forecasters say it will be cloudy
and dry.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Current Affairs
Prague Castle's Golden Lane to close for renovation
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One of the Czech capital's most famous attractions, the picturesque
Golden Lane up at Prague Castle, is set to be closed to the public for
at least a year. Castle officials say the landmark has to undergo
thorough renovation, as the little street is under threat from an
antiquated drainage system.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124657
Current Affairs
Polish concern over vandalism of bilingual signs in Cesky Tesin
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President Vaclav Klaus visited North Moravia on Monday, and during a
trip to the regional capital Ostrava he met representatives of the
Czech Republic's Polish minority, most of whom live in and around the
town of Cesky Tesin. Relations between Czechs and Poles are generally
good, although community leaders have expressed concern at widespread
vandalism of bi-lingual street signs.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124652
Current Affairs
Government approves additional troops for Afghan mission
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The government has approved reinforcements of 55 troops for the Czech
contingent serving in Afghanistan. Earlier this year, lawmakers
approved 535 troops to continue the Czech mission in the war-torn
country, but finding approval for additional troops is not likely to
prove easy. On Monday, the Social Democrats - long opposed to troop
increases on foreign missions - wasted no time in coming out against
the plan.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124651
Talking Point
What can the Czech team hope to achieve at the Winter Olympics in
Vancouver?
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In 2006 the Czech Republic took four medals at the Winter Olympic Games
in Turin. This year the Czech team is the biggest, and perhaps the
strongest, in history. So what can the Czechs hope to achieve at the
Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which get underway on February 12?
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124635
One on One
Rapper Vladimir 518 on graffiti, architecture and hip hop
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The music of Vladimir 518 has been a staple of the Czech hip hop scene
since it started in the early 90s. Now he has taken his music to a
unique performance called Spam that uses cutting-edge video arts to
honour architect Karel Prager. Prager was the mind behind some of the
most marvelled at and most despised structures in Prague, including the
National Theatre's New Scene building, where the show was held. At the
beginning of a wide-ranging interview I asked him why he had chosen the
controversial designer as the theme for this latest production.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124634
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