Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Friday, February 26th, 2010
By: Daniela Lazarova
* Transport unions have postponed a strike due for Monday in order to
give Parliament time to meet their demands.
* The Czech Doctors' Chamber has approved a new set of guidelines
relating to care for terminally ill patients.
* The Office of Naval Research World has opened an office in Prague.
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Transport strike originally planned for Monday postponed
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Transport unions have announced a decision to postpone a strike set for
Monday morning until Thursday, in order to give Parliament time to meet
their demands. The move came after the cabinet agreed at an emergency
meeting on Thursday night to abolish proposed tax changes which would
reduce employee benefits. At the direct intervention of Prime Minister
Jan Fischer, transport unions agreed on Friday to give Parliament a few
more days to scrap the respective amendment from the proposed tax
changes. Union leaders have threatened to go on an indefinite strike if
their grievances are not addressed. Parliament is to debate the issue
at a special session next Tuesday.
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New guidelines for treatment of terminally ill patients
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The Czech Doctors' Chamber has approved a new set of guidelines
relating to care for terminally ill patients. According to the daily
Lidove Noviny which broke the story on Friday, doctors will have the
option to decide when to stop giving terminally ill patients intensive
treatment, and concentrate merely on easing the patient's pain and
discomfort. This would concern predominantly patients in a coma and
patients with multiple organ failure. The Doctors' Chamber has stressed
that this is not to be interpreted as euthanasia. Nevertheless, it is
being described by doctors as a revolution in Czech medicine.
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ONR opens office in Prague
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The Office of Naval Research World on Friday opened an office in
Prague, its first in Central and Eastern Europe. The office will
operate at the US embassy in Prague to which the ONR will move some of
its London-based staff to look for worthy scientific research projects
in the region. ONR provides grants and other funding sources for
scientific research in exchange for access to it. The office operates
in the US and 70 other countries and works with researchers at
universities and in the private sector.
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Police investigating OpenCard project
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The police has launched an investigation into Prague City Hall's
controversial OpenCard project. The multipurpose OpenCard was launched
last year to replace city transport passes as well as library, museum
and other types of service cards. However the project has not met the
intended goal and, at a cost of over 800 million crowns, has come under
attack for being grossly overpriced. Three independent audits have
already been conducted, each concluding that the project was badly
conceived and reporting untraceable invoices and a lack of transparency
in commissioning. Critics say the main tender was tailored to the
company Haguess and lots of other companies were commissioned to do
work that was not essentially necessary.
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PM wants BIS on APC investigation
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Prime Minister Jan Fischer has said he wants to ask the Czech
intelligence service BIS to cooperate in the police investigation into
the purchase of armoured personnel carriers for the Czech army. The
contract with Steyr is being investigated on suspicion of corruption
after a Czech daily quoted former executives from the Austrian firm as
saying that Czech political parties had received bribes in connection
with the deal. The prime minister said his request for BIS involvement
did not imply a lack of trust in the police investigation, but was
based on the belief that the intelligence service might have valuable
information on the case which might otherwise be considered classified.
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NATO secretary general to visit Prague
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NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is to visit the Czech
Republic next Friday. He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Jan
Fischer and Foreign Minister Jan Kohout for talks expected to focus
primarily on Czech military involvement in Afghanistan. In response to
a NATO request for reinforcements, the Czech government earlier
approved a plan to boost the Czech contingent by 55 soldiers and
operate two radars in the southern Afghani province of Logar. For the
time being Parliament has confirmed the continued presence of 535 Czech
soldiers in the country, most of them serving on the Provincial
Reconstruction Team in Logar.
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Health Ministry to provide certificates of quality to hospitals and
clinics
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The Health Ministry is preparing to hand out certificates of quality to
state-run hospitals and health centres around the country. The
certificated will be issued on the basis of results achieved and an
assessment by patients themselves. Late last year the ministry
conducted an in-depth survey of the care provided in 18 state run
hospitals and 12 psychiatric institutions. The survey, in which 26,000
patients took part, indicated general satisfaction with the treatment
provided and the length of time patients had to wait to be admitted to
hospital, but respondents complained about the quality of hospital food
and the authoritative attitude of doctors and nurses.
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Preparations underway for Masaryk anniversary
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Preparations are underway for the 160th anniversary of the birth of
Czechoslovakia's first president Tomas Garrigue Masaryk. Masayk, who
founded an independent state of Czechs and Slovaks after the fall of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1989 laid the founding stones of
democracy in the country, enjoys tremendous respect to this day. The
160th anniversary of his birth on March 7, 1850 will be marked around
the country, particularly in his home town Hodonin. President Vaclav
Klaus is to open an exhibition on President Masaryk's life and work at
Prague Castle on March 2 and a bronze equestrian statue of the
country's first president is to be unveiled outside the T.G. Masaryk
Museum at Lany near Prague.
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Office rents in Prague highest in Central Europe
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Corporate rental prices in Prague are still the highest in Central
Europe despite a year-on-year fall of 8 percent, according to figures
released by the consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield. A square metre of
office space in Prague now costs on average 404 euros a year (just over
10 000 crowns). In recent months real estate companies have reported an
exodus of leaseholders who can no longer afford the prices, increasing
available office space in the city centre.
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Sablikova to be flag-bearer at closing ceremony
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Czech speed skater Martina Sablikova has been selected to carry the
flag at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The
honour is in recognition of her historic achievement after becoming the
first Czech ever to win two gold medals at one Winter Olympics. The
22-year-old took the gold in the women's 5000 metres, the 3000 metres
and a bronze in the 1500 metres.
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Weather
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The coming weekend is expected to be partly cloudy with intervals of
rain and shine and day temperatures hovering at around 9 degrees
Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Current Affairs
Czech rescue group saves thousands of wild animals every year
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Eleven years ago, the Czech Union for Nature Conservation started
opening rescue centers for injured wild animals all over the Czech
Republic. To date, 26 centers have been opened and last year alone over
10,000 animals were brought to a rescue center. The organization's
member Marketa Peckova talks about issues in rescuing wild animals and
how the situation is changing.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125452
Current Affairs
New book compares post-1989 development of Czech Republic and Austria
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The Czech Republic and neighbouring Austria share centuries of common
history but in recent times relations between the two states have often
been strained. How the countries have developed since 1989 is the focus
of a new anthology by a group of Austrian and Czech academics.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125451
Current Affairs
Can Czech ice hockey rebound from disappointing Olympics?
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There were a few bright moments at Vancouver 2010 when the Czech hockey
team was firing on all cylinders but ultimately the Czechs' run at the
Olympics was short-lived, notably the fourth time in a row in a major
tournament that they have exited in the quarterfinals. Now some are
suggesting that the Czech team is on the verge of crisis, facing lean
years in which medal wins will be few.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125450
Business News
Business News 2.26.2010
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In this week's Business News: Brussels probes Czech Airlines loan, CEZ
sets record profit but warns over outlook, car maker Hyundai gears up
for expansion, Prague struggles to make mark on real estate market, and
fresh milk sales come to the capital.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125428
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