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Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
By: Ian Willoughby
* Czech pilots have called for a change in the law after a number of
laser pointer attacks on planes at Prague Airport.
* A group of Czech lawmakers have nominated a Chinese dissident for the
Nobel Peace Prize.
* Heavy snow has caused disruptions to road and rail transport in the
Czech Republic.
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Pilots call for change in law after laser pointer attacks at Prague
Airport
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There were at least seven attacks using laser pointers on planes
landing and taking off at Prague Airport last year, Karel Mundel of the
Czech Airline Pilots Association told reporters on Wednesday. While
they can momentarily blind pilots and even cause serious damage to
their eyes, police have been hamstrung in their efforts to deal with
such abuse of lasers as it is not currently illegal. Pilots have
therefore called on lawmakers to outlaw it, as has been done in other
countries, saying they regard laser pointers as a new danger to civil
aviation in the Czech Republic.
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Czech lawmakers nominate Chinese dissident for Nobel prize
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A group of 40 Czech legislators have called for the Nobel Peace Prize
to be presented to Chinese dissident and human rights activist Liu
Xiaobo. Mr Liu is currently serving an 11-year jail term for
"subversion". A statement nominating him for the award was signed by
representatives of all the parties in the Czech Parliament except the
Communists. Senator Alexandr Vondra, himself a former dissident,
organised the petition. He said he had asked selected lawmakers to sign
on the basis of their own involvement in human rights issues in the
past. Liu Xiaobo is one of the founders of Charter 08, a Chinese human
rights initiative directly inspired by Czechoslovakia's Charter 77.
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Heavy snow causes road and rail disruptions
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Heavy snow on Wednesday caused disruptions to rail and road transport
in several parts of the Czech Republic. This followed fresh snowfalls
of up to 25 centimetres on Tuesday night. Strong winds further
complicated the situation. Around 20 local train lines were blocked,
though all major lines were passable. Roads were closed in some places,
and four districts declared a state of calamity. Much of the Czech
Republic has been covered in snow for almost two weeks, with the
capital Prague seeing more snow than at any time in the last three
decades.
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Patient dies when ambulance crashes into truck after skidding
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A woman of 77 died when an ambulance she was being carried in was
involved in a collision with a truck in Nosovice, north Moravia on
Wednesday. Two other patients, aged 78 and 81, were injured in the
crash, which occurred when the ambulance skidded on an icy patch of
road, turning over several times before hitting the truck. Another
ambulance was involved in an accident on Wednesday when it got stuck in
snow at a level crossing near Novy Jicin and was hit by a train. Nobody
was injured.
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Vietnamese corner stores in Czech Republic now number between 2,000 and
3,000
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There are now between 2,000 and 3,000 Vietnamese-run vecerky (corner
stores) in the Czech Republic, a senior member of a Czech Vietnamese
business association, Nguyen Nam, said at a Prague conference on the
retail industry on Wednesday. He said, however, that while the grocery
business was growing, Vietnamese traders reported stagnation in
textiles sales. Mr Nam said one sign of the growing importance of
Vietnamese retailers was that the large Czech wholesaler Makro was now
advertising in their language.
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Social Democrats some way in front, suggest new poll
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If elections were held right now, the Social Democrats would come first
with 33 percent of the vote, suggests a new poll conducted by the
internet-based agency SANEP. Twenty-four percent of respondents said
they would vote for the right-of-centre Civic Democrats. The new party
TOP 09 would enjoy 13.5 percent support, the poll indicates. The
Communists placed fourth in the survey with just under 13 percent. Both
the Christian Democrats and the new grouping Public Affairs (Veci
verejne) would just attain the 5 percent of the vote needed to make it
into the lower house, the poll suggests.
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Foreign investment fell markedly in 2009, says state agency CzechInvest
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CzechInvest says it mediated investments worth CZK 17 billion in 2009,
a fall of CZK 10 billion on the previous year. The state agency, whose
task it is to attract foreign companies to the Czech Republic, also
said the total number of new investment projects last year was one
tenth lower than in 2008. Of the 184 fresh investments in 2009, almost
half were in the field of research and development, which the head of
CzechInvest, Alexandra Rudysarova, said was proof that overseas firms
were coming to the country to launch ever more demanding businesses.
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Press: Ministry of Health to increase noise limit on motorways
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The Ministry of Health is planning to increase noise limits on
motorways in the Czech Republic by five decibels, E15 reported. In 2006
the government decided on a highway noise limit of 60 decibels during
the day and 50 decibels at night. The newspaper said the change would
affect both limits. The World Health Organization considers noise of
above 42 decibels to have negative effects on the health of nearby
residents, while noise of 55 decibels and higher is believed to prevent
healthy sleeping. E15 suggested one of the possible reasons for the
change in the law was an attempt to avoid having to build anti-noise
barriers.
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New initiative to feed homeless gets underway in Brno
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Brno restaurant owner Richard Hosek has launched a new initiative aimed
at feeding homeless people in the Moravian capital. From Wednesday, he
will collect leftover lunches from restaurants around Brno and deliver
them to the city's homeless community, which numbers around 1500. The
entrepreneur was inspired by a similar project in Germany. The leftover
meals will be brought to a central location where Brno's homeless can
pick them up.
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Czech classical music festival begins in London
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A series of concerts entitled Czech Festival 2010 was launched in
London on Tuesday night with a performance by the Czech National
Symphony Orchestra at the city's Cadogan Hall. The orchestra played
pieces by Bohuslav Martinu and Antonin Dvorak and was conducted by
Libor Pesek, who was head of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
for over a decade. Czech Festival 2010 runs until February 20.
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Weather
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It should be wet and overcast over the coming days, though there will
be some sunny spells. Forecasters say temperatures will reach a maximum
of 2 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Current Affairs
New species of short-lived fish may provide Czech scientists with
insights into ageing
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Czech scientists working in Mozambique have discovered a new species of
fish that inhabits the rain pools of the savannah. Types of tiny
killifish are found in many parts of the world, but what is unique to
Nothobranchius Kadleci - named after the well-known Brno ichthyologist
Jaroslav Kadlec - is its very short lifespan of only four months. The
team from the Institute of Vertebrate Biology in Brno believe that the
new discovery may eventually provide important insights into the
understanding of aging, even in humans. I spoke to the institute's
Martin Reichard.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124690
Current Affairs
Singer Eva Pilarova marks 50 years in music with tour of Czech Republic
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Eva Pilarova, one of the country's best known jazz singers, is
currently celebrating a remarkable 50 years on the stage. Pilarova,
whose career is closely linked to the legendary Semafor Theatre, will
mark the anniversary with a series of concerts across the Czech
Republic, accompanied by a number of younger musicians.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124689
Current Affairs
Study finds most Czech companies monitor employee internet activity
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Concerns about employee privacy in the Czech Republic are on the rise.
A freshly released survey suggests that three quarters of all Czech
companies track the web pages that their employees visit. And the
minister for minorities and human rights recently proposed a crack-down
on employers who don't respect the privacy of their staff. How serious
is the situation?
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124688
Current Affairs
Power giant CEZ under spotlight after images of paramilitary training,
suicide
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Czech state controlled energy giant CEZ is at the centre of a scandal
over shocking images relating to a special division for dealing with
electricity theft. Images have shown training exercises where members
of the company's special squad look like paramilitary commandoes.
Another film was taken by employees after a customer suspected of
stealing committed suicide.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124672
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