Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Friday, February 5th, 2010
By: Jan Velinger
* Police are looking for a man who tried to get into the office of the
government on Friday, then shouted a death threat against a cabinet
minister.
* Czech President Vaclav Klaus has scheduled the national election for
May 28-29.
* The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute has reported a worsening of
smog levels in parts of Moravia.
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Man demands to see PM, then threatens justice minister
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Security was heightened at the office of the government on Friday after
a man walked in trying to gain access to the prime minister. The news
site Novinky.cz was the first to report the story, saying that the man,
whose identity remains unknown, threatened he would kill Justice
Minister Dana Kovarova, after he was turned away at the office of the
government lobby. Neither the prime minister nor the justice minister
were in the building at the time of the incident. The head of police
security at the office of the government said that the individual
slipped away before he could be arrested. But the police are confidant
that the man will be apprehended as he was caught on security camera.
Security at the justice ministry was also raised as a result of the
incident; the justice minister - currently on holiday abroad - was
informed of the developments.
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Czechs to go to polls on May 28-29
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President Vaclav Klaus has scheduled this year's national election for
May 28-29, the last possible date to hold elections for the next
government's four-year term. The document calling the election signed
by Mr Klaus was also signed by the country's prime minister, Jan
Fischer, whose caretaker government has led the country since last
year, after the centre-right coalition of the Civic Democrats,
Christian Democrats and the Greens was toppled in a no-confidence vote.
The next government will face tackling the increasing deficit as well
as steering the Czech Republic to eventual adoption of the euro.
Current polls put the Social Democrats as the front-runners ahead of
the election, but no party is expected to win an outright majority.
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Smog levels up - again - in industrial parts of Moravia
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The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute has reported a worsening of
atmospheric conditions in parts of Moravia, roughly a week after it
issued it's first-ever smog alert, which required local industry to
scale back production. On Friday poisonous emissions in areas reached
more than five times the allowed limit of 50 micrograms per cubic
metre. One region the hardest hit is that of Karvina, home to steel
giant ArcelorMittal Ostrava, one of the chief polluters in the region,
the Czech news agency CTK reported. The higher concentration of
particulate in the air can lead to health complications, including a
worsening of conditions such as asthma.
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Poll: majority of Czech MEPs won't back new European Commission
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A new poll conducted in Brussels by the Czech news agency has suggested
that a majority of the 22 Czech members of the European Parliament will
not back the new European Commission next week. All nine MEPs for the
right-of-centre Civic Democrats, and four Communist MEPs, suggested
that the new commission and its policies would not gain their support;
the Civic Democrats, Jan Zahradil said, are likely to abstain. Czech
Christian and Social Democrats MEPs, meanwhile, have said they will
vote in favour. The new commission, headed by Jose Manuel Barroso, is
expected to pass easily overall. In the EC, the Czech Republic will be
represented by Stefan Fuele in the post of EU Enlargement Commissioner.
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Union head warns strike is likely over taxation of benefits
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The head of the Transport Union, Lubos Pomajbik, has warned that a
number of branches of Czech industry could strike anytime after
February 22. He made the announcement on Friday after a meeting between
several of the country's unions. Union leaders, including those at
Czech Railways, are against new regulations subjecting benefits to the
value-added tax. Mr Pomajbik called the new regulations an attack on
the unions and suggested that a strike was inevitable, unless the new
regulations were struck down. As of January 1 benefits - from employee
discounts to the use of company cafeterias - are subject to VAT.
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More than 24,000 Czech drivers had licences revoked in 2009
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More than 24,000 Czech drivers had their licences revoked last year due
to frequent offences, the daily Pravo reported on Friday. They amassed
12 or more penal points; under the drivers point system introduced in
2006, they are automatically banned from driving for one year. More
than 95 percent of the offenders were men, the daily said. Another
4,000 drivers are just a point short of having their licences revoked.
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Prague saw slight crime rise in 2009
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Crime in the Czech capital rose slightly in 2009, due to an increase in
robberies in the city centre, the head of Prague's police Martin
Cervicek said on Friday. According to the officer, break-ins at
apartments downtown as well as bicycle theft contributed most to the
slight bump in numbers: up by around 1,000 cases from the previous
year. In 2009, Prague saw a total of around 84,100 cases in all. Police
also registered a slight rise in the number of crimes solved: 18.8
percent. Regarding more serious crimes, Prague saw 34 murders last year
- 30 of which were solved by police detectives.
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Rescue team finds lost cross-country skier, two babies, unhurt
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A rescue team in the area of Zlin, Moravia, was called out on Thursday
evening to try and locate a father and his 8-month old twins who got
lost while cross-country skiing. The man was pulling his children on
the trail in a modified baby carriage. The authorities were alerted to
their disappearance by the man's wife. As soon as he was able to get a
signal on his mobile phone in the hilly area, the man contacted the
authorities, and the three were successfully located soon afterwards.
While the man was reportedly exhausted from his ordeal, his two
children slept through the incident unharmed.
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Senior survives 10-story fall
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A 69-year-old Czech woman in Tanvald, near Jablonec, survived a
10-story fall from her window on Friday morning. The accident happened
when the woman apparently fainted in her apartment. The authorities
said the woman was saved by more than a metre-and-a-half of snow
outside of her of building, which cushioned her landing. The fall, said
a police representative, would otherwise almost certainly have proven
fatal. The senior underwent a number of medical examinations which
revealed no external or internal injuries.
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NHL action: Havlat, Prospal each score twice
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Czech forward Martin Havlat scored two goals in NHL action on Thursday
to help his team Minnesota defeat the Edmonton Oilers. The final score
was 4:2 and Havlat was named the game's first star.
In other action, the New York Rangers' Vaclav Prospal racked up four
points on the night, scoring twice and earning two assists against
Washington. It wasn't enough for the win, though: Washington edged the
Rangers 5:4.
Milan Michalek, who plays for the Ottawa Senators, earned a goal and an
assist against Vancouver. The Canucks lost by a score of 3:1.
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Weather
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Mostly cloudy conditions, together with snowfall, are expected into the
weekend. Daytime temperatures on Saturday are expected to hover at just
above zero, at about 1 degree Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Current Affairs
Stories for children by Plastic People's Vratislav Brabenec appear in
English
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Vratislav Brabenec is a member of the band The Plastic People of the
Universe, a thorn in the side of Czechoslovakia's communist regime. But
Mr Brabenec is also the author of a book of stories for children,
called The Centre of the World is Everywhere, which is now also
available in an English translation.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124782
Current Affairs
Bohemian Carnevale - a splash of colour to liven up February's frozen
grey
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Say the word 'carnival' and people usually think of the colourful
extravaganzas of Brazil or Venice, but the period leading up to the
beginning of lent is celebrated across the world, including the Czech
Republic. Here it's known as "masopust", which means pretty much the
same thing as the Italian "carnevale" - i.e. to refrain from eating
meat. Masopust is mostly celebrated in Moravia, but a husband and wife
team is trying to resurrect the lavish Prague carnival that was the
social event of the year in centuries gone by.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124781
Current Affairs
Czechs to go to polls in general elections on last weekend of May
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General elections will be held in the Czech Republic on the last
weekend of May, the country's president, Vaclav Klaus, announced on
Friday. The dates are the latest possible on which the elections could
have been held. While Mr Klaus had previously hinted at those dates,
their confirmation will help party bosses plan their campaigns.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124780
Business News
Business News 2.5.2010
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In this week's Business News: fewer workers in the population;
equipment producer lands prestigious helicopter contract; TPCA plant in
car recall; performance related pay sought for top state bosses; and
Czech-owned brewery bucks downward sales.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124764
Arts
New Hrebejk film Kawasaki's Rose casts an unusual look at totalitarian
past
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Kawasakiho Ruze or Kawasaki's Rose is the newest film by the successful
Czech director-screenwriter duo Jan Hrebejk and Petr Jarchovsky. In
Kawasaki's Rose, Hrebejk, considered one of the leading directors of
his generation, explores a story about family tensions, but as the
conflict between the characters escalates, the film becomes deeply
political.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124758
Current Affairs
Potential key evidence in Demjanjuk trial uncovered
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A Czech Radio reporter and colleague from the Los Angeles Times in a
joint interview have helped uncover evidence which could prove crucial
in the current trial of John Demjanjuk, a man accused of involvement in
Nazi death camp crimes. The evidence - the testimony of a witness -
could help pin Demjanjuk down as a guard who participated in the murder
of thousands of Jews at an infamous Polish camp.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124775
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