Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Sunday, February 7th, 2010
By: Ian Willoughby
* The Czech prime minister says he would regard it as unusual if any
ministers in his caretaker cabinet stood in general elections in May.
* The Czech president has begun a three-day visit to Egypt.
* The Czech women's tennis team have reached the semi-finals of the Fed
Cup.
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Fischer: interim ministers standing in general elections would be
unusual
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The Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, says he would regard it as an
unusual step if any ministers in his caretaker cabinet stood in general
elections in May. Speaking on a TV debate show on Sunday, Mr Fischer
said however that such a candidature would be a "tax" for the fact his
government will have been in office for considerably longer than was
originally planned. There have been some suggestions that the minister
of the interior in the interim cabinet, Martin Pecina, could stand for
the Social Democrats. They and the county's other main party the Civic
Democrats agreed on the make-up of what was billed as a caretaker
government of technocrats. It took office last May after the fall of
the previous Civic Democrat-led cabinet and was due to guide the
country until snap elections in October. However, a legal challenge led
to Mr Fischer's government staying in power until this coming spring,
when the lower house's four-year term comes to an end.
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Fischer to meet union leaders over new rules on taxation of benefits
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Prime Minister Fischer also said on Sunday that he planned to hold
talks with the country's union leaders on new rules regarding the
taxation of benefits. Transport unions in particular are opposed to the
change and have not ruled out strike action. Mr Fischer said the only
way to get around the impasse was to send the relevant legislation back
to the lower house. He also said he would discuss the matter with the
minister of finance, Eduard Janota.
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President Klaus begins three-day visit to Egypt
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The Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, has begun a three-day visit to
Egypt. On Sunday evening he will take part in an event marking the
launch of the Czech-made Skoda Superb car on the Egyptian market. Mr
Klaus will meet the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Monday, as well
as taking part in a signing of the Arabic version of his book Blue
Planet in Green Shackles, which questions the belief that mankind is
responsible for global warming. On the last day of his visit the Czech
president will hold talks with both Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and the
general secretary of the Arab League, Amr Moussa. It is Mr Klaus's
second visit to Egypt.
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Czech women beat Germany to reach Fed Cup semi-finals
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The Czech women's tennis team have reached the semi-finals of the Fed
Cup after beating Germany 3:2 in a World Group first round clash in the
Moravian capital Brno. With the tie at 2:2 after the singles rubbers,
it all came down to the final, doubles match on Sunday evening. Cheered
on by the home crowd, Kveta Peschkeova and Lucie Hradecka overcame
Tatjana Malek and Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-1 6-3 to set up a meeting with
Italy for a place in the Fed Cup final.
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Czechs to face champions Spain in qualification for Euro 2012
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The Czech Republic's footballers will face title holders Spain,
Scotland, Lithuania and Lichtenstein in the qualifying stages of the
next European Championship in 2012. The Czech coach Michal Bilek had
said he hoped to avoid the Spaniards in Sunday's draw in Warsaw. The
winners of each group will automatically for Euro 2012, which is being
held in Poland and Ukraine, along with the team that comes second with
the best results; the other four berths will be decided by playoffs.
Qualification for the tournament begins this autumn after the World Cup
in South Africa, which the Czechs failed to reach.
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Hockey star Jagr to be fit for start of Winter Olympics
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The Czech ice hockey star Jaromir Jagr will be fit for the start of the
Winter Olympics in Vancouver. After he was taken off after the first
period of a game for his club Omsk on Friday there were reports in the
Russian media that he had sustained a groin injury. However, Jagr told
the newspaper Sport that he had merely felt weak because of a stomach
virus, adding that he would likely be able to play for Omsk again on
Sunday in what will be the club's last game before the Olympic break.
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Ten deaths at level crossings so far this year
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Ten people have been killed on level crossings on the Czech rail
network so far this year, which is around a quarter of the total number
for 2009, the Czech News Agency reported. The latest victim was an
85-year-old man whose car was hit by a train running between
Castolovice and Kostelec nad Orlici in east Bohemia on Sunday. Two
other people died in a similar accident on Saturday.
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Twentieth anniversary of dissolution of National Front
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Sunday is the 20th anniversary of the dissolution of the Narodni fronta
or National Front, a grouping which served as a kind of bogus
alternative to the Communist Party during the latter's four-decade rule
in Czechoslovakia. The National Front of Czechs and Slovaks was
originally a coalition of democratic and anti-fascist groupings which
made up the country's first government in 1945 following the end of
World War II. However, after the Communist takeover of 1948 it was
turned into a puppet party under the control of the totalitarian regime.
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Protector and 3 Seasons in Hell each up for 11 Czech film awards
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Marek Najbrt's Protector and 3 Seasons in Hell by Tomas Masin have both
been nominated in 11 out of a possible 12 categories in the Cesky lev
or Czech Lion national film awards. Kawasaki's Rose by Jan Hrebejk is
in the running for nine prizes. The nominations were announced on
Saturday night at a ceremony at Prague's Lucerna cinema that was
broadcast live on Czech Television. The winners will be announced at
Lucerna's Grand Hall in a month's time.
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Rudolfinum marks 125th anniversary
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Prague's Rudolfinum is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the day it
was first opened to the public. The neo-Renaissance building was
designed by the architects of the National Theatre Josef Schulz and
Josef Zitek and was named after the Austrian crown prince Rudolf, who
attended its opening on February 7, 1885. It has been used as a concert
venue by the Czech Philharmonic since the orchestra's foundation in
1896; its Dvorak Hall is named after the composer, who conducted many
concerts there. The Rudolfinum is today also home to one of Prague's
leading art galleries.
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Weather
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It should be cloudy and cold in the next few days, with maximum
temperatures of around -3 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Letter from Prague
How the Commies tried to destroy my neighbourhood
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The Commies tried to destroy my neighbourhood. I must admit I myself
wasn't actually living there at the time, but if the Communists had had
their way, much of Zizkov would today be covered in grey panelaky,
prefabricated blocks of flats that blight the outskirts of many Czech
cities and towns.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124786
Mailbox
Mailbox 2.7.2010
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Today in Mailbox we disclose the identity of the mystery lady from our
January quiz. Listeners quoted: Henrik Klemetz, Dileepa Ehelepola,
Dimtry Mezin, S B Sharma, Hans Verner Lollike, Uday Nayak, Gordon
Martindale, David Eldridge, Anne Harding, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Kristyna
Pletkova, Charles Konecny, Colin Law, Barbara Ziemba.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124705
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