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Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Sunday, March 7th, 2010
By: Daniela Lazarova
* The Czech film Protector triumphed at the 17th annual Czech Lion
Awards picking up six trophies.
* Trade union leader Jaromir Dusek has evoked outrage on the Czech
political scene after telling a daily the transport sector was run by a
clique of homosexuals.
* Czechs have been marking the 160th anniversary of the birth of
Czechoslovakia's first president T.G. Masaryk.
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Protector triumphs at Czech Lion Awards
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The film Protector directed by Marek Najbrt triumphed at the 17th
annual Czech Lion Awards picking up six trophies: the coveted award for
best Czech film as well as the awards for best screenplay, best
direction, best music, best editing and best leading actress. The Czech
Film and Television Academy has nominated the film to represent the
Czech Republic at the Oscars. Three Seasons in Hell directed by Tomas
Masin collected three awards, for best leading actor (Krystof Hadek)
best camera and best sound. The awards for supporting actor and actress
went to Ladislav Chudik and Daniela Kolarova who both appeared in
Kawasaki's Rose directed by Jan Hrebejk. The special award for
outstanding contribution to Czech film went to actress Jana Brejchova.
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Trade union leader faces isolation over homophobic remarks
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Trade union leader Jaromir Dusek has evoked outrage on the Czech
political scene after telling a daily the transport sector was run by a
clique of homosexuals. The transport union leader said in an interview
for Saturday's Lidove Noviny that homosexuals had a tight grip on
decision-making and had people both in the cabinet and the office of
the government. He has refused to apologize for the remarks despite
coming under severe criticism from Prime Minister Jan Fischer.
Transport Minister Gustav Slamecka accused Mr. Dusek of Nazi rhetoric,
while the minister for human rights and minorities, Michael Kocab, said
he was shaken by Mr. Dusek's stand.
The trade union leader is likely to find himself in growing isolation,
both the prime minister and transport minister say they no longer
consider him a partner for negotiation and trade unions are preparing a
statement to distance themselves from his words.
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Czechs mark Masaryk anniversary
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Czechs have been marking the 160th anniversary of the birth of
Czechoslovakia's co-founder and first president T.G. Masaryk. After a
commemorative ceremony at his graveside in Lany on Saturday, the focus
on Sunday moved to president Masaryk's birthplace Hodonin, in south
Moravia. The celebrations started at the local railway station on
Sunday morning with the arrival of a historic steam-powered train once
used by the country's first president, complete with his original salon
car. Outdoor celebrations on the town's main square saw children
release dozens of blue-red-and-white balloons, the Czech Republic's
national colours. Masaryk's Museum in Hodonin has planned a special
evening devoted to the life and legacy of the most respected Czech
politician ever.
Earlier this week an exhibition dedicated to Masaryk's life and work
opened at Prague Castle and people also had a chance to visit the
Masaryk Library at Prague Castle which is normally closed to the public.
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Milos Zeman kicks off his new party's election campaign in Prague
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Milos Zeman who was elected chairman of the newly established Citizens'
Rights Party over the weekend, lost no time in kicking off the party's
election campaign in Prague. The former prime minister, who came out of
retirement to give dissatisfied left-wing voters an alternative in
May's general elections, told supporters he knew a way out of the
crisis. The party's policy programme includes cutting costs in state
administration, progressive taxation and a tax on luxury goods. Mr.
Zeman was out in fighting spirit on Sunday saying his party was being
described as a party of dinosaurs and has-beens, but he would show them
yet.
Milos Zeman, who led the Social Democrats to power, served as prime
minister between 1998 and 2002, retiring a year later after he lost a
bid for the presidency to the current head of state Vaclav Klaus. He
was increasingly critical of the Social Democrats in later years and
officially left the party in 2007. Some of his former allies have left
the Social Democrats to join his Citizens' Rights Party.
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Social Democrat leader says big companies should help sports
associations
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Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek has suggested that companies with
a turnover of over 5 billion crowns a year should contribute one
percent of their taxable profits to the development of Czech sports and
culture. The question of how sports and culture should be financed has
divided Czech political parties, although there is general agreement
that the present system of funding is inadequate and needs to be
amended. The Sazka lottery company, which was established with the aim
of funding sports associations from lottery profits, has proved an
inadequate source. Some politicians now propose setting up a special
sports fund to be financed from the state budget.
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Babak wins Grand Designer of the Year Award
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The Czech Academy of Design handed out its annual awards for 2009 on
Saturday. The prestigious Grand Designer of the year award went to Petr
Babak from the designer studio Laborator for his work on the interior
design of the National Technical Library in Prague. Fashion designer of
the year went to Jakub Polanka for his collections Stardust,
Re-evolution and Simple. Lucie Koldova was elected newcomer of the year
for her furniture collection Home Fitness, while Bara Prasilova picked
up the photographer of the year award for a series called Quicksilver
Women for Esprit magazine.
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Arsonist at work in Novojicinsko region
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Firefighters in the Novojicinsko region in Moravia, have been called to
a second fire in a hay storage facility within the space of 48 hours.
On Saturday a blaze in a storage facility in Katerinice destroyed 200
tons of hay, worth close to a million crowns. On Sunday afternoon
firefighters were called to a fire in the village Rybi, just ten
kilometers away from the first, also in a hay storage facility. Seven
firefighter units are on site, trying to contain the blaze. Police in
Novy Jicin say they have evidence of arson. An investigation is
underway.
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Accident stops rail traffic for three hours
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Two people were injured when a car crashed into a passing train on a
crossing near the town of Okrisky, Moravia early on Sunday. The lights
at the crossing were functional and it is not clear why the driver
ignored them or even failed to see the approaching train. Both the
driver and passenger sustained serious injuries. The accident stopped
rail traffic between Brno and Jihlava for more than three hours.
Accidents at rail crossings are a major cause for concern in the Czech
Republic.
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Tennis: Czechs get into Davis Cup quarter-finals
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Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek gave the Czech Republic a 3-0 victory
over Belgium in Bree on Saturday, beating Steve Darcis and Olivier
Rochus 7-6 (7/0), 6-0, 6-3. The Czechs, runners-up in 2009, will face
the winners of the delayed Chile-Israel encounter in the quarter-finals.
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Bauer finishes a close second in nordic skiing World Cup race
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Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic came a close second in the men's 30km
nordic skiing World Cup race in Lahti, Finland on Saturday. He was
beaten by France's Maurice Manificat who came home in one hour 11min
44.2seconds. Bauer, just 3.6 seconds behind him said later it had been
a fantastic race. Ilia Chernousov of Russia was third.
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Weather
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The coming days are expected to be sunny to partly cloudy with snow in
places and day temperatures between 0 and minus 4 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Letter from Prague
Attack of the 80s
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Dear listeners, it's always a pleasure to tell you about all of the
interesting things that we experience and see in the Czech Republic.
But this time I'm venting some expat anguish. There are things, you
know, that we foreigners don't like about the Czech Republic. There
just aren't many. This, however, is one of them, for me. To get the
full impact, I'll ask you to close your eyes... You're in an old Prague
cafe. Maybe one where Einstein lunched. It's plush, definitely
romantic. The coffee isn't even bad in this place. All the senses are
at peace, except for one.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125699
Mailbox
Mailbox 3.7.2010
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This week in Mailbox we read from your answers to our February
listeners' quiz question and announce the name of this month's winner.
Listeners quoted: Gerwyn Roberts, Mick Edwards, Jayanta Chakrabarty,
Gordon Martindale, Zofia Szuberla, Colin Law, Charles Konecny, Hans
Verner Lollike, Kristina Pletkova.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125646
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