Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Saturday, July 10th, 2010
By: Chris Johnstone
* TOP 09 leader Karel Schwarzenberg is to be given the number two
position in the government according to reports.
* The iconic Czech manufacturer Tatra is mulling a Russian assembly
plant for its lorries.
* The 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will culminate with
the awards ceremony on Saturday night.
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Schwarzenberg to take second spot in government
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TOP 09 leader and incoming Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg will be
the first deputy prime minister in the new centre-right coalition. The
news was reported by the Czech News Agency which said it had obtained a
copy of an appendix to the three-way agreement. Public Affairs' leader
Radek John will be a deputy prime minister, it added. Prime Minister
Petr Necas has said the agreement should be signed on Monday following
approval by the three parties. President Vaclav Klaus is scheduled to
appoint the new government on July 13.
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Referendum on coalition continues after technical hitch
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An internet referendum on the coalition agreement being held by the
Public Affairs party resumed on Saturday morning. Technical problems
with the server on Friday led to voting being temporarily abandoned.
Around 17,000 members of the party have been asked to vote on the
simple question of whether they approve of the coalition deal. The
party leadership expects a clear vote in favour since they say around
80 percent of the membership has so far reacted positively to the
outcome of talks over various policy areas. The final results should be
known on Monday.
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Tatra mulls Russian assembly plant
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Iconic Czech company Tatra is looking to assemble its lorries in Russia
or other parts of the former Soviet Union according to a report by the
company board. The idea of setting up local assembly plants is aimed at
avoiding local import duties which are hurting lorry sales by the firm
based in Koprivnice in the far east of the country. The former Soviet
Union used to be the main market for Tatra trucks. Company general
director Ronald Adams has also said that the company should target
sales to South-East Asia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Australia and India.
Tatra has recently been hit hard by the turndown in international truck
sales caused by the global economic crisis.
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Film festival awards to be announced
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The 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will culminate on the
evening of July 10 with the award of the main prizes. The top Grand
Prix with the award of the festival Crystal Globe will be made for the
best feature film. Juries will also announce the best documentary films
and the East of the West award for films made in Eastern Europe. The
audience's selection of best film will also be announced. The festival
in the West Bohemian spa town ran from July 2.
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"Black Friday" claims 12 lives
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A total of 12 Czechs died in road accidents on Friday, the highest
number on any single day so far this year. The previous record stood at
eight fatalities. In the worst accident of what has been dubbed "Black
Friday," five people were killed after two cars crashed into each other
near the eastern town of Karvina. Media reports said amounts of what
was suspected to be the drug pervitin had been found by police in one
of the cars. A recent spate of fatal accidents has been blamed on the
hot weather, alcohol, and speeding. Twenty-six people were killed
during the long four-day holiday weekend which started on July 3.
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Spidla set for shadow cabinet: report
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Former Social Democrat prime minister and European Commissioner
Vladimir Spidla is set to make a comeback in the party's shadow
cabinet, according to the news server Aktualne.cz. Citing top party
sources, it said that Spidla would be given responsibility for European
Union questions. Acting party boss, Bohuslav Sobotka refused to comment
on the report. The Social Democrats are expected to unveil their
opposition team soon after the new government has been appointed.
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Interpol search for missing Czech football boss dropped: reports
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Interpol has given up searching for the deputy chairman of the Czech
and Moravian Football Association and businessman Miroslav Kriz
according to Czech media reports which point out he not on the list of
Czechs being sought. Czech police have refused to confirm the reports
but say their search is continuing. Mr. Kriz was last seen in Prague on
May 22. The latest turnaround in events has raised speculation that Mr.
Kriz might be a key police witness or that police know of his
whereabouts abroad but cannot take any action to get him back.
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Bans on forest fires widened due to tinder dry conditions
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Bans on forest fires have been widened due to the increased danger from
hot and dry weather. From Saturday the ban was widened to the Pardubice
region in the centre of the country. A ban came into effect in the
Karlovy Vary region from Friday and already applied in the Hradec
Kralove region. Firemen have been increasingly called to forest fires
with eight calls over the last days in the Liberec region for example.
The worst case was a fire on half a hectare of forest near Ceska Lipa
which took firemen six hours to control.
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Czechs poised to clinch Davis Cup tie
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The Czech Republic has taken a shock 2: 0 lead in the Davis Cup
quarterfinals against Chile following the opening singles. Ivo Minar
beat Nicolas Massu 6:0, 6:2, 6:3. That was followed by a straight sets
win by Jan Hajek against Paul Capdeville 6:0, 6:2, 6:1. The Czechs have
a chance to clinch the tie in the doubles game on Saturday which pits
Lukas Dlouhy and Hajek against Jorge Aguilar and Capdeville. The Czech
squad was dubbed a 'B' team given the absence of top singles players
Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek.
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Safarova beaten in semi-finals
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In tennis, third seed Lucie Safarova was beaten by Aravane Rezai of
France in the semi-finals of the WTA Swedish Open at Bastad. The second
seed triumphed 6:3, 6:3 in around an hour. Safarova should compete in
the ECM tournament in Prague starting on Monday.
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Weather
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The Czech Republic is experiencing another heat wave with temperatures
of 31 degrees Celsius and expected to rise even higher. Relief should
come in the form of storms in the late afternoons though night
temperatures should remain high at around 20 degrees Celsius.
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