Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Monday, July 19th, 2010
By: Chris Johnstone
* The Czech prime minister, Petr Necas, has held talks with his Slovak
counterpart on his first official visit abroad.
* The death toll on Czech roads during the first six months of the year
fell to a 21 year low.
* A poll by the STEM agency suggests support for newcomer parties
Public Affairs and TOP 09 is based on weak foundations.
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Prime Minister Petr Necas visits Slovakia
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Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas travelled to the Slovak capital of
Bratislava on Monday for his first official visit since taking office
three weeks ago. The Czech prime minister met his Slovak counterpart,
Iveta Radicova, for talks. The two discussed the economy, energy
security and regional cooperation. The Czech prime minister underlined
that the two newly formed coalition governments shared similar
priorities of cutting their budget deficits and said that European
rules to curb deficits should now be enforced. Mr. Necas also met
Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic.
The Czech and Slovak prime ministers will on Tuesday travel to Budapest
for a meeting of the four strong Visegrad Group which also includes
Poland and Hungary. In Hungary, Mr Necas will hold bilateral meetings
with his Polish and Hungarian counterparts.
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Roads death toll drops to 294
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Police said on Monday that 294 people had died on Czech roads during
the first half of the year. That is the lowest figure for the first six
months of the year for the last 21 years. During the same period in
2009 the number of victims was 86 higher. The latest figures follow on
from a sharp rise in road deaths accompanying the start of the summer
holidays. Overall, the death toll has been falling for several years
now with last year's total for the first half year under 400 for the
first time. In the first six months of 1990 640 people died on the
roads.
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STEM polls shows weak voter relationship with Public Affairs, TOP 09
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Around two-fifths of the people who voted for the Public Affairs party
in May's lower house elections did so not out of any great conviction
but only because they saw the party as the lesser evil. That is one of
the findings of a poll carried out by the STEM agency whose results
were released on Monday. The results were not much better for the other
newcomer party, TOP 09, with around half of those polled saying they
had a weak or very weak relationship with the party. Most of the longer
established parties fared better with over two-thirds saying they had a
strong or very strong identification with them. Elections at the end of
May were narrowly won by the Social Democrats but the second placed
Civic Democrats formed a coalition with TOP 09 and Public Affairs.
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Moody's says could review Czech rating
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International credit ratings agency Moody's has said it could improve
its evaluation of the Czech Republic if the new centre-right coalition
government delivers on its pledge to cut the budget deficit. The news
was given by one of the company's analysts in an interview with the
Bloomberg news agency. The Czech Republic currently has an A1 rating
with a stable outlook, the same as that of neighbour Slovakia and
Estonia, which is soon to adopt the single currency euro. The Czech
rating is two notches lower than the absolute top triple 'A' rating.
The new government has pledged to cut the budget deficit to 3.0 percent
of Gross Domestic Product by 2013.
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Storm emergency called off in Western Bohemia
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Homes in Western Bohemia have been reconnected to the grid after
weekend storms left tens of thousands without power. The worst affected
districts were around Karlovy Vary, Tachov and northern Plzen where
high winds downed trees and power cables on Saturday. One person was
killed by a falling tree. At one stage around half of the region was
without power. Storms also caused flooding in parts of the centre and
east of the country with rivers still at flood danger levels around the
east Bohemian town Chrudim on Monday morning.
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Environment ministry suffers server meltdown
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The Ministry of Environment server dealing with its Green Saving energy
efficiency programme suffered repeated problems on Monday after it was
widened to allow applications for grants from regional, town and local
councils. Problems began soon after 6 am when mayors and other
officials started to log on the server to lodge internet applications
for funds. Some voiced fears they could miss out on funds if the quota
for applications was filled before they could file theirs online. The
efficiency saving programme has around 25 billion crowns to spend by
the end of 2012.
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Ostrava fans rampage through train
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Drunken Banik Ostrava football fans ransacked train carriages taking
them back from their opening league fixture against Pribram on Sunday
night. Fans ripped down curtains, smashed a window and broke a sink in
the toilets. Two fans were also arrested following an assault upon a
policeman. Czech Railways estimated the damage at around 25,000 crowns.
The match between the two teams, which passed without incident, was
earmarked as high risk following violence in May when 25 fans were
detained.
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Prague Civic Democrats mull independent candidate for mayor
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Prague Civic Democrats could opt for an independent, non-aligned
candidate for mayor in local elections in October. Prague Civic
Democrat chairman Boris Stastny said that is one of the options that
party bosses are considering. The party's regional council is expected
to come up with a name to head the party's list in the Czech capital at
a meeting at the start of August. Mr. Stastny refused to mention any
names for the moment. The Civic Democrats are under pressure after TOP
09 last week named former central bank governor Zdenek Tuma as its
candidate for mayor in the upcoming elections. TOP 09 scored better
than the Civic Democrats in Prague in elections to the lower house of
parliament in May as voter disillusion eroded support in what has been
a party bastion.
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Conservationists start work on protected meadows
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Conservationists began Monday to scythe water meadows at a reserve
around 10 miles from the central city of Trebic. The annual action is
aimed at preserving the meadows which are a refuge for rare orchids and
other plants. Invasive trees, such as the willow, were also removed.
The conservation work, which will last around two weeks, also attracts
international volunteers with some from as far as South Korea visiting
in the past. This year, some have come from Germany.
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Local council challenges Eden stadium's right to host concerts
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Slavia Prague football team's modern Eden stadium has no building
permission to host concerts according to the local council. The finding
surfaced on Monday, a day before the stadium is due to host a concert
by the American pop singer Pink. The council added the stadium did not
meet the required noise regulations for concerts. It said it could not
stop the event but could impose a fine. The owners of the stadium have
contested the council's interpretation saying that they are authorised
to stage cultural events. Last year the stadium hosted a concert by
Depeche Mode.
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Weather
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The start of the week will be partly cloudy, with rain showers
particularly in the east of the country. Daytime highs should range
between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius. Tropical weather should make a
comeback from Wednesday.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Sports News
Sports News 7.19.2010
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In Sports News: Hradec Kralove end champions Sparta Prague's 33-game
unbeaten run as they return to Czech football's first division in
style; Bohemians 1905 draw with Slavia in their first home game at the
latter's Eden stadium; Roman Kreuziger drops out of the leading 10
riders in the Tour de France; and it's love-all as tennis players
Stepanek and Vaidisova wed.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/129959
One on One
Jakub Patocka, editor-in-chief of left-wing news website Denik
Referendum
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Jakub Patocka is the editor-in-chief of an online magazine called Denik
Referendum, and a leading Czech left-leaning journalist. He made
national headlines at the end of last year when his website ran what it
said was the Czech president's New Year's address; however, it turned
out to be a hoax, made up of the president's favourite phrases. So was
it a marketing trick with a message?
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/129958
Current Affairs
Englishman completes 175 km swim down Vltava
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Paul Whitaker arrived in Prague on Saturday from a swimming challenge
that took him 18 days to complete. The 41-year-old Englishman decided
to swim 175 kilometers from the South Bohemian city of Ceske Budejovice
back to the Czech capital. His goals in doing so? Raising a quarter
million Czech crowns for a charity called Asistence, which works with
physically and combined handicapped people, and to break the Czech
record in river swimming. Did he achieve his goals? And what were the
highlights and obstacles of the challenge?
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/129948
Current Affairs
New parent-school contract to tackle poor behavior in classroom
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Recent years have seen a number of publicized cases of bullying in
Czech elementary and high schools which left teachers largely powerless
to act. But if the new education minister has his way that could soon
change: he has made clear he would like to introduce a contract into
the school system binding parents to take more responsibility, when
necessary, for their children's behavior.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/129946
Current Affairs
PM Necas concerned about government officials linked to private
security firm
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Curbing corruption was one of the promises made by the new centre-right
Czech government appointed last week by President Vaclav Klaus. But its
anti-corruption drive has come in the spotlight over the staffing
policy of one of the coalition parties, Public Affairs. Its ministers
have already hired several former employees of a security firm closely
linked to the party's Vit Barta, who himself holds the transport
portfolio.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/129944
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