Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Sunday, August 29th, 2010
By: Chris Johnstone
* The Minister of Transport Vit Barta has called for a revolution in
motorists' fines with their level based on the ability to pay.
* Police have stepped up traffic checks for the expected Sunday rush
back from holidays.
* Prime Minister Petr Necas has said his Foreign Minister's comments
about apparent French racism over Roma expulsions were rash.
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Transport Minister calls for wealth related traffic fines
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Transport Minister Vit Barta has called for motorists' fines to be
related to their ability to pay. Mr. Barta has apparently been inspired
by the systems in Switzerland and Finland where such wealth related
penalties exit. He says such fines could help stop Czech roads being a
Wild West for rich young drivers.
Although the police have welcomed the idea, it has been given a cool
response from the two other government coalition parties, TOP 09 and
the Civic Democrats. Prime Minister Petr Necas said on Sunday he was
opposed to the idea. Fears have also been raised that such a step might
be unconstitutional because it infringes the principle of equal
treatment before the law. The minister wants to table his proposal by
the end of the year.
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Police boost traffic checks ahead of end of holiday rush
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Police have stepped up controls on motorists to accompany an expected
rush back home following holidays. Sunday is the last day of the
traditional holiday period with heavy traffic expected. Police say
checks will be carried out on motorists at 110 points across the
country. In Prague, police have also called up a helicopter to help
them stop congestion and pinpoint dangerous drivers. Around 155 people
died on Czech roads during the holiday period according to initial
figures.
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Prime Minister says 'racist' comments of Foreign Minister were rash
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Prime Minister Petr Necas distanced himself on Sunday from reported
comments of Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg about the French
expulsions of Roma or gypsies originally from Romania. Mr.
Schwarzenberg was reported by the Lidove noviny newspaper on Saturday
to have said it was impossible not to suspect that a racist perspective
played a role in the ongoing expulsions. He also said the move was
against the spirit and position of the European Union.
The Czech Foreign Minister later told Czech Television that he said the
actions gave an outward impression of racism but that he had not
described them as racist.
Mr. Necas said the comments were rash and that he saw no racist subtext
in the expulsions which have been championed by French president
Nicolas Sarkozy.
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Prime Minister estimates up to eight percent reduction in public
employees
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Prime Minister Petr Necas has estimated that between five and eight
percent of state workers will leave their jobs due to proposed budget
cuts next year. Cuts of 10 percent have been demanded in ministry
budgets. The Prime Minister said there was a choice between across the
board pay cuts of 10 percent or a 10 percent cut in employee numbers.
He reckoned that most ministries would opt for a mix of the above but
that there would be a bigger emphasis on job cuts. The 2011 budget will
start to be debated in the lower house of parliament in October. The
government programme calls for cuts across the public sector with the
exception of teachers.
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Rock fans disappointed at Ripfest
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Thousands of rock fans were left disappointed by the one day festival
Ripfest 2010 which culminated with an appearance by rock legend Ozzy
Osbourne just before midnight on Saturday. Fans were disappointed that
the Black Sabbath member only sang for around an hour instead of the
expected 90 minutes. The appearance of former Uriah Heep member Ken
Hensley was also cut short. Technical problems due to rain disrupted
the programme. Osbourne was launching an 11-stop European tour at the
Czech festival and also promoting his new album, Scream.
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Czech Finance Minister seeks to clamp down on tax fraud on fuel
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Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said on Sunday that he had
submitted a demand for European Union authorities to give him fast
track approval for a change in the rules for VAT charged on motor
fuels. Mr. Kalousek said the state was currently losing around 8.0
billion crowns a year through fraud on VAT payments on such fuel. He
wants petrol stations to be forced to include the tax on fuel sold. At
the moment sales are subject to a chain of fraud.
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Ujfalusi rules out return for his country
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In football, Czech defender Tomas Ujfalusi has ruled out a return to
the Czech national squad. In an interview with Sunday's edition of the
daily Sport he said that he would not return to play for his country.
The prospect of Ujfalusi's return in the autumn for European
Championship qualifiers was raised in the week by Czech manager Michal
Bilek. The 32-year-old defender retired from international football
last year. This week he won the European super cup with Spanish team
Atletico Madrid.
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Motorcyclist Karel Abraham opts out of Indianapolis Grand Prix
following medical advice
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Czech motorcyclist Karel Abraham has decided not to take part in
Sunday's Grand Prix event in Indianapolis, in the US. He took part in
Friday's training but only completed 12 courses of the circuit before
his father called off the practice. The rider was complaining of slow
reflexes and poor concentration. He later followed doctors' advice not
to take part in the race. The rider suffered concussion following
training for the Brno Grand Prix two weeks ago and has not fully
recovered since.
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Czech Kveta Peschke wins New Haven doubles title
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Czech tennis player Kveta Peschke and Slovak partner Katerina Srebotnik
have won the New Hampshire double title. The pairing beat the US
combination of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 7:5, 6-0.
The Czech-Slovak pairing saved a set point at 4:5 in the first set and
then went on to win nine games in a row. It is the second major title
for the pairing this year. The New Hampshire event is seen as a warm up
for the US Open.
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Czech mountain cross cyclist wins world championship title
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Czech cyclist Jaroslav Kulhavy won the last of the series of world
championship mountain bike events at Windham in the US becoming the
first Czech to achieve such a success. Kulhavy was third in the overall
championship rankings which were headed by Swiss cyclist Nino Schurter.
The 25-year-old Czech was second in a world championship event last
month, a few days after winning the European title.
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Weather
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Showers with occasional heavier rain will continue throughout the week.
Top daytime temperatures will be around 17 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Letter from Prague
The long shadow of Emperor Franz Joseph
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August 18 marked the 130th anniversary of birth of one of the most
distinct figures of the old Austrian empire, Emperor Franz Joseph I. He
ruled his peoples for nearly seven decades, and although Czechs today
don't seem to identify with this particular period in their history,
the legacy of the 'aged monarch', as he was semi-officially referred to
towards the end of his life, is still apparent in most of his former
empire today.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131184
Science Journal
Science Journal 8.29.2010
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There's a hole in the middle of Prague, and we want you to know what's
in it. The early 1980s metro station at Narodni trida is the scene of a
fascinating archaeological dig that we'll be visiting in this month's
Science Journal.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131162
Mailbox
Mailbox 8.29.2010
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In today's Mailbox: joint issue stamps, the Czechoslovak legions,
Vaclav Havel, and what happens to reception reports after we have read
them. Listeners quoted: Alex Torbeni, Steven Bell, Howard Barnett,
Grant Skinner.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131161
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