Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Monday, August 30th, 2010
By: Daniela Lazarova
* A man armed with an assault rifle went on a rampage in the Slovak
capital Bratislava on Monday killing eight people and injuring 15,
among them a Czech national.
* The prime minister has called for a tougher labour code than that
proposed by the labour and social affairs minister.
* A growing number of public sector employees say they will join the
planned anti-government protest on September 21st.
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Czech national injured in Bratislava shooting incident
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A man armed with an assault rifle went on a rampage in the Slovak
capital Bratislava on Monday killing eight people and injuring 15,
among them a Czech national. The shooting spree started shortly after
10am in the apartment of a Roma family where the gunman killed 6
people. He then left the apartment and according to one witness started
to shoot "at everything that moved". Police have refused to speculate
about a racist motive. Thirteen people are in hospital, one of them in
critical condition. A spokeswoman for the Teaching Hospital in
Bratislava has confirmed that a Czech national is among the injured,
but not further information has been made available.
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PM calling for tougher labour code
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Prime Minster Petr Necas has called for a tougher labour code than that
proposed by the labour and social affairs minister, Jaromir Drabek. In
an interview for the business daily Hospodarske Noviny the prime
minister said the proposal did not go far enough in giving employers
greater flexibility. Mr. Necas, who himself served as labour minister
in the previous government, has suggested among other things that
employers should be able to fire an employee without stating a reason
other than general dissatisfaction with performance, that the
two-months notice period should be shorted to one month and that the
standard three-month trial period should be extended to four months.
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More public sector workers join anti-government protest
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A growing number of public sector employees say they will join the
planned anti-government protest action on September 21st. The
demonstration originally called by police and firemen's trade unions
will be joined by soldiers, teachers and health workers. They are
protesting against the government's plans to introduce a 10 percent
wage cut, lay off employees and amend the labour code in a way that
will restrict employees' rights.
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Thousands in construction industry may lose jobs
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Planned cuts to investments in 2010 may bring the construction industry
to its knees, the Association of Construction Firms said on Monday.
According to the latest estimates of the Czech Business Chamber around
40,000 people in the construction industry may lose their jobs in the
coming year. The construction business will be severely impacted by the
Transport Ministry's decision to freeze all non-essential building
projects. Cuts in 2009, which the finance minister described as a
"warm-up" resulted in a 40 percent drop in public orders in the first
half of this year.
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Czech banks remain resilient to risks
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The Czech banking sector would not be jeopardised even in the case of
very unfavourable economic and financial development, the central bank
said on its website referring to the outcome of new stress tests in
August. The banking sector��s capital adequacy would remain above 8
percent, the minimum required by the central bank, in all scenarios of
potential economic development. Capital adequacy of the banking sector
reached nearly 15 percent at end-June.
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PM: Czechs should have been invited to ministerial meeting in Paris
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Prime Minister Petr Necas on Monday criticized the French authorities
for failing to invite the Czech Republic, as well as a number of other
EU member states, to a ministerial meeting in Paris that is to discuss
the expulsion of Bulgarian and Romanian Romanies from France. The
meeting is due next Monday when Czech Foreign Minister Karel
Schwarzenberg is scheduled to pay an official visit to Paris. Mr. Necas
said the selection of participants was a display of contempt and
arrogance that does not further good relations among EU countries.
Romania and Bulgaria, whom the problem directly concerns, have not been
invited either. In an interview for Saturday's daily Lidove noviny the
Czech foreign minister criticized the ongoing expulsions. He said it
was impossible not to suspect that a racist perspective played a role
in the expulsions and added that they were contrary to the spirit and
rules of the 27-strong European Union. He later softened his stand.
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Czech Foreign Ministry may close down more embassies to cut costs
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The Czech Foreign Ministry is laying off 250 employees and may be
forced to close down more embassies in order to meet the government's
cost-cutting measures in 2010, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg
said at a meeting with Czech ambassadors in Prague on Monday. The
government recently approved plans to close down the country's
embassies in Congo, Venezuela, Kenya, Yemen and Costa Rica. A decision
on whether more embassies will need to be closed should be made by
mid-September.
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Grand Pardubice Steeple Chase to take place as planned
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The organizers of the Grand Pardubice Steeple Chase have rejected
rumors that this year's event is to be cancelled due to financial
problems. Miroslav Petran, head of the board of directors of the Czech
Horseracing Association, said the 114th annual steeple chase would take
place as planned on October 10, despite the ongoing financial
difficulties. He said this was possible thanks to the generosity of
several of the biggest shareholders who had boosted the association's
finances with a million crown loan.
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Czechs' trust in EU institutions slipping, but still above EU average
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A Eurobarometer poll indicates that Czechs' trust in European
institutions is slipping. A similar trend is discernable across the EU
and is being attributed to the impact of the global crisis. The number
of Czechs who profess to trust EU institutions is now at 50 percent,
down by nine percent as compared to last year. Despite the fall, the
Czechs still trust EU institutions more than the EU average which is
now down to a mere 42 percent.
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Eight killed on Czech roads over weekend
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Eight people died on the Czech roads over the weekend according to
preliminary figures in spite of stepped up police controls for the last
day of the summer holidays. A year earlier, the death toll was five.
Police stepped up controls on motorists to accompany an expected rush
back home at the end of the summer. Around 155 people died on Czech
roads during the holiday period according to initial figures.
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Czech Railways to compensate passengers for delays of intercity trains
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Czech Railways will in future compensate passengers on SuperCity,
EuroCity and InterCity trains for delays or failure to provide the
expected comforts, such as air conditioning, the internet news site
iDnes.cz reported on Monday. Compensation will be paid to travelers
with tickets worth over 300 Czech crowns, In-gold and In-gold business
passes. The company has stressed it would only compensate passengers
for delays or poor service for which it can be held directly
responsible. Delays caused by floods, an accident or bad weather will
not be compensated.
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Weather
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The coming days are expected to be cold and rainy with day temperatures
between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius. A gradual warming can be expected in
the second half of the week with skies gradually clearing and
temperatures climbing back to the20s.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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One on One
Czech Foreign Ministry lacks African strategy, says expert Marie Imbrova
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Czech-African relations went through a downturn after the fall of
communism, and might suffer another blow as the Czech Foreign Ministry
has announced the closure of Czech embassies in Congo and Kenya. In
this edition of One on One, we talk to Marie Imbrova, an African
studies expert and a former diplomat, who spent eight years at Czech
embassies in Kenya and Zimbabwe. She has continued visiting Zimbabwe
even after she left the Foreign Ministry, and she is involved in
several development projects there. During her sojourn in Africa, she
also developed a passion for modern African art.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131218
Sports News
Sports News 8.30.2010
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In Sports News this Monday: in tennis, the US Open kicks off with two
main Czech hopefuls; in football, Sparta Prague are eliminated from the
Champions League and will only play in the second level club
competition this season; in motor-racing, Freddy Loix with Skoda takes
the title at the Barum Rally Zlin, and Czechs do fairly well at the
2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131205
Current Affairs
Transport minister wants fines for speeding to be pegged to personal
wealth
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The country's transport minister, Vit Barta, has set off new debate
over how to clamp down on dangerous drivers: the idea - floated at the
weekend - is that speeding fines in the Czech Republic could be pegged
to motorists' personal wealth, similar to systems in currently in place
in Finland or Switzerland. The threat of high fines would theoretically
lead owners of powerful luxury cars - who currently ignore speed limits
- to think twice.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131201
Current Affairs
Czech Foreign Minister's comments over Roma expulsion rack up tension
between Prague and Paris
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A very undiplomatic spat has blown up between Prague and Paris. The
fuse was lit by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg who said
that France's ongoing expulsion of Roma, or gypsies, from camps across
the country smacked of racism.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131199
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