Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
By: Chris Johnstone
* The Minister of Defence has created a new administrative unit to
oversee purchases after the daily Mlada fronta dnes uncovered a
kickbacks scandal for a major arms order.
* The head of a police union has suggested on duty officers take a
lenient approach during a national strike against government pay cuts.
* Czech President Vaclav Klaus has suggested some European embassies
could be closed due to cost cutting.
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Paper exposes kickback plot by deputy defence minister
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Minister of Defence Alexandr Vondra on Wednesday announced the creation
of a new unit to oversee purchases following another scandal over arms
purchases.
The daily Mlada fronta dnes on Wednesday described how it exposed a
plot by a deputy minister at the Defence Ministry to take millions of
crowns in kickbacks for a major arms order. The paper reported that it
followed the minister, Jaroslav Kopriva, for six months as he put
together the deal with a lobbyist. They planned to frame an order for
mortars as a joint purchase with the Slovak government, helping them
bypass a public tender and winning it for the Finnish company Patria.
The paper later presented its evidence to the Minister of Defence with
Kopriva being sacked on the spot.
Mr. Vondra said that the new unit would look into all completed,
pending and ongoing purchases to check for any suspicious
circumstances. First in line will be contracts involving third party
intermediaries. He said contracts continued to be a weak point at the
ministry when it could take advantage of rules allowing public tenders
to be avoided.
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Head of police union suggests leniency during protest day
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The head of a police union has suggested on duty officers go easy on
demonstrators during a nationwide protest against public sector wage
cuts and savings. The head of the Union for Security Forces said
officers should where possible only issue remands rather than impose
fines or take tougher action. Police and fire fighters have called a
demonstration for September 21. Health workers, teachers, off duty
members of the armed services and other state employees are also
expected to take part. The head of the union also suggested that police
refrain from imposing fines for traffic offences that day.
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Czech President suggests some European embassies not needed
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President Vaclav Klaus has waded into the debate over cuts at the
Foreign Ministry. Addressing Czech ambassadors on Wednesday, the
President questioned the need for some European embassies. He said that
he did not see the need for having embassies in many smaller EU states
saying that such countries were not really foreign territory as such.
With this in mind, he cautioned against proceeding headlong with cuts.
So far the Foreign Ministry has announced the closure of embassies in
the Congo, Venezuela, Kenya, Yemen and Costa Rica as part of the
government's overall cost cutting drive.
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Heavy rain spurs flood warnings
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Heavy overnight rain in northern Moravia and Silesia led to flood
alerts being declared along many rivers late on Tuesday. Fire fighters
were called out on around 160 incidents. By Wednesday morning the worst
affected locality was on the Olse river at Cesky Tesin where a level
three flood warning applied until the early afternoon. The local crisis
committee has convened there but evacuations have so far been avoided.
The national weather office predicts that most heavy rainfall should
die out during the day but there could still be heavy falls on the
Beskydy mountains.
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Ministry of Finance ups budget figures to take account of floods
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The Ministry of Finance has tabled its budget proposal for 2011 with an
extra 127.7 billion crown provision to cover the flood damages at the
start of August. The planed budget deficit of 135 billion crowns has
been retained with both spending and income boosted by the allotted
amount. After much haggling, the Czech government has agreed in
principle that a special flood tax will be levied next year as a one
off measure only. The ministry's budget proposal, which still has to be
approved by the government and lower house of parliament, counts on
expected economic growth of 2.3 percent next year.
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Police figures suggest 168 people died on roads during summer break
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Initial figures from the police suggest 168 people died on Czech roads
during the summer holidays which have just ended. That is 18 more
victims than during the same period last year which was a relatively
good one for road safety. In most years the death toll has rarely
descended below 200. Experts are still trying to figure out the reasons
why there was such an exceptionally high 104 number of deaths in July.
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Czech injured in Bratislava shooting remains in induced sleep in
hospital
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The 33-year-old Czech who was injured in Monday's shooting spree in
Bratislava remained in a serious but stable condition on Wednesday
according to hospital authorities. The man from the eastern city of
Ostrava remained in induced sleep although two other seriously wounded
victims have been brought out of it. He was one of 15 people when a man
armed with an assault rifle went on a rampage in the Slovak capital,
killing six members of a Roma family and two others who happened to
cross his path. The shooter, who committed suicide after the attack, is
reported to have had frequent disputes with the local Roma community.
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Number of eco farms rises by around a third: ministry
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The number of ecological farms has risen this year by around 30 percent
to around 3,500, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The number
of bio food producers has also climbed by around a third to reach 643,
it added in a report on the sector. The ministry estimates that
ecological farms now account for 10 percent of cultivated land with
producers accounting for 1.0 percent of consumer food. Those
percentages could rise to 15 percent and five percent over the next
five years, the ministry predicts.
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First round US Open exit for Radek Stepanek
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Czech player Radek Stepanek has been an early casualty in the tennis'US
Open. Stepanek, who is struggling to find his best form this year, went
down 4:6, 2:6, 6:4, 4:6 to Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the first
round. Top seeded Czech, Tomas Berdych takes to the court on Wednesday
where he faces another Frenchman, Michael Llodrou. Wimbledon finalist
Berdych is seeded seventh.
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US Open doubles title holder Lukas Dlouhy falls at first hurdle
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The US Men's Open double title holders, Czech Lukas Dlouhy and Indian
Leander Paes have lost in the first round. The third seeded pairing
lost to Czech Martin Damm and Slovak Filip Polasek 7:6, 3:6, 4:6.
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Weather
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Conditions over the coming days are expected to be cloudy and rainy
with highs of 13 to 17o Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Current Affairs
International fair expected to attract thousands of collectors,
hobbyists
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This Thursday will see the launch of the 13th annual Collectors' Fair
in Prague's Letnany, the largest such event in Central and Eastern
Europe. Over three days an estimated 12,000 visitors will be able to
view exhibits and items from traditional coins and stamps to objects
more curious, such as the largest collection of air sickness bags or a
new comic book stamp to be issued by Czech Post.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131276
Current Affairs
Gradual demise of Czech fashion icon
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It's the end of an era for the Czech fashion manufacturer and retailer
OP Prostejov. As of September 1st the company that ruled the roost of
the Czech fashion business has had to close the door on its readymade
wear production, and is hoping to survive as a select producer of
tailor-made clothing.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131275
Current Affairs
Ex-policeman sentenced to jail for brutal assault on Vietnamese that
ended in death
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A Brno court on Tuesday sentenced a former police officer to three and
a half years in prison for a brutal assault on a Vietnamese national
which took place in January 2009. The man later died of serious
internal injuries. The court also handed a two-and-a- half year
sentence to the victim's flatmate for participating in the attack. Two
other policemen, who were standing by but did not interfere, landed
conditional sentences.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/131274
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