Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Friday, April 30th, 2010
By: Daniela Lazarova
* Miloslav Vlcek of the Social Democrats has resigned as chairman of
the lower house and given up his deputy's post over his involvement in
controversial subsidies and loans.
* A convoy of American war jeeps drove through Prague on Friday at the
start of celebrations marking the 65th anniversary of the end of WWII.
* Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout has awarded individuals and
organizations for promoting the good name of the Czech Republic.
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Chairman of the lower house resigns over scandal
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Miloslav Vlcek of the Social Democrats has resigned as chairman of the
lower house of Parliament and given up his deputy's post over his
involvement in controversial subsidies and loans. He will not run in
May's general elections and plans to leave politics altogether. Mr.
Vlcek came under intense pressure to resign from his posts after it
emerged that he had persuaded deputies to approve a controversial
subsidy for a close friend and had breached the law by repaying a one
million crown loan to a friend in cash, a practice outlawed in order to
prevent money-laundering.
Deputy chair of the lower house Miroslava Nemcova of the Civic
Democrats is expected to replace Miloslav Vlcek as the head of the
lower house.
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Convoy of US war jeeps starts end-of war celebrations
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A convoy of American war jeeps drove through Prague on Friday at the
start of celebrations marking the 65th anniversary of the end of WWII
and the liberation of western Bohemia from the Nazis by the US 3rd
army. The largest Czech city General Patton's men freed in 1945 was
Plzen - about 80 kilometres south-west of Prague - where the biggest
celebrations with US war veterans are due to take place over the
weekend. During the communist years the authorities only credited the
Russian army with the country's liberation from Nazi rule, downplaying
the US role in the process.
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Foreign minister presents Gratias Agit awards
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Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout on Friday presented the Gratias Agit
award to individuals and organizations for promoting the good name of
the Czech Republic. This year's laureates include Natasa Al Radi
Cimbalova, a Czech pianist living in Iraq, Czech studies teacher and
translator Donka Rousova from Macedonia, Alfred Bauer, a philanthropist
from the United States, the former Vatican envoy to Prague, Cardinal
Giovanni Coppa, and two French lyceums with Czech studies programmes.
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Environmentalists announce Oil Guzzler and Green Pearl award winners
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Czech environmentalists have announced the winners of the Oil Guzzler
and Green Pearl awards for the most environmentally damaging action and
statement of the year. This year's Oil Guzzler prize went to Trade and
Industry Minister Vladimir Tosovsky for his efforts to expand coal
mining in north Bohemia. The minister has been pushing for the limits
imposed on coal mining in the region in the 1990s to be increased. This
would lead to the destruction of several villages that are located on
large brown coal deposits. The Green Pearl Award for the most ludicrous
and damaging statement went to the governor of the Usti region Pavel
Kouda of the Social Democrats. He told the media he wanted to expand
coal mining in the region in order to improve the local culture.
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Rival parties would run up same budget deficit
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The policy programmes of the two main rivals in May's general
elections, the Civic and Social Democrats, would lead to approximately
the same public finance deficit, according to an analysis by the
business daily Hospodarske noviny. The paper says that while the Social
Democrats would achieve that result by generous social handouts, the
Civic Democrats would be hampered by their promise not to raise taxes.
Both would lower public spending by between 15 and 16 billion crowns.
Two smaller newly-established parties, the right-wing TOP O9 and
centrist Public Affairs Party would both do better, cutting the deficit
by 50 and 19 billion crowns respectively.
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President Klaus names 68 new professors
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President Vaclav Klaus on Friday named 68 new professors in a special
ceremony at Prague's Charles University. On the occasion Education
Minister Miroslava Kopicova pointed out that Czech universities were
undergoing a confidence crisis triggered by the plagiarism and
fast-track-degrees scandal at Plzen's law faculty. She said that
certain disciplines had been damaged by a brain drain to the private
sector with school graduates unwilling to commit to academic careers
which paid less than they would make elsewhere.
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Household debt climbs higher
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Czech household debt climbed to 993 billion crowns in March of this
year, up by 87 billion against February, the Czech National Bank
reported on Friday. Meanwhile, the debts of businesses decreased by 7.2
billion on the month and 88 billion on the year to 900 billion crowns.
Financial experts say the figures reflect the current state of the
economy and unemployment rate. An increasing number of Czechs are
proving incapable of re-paying their household debts and banks are now
more cautious in granting loans.
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Prostejov laying off employees
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Clothing manufacturer Prostejov, which is on the verge of bankruptcy,
has laid off 600 workers. The firm, which is 1,6 billion crowns in
debt, will now run on 900 employees. The one-time clothing giant, which
produced the best quality wear during the communist years, has been hit
by a sudden fall in demand which has seen it operate at 30 percent of
its capacity. In the first three months of this year it posted a loss
of 104 million crowns.
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More than half of Czechs worried about unemployment
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A survey conducted by the polling agency STEM suggests that 63 percent
of Czechs are worried about losing their job as a result of the
economic crisis. The vast majority of them said they would be willing
to work for less if it would help them keep their job, or take a
requalification course to work in a different capacity. On the other
hand, few would be willing to move to a different part of the country
to get employment.
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Pole vaulter Katerina Badurova retiring
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Czech pole vaulter Katerina Badurova, a silver medal winner at the
Osaka world athletics championships in 2007, announced her retirement
from the sport Friday. The 27-year-old recently suffered damage to
internal knee ligaments. A scan which revealed the full extent of her
injury prompted her to make the decision. Badurova finished 12th in the
Olympic pole vault competition at Athens in 2004, and finished second
in the worlds in 2007 with a jump of 4.75 m. She failed to qualify for
the 2008 Olympic Games after suffering ruptures to knee ligaments in
January of that year.
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Weather
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Although central Europe is still enjoying an unseasonably warm spell
with afternoon highs reaching 27 degrees C a cold front from the west
should bring cloudy skies and rain over the weekend with daytime highs
dropping to 15 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Business News
Business News 4.30.2010
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In Business News this week: the Finance Ministry revises its growth
prediction for the Czech economy upwards; the government delays a sale
of international bonds because of uncertainty in the wake of the Greek
debt crisis; Skoda Auto sees its profits increase by over 500 percent
in the first quarter; agribusiness tycoon Andrej Babis says the EU is
destroying the Czech food industry; and Czechs spend twice as much of
their income on booze and tobacco products as the average EU citizen.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/127486
Current Affairs
Bonfires, broomsticks and barbecues: Czechs mark Witches' Night
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April 30 is Carodejnice, or Witches' Night. In the past, this date was
believed to bring the arrival of spring. People would gather to burn
bonfires in order to dispel evil spirits. Nowadays, the celebration is
still popular among Czechs, and the organizers of Prague's biggest
witches' night celebration at Ladronka park are getting ready for a
night full of magic and fire.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/127483
Current Affairs
Film producers look to public collection to save "Lidice" from
development hell
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The extermination of the village of Lidice by the Nazis is one of the
most harrowing tales of WWII, and Czech filmmakers are have long wanted
to bring it to the screen. The acclaimed director Alice Nellis is set
to helm the project, with some of the country's top actors already on
board. But still what would be an important historical film has been in
a proverbial development hell for some years now. Amid a dearth of
sponsors, the film's producers are now looking to the public to help
complete the budget. Earlier today, Radio Prague spoke with producer
Adam Dvorak.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/127481
Current Affairs
Will Greek debt crisis impact Czech euro adoption?
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Member states of the Eurozone are discussing ways of helping Greece and
its debt-laden economy, while there are growing concerns about some
other countries that use the single European currency. But what will
the crisis mean for the Czech Republic, which is itself hoping to adopt
the euro in around five years' time?
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/127480
Arts
The theatre of Spejbl and Hurvinek: A hit with Czech children since 1945
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Divadlo Hurvinka a Spejbla - the theater of Hurvinek and Spejbl - has
been a favorite destination for children in Prague for the past 65
years. It is home to the country's most popular puppets, father Spejbl
and his son Hurvinek. The Dejvice theater just returned to its original
location that was closed down for two years due to renovation. Sarah
Borufka visited the new space and even met the voice behind the puppets.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/127467
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