News

Iranian Embassy sends protest letter to Foreign Ministry

The Iranian Embassy in Prague has sent a letter of protest to Czech diplomatic officials. The Foreign Ministry's spokesman Vit Kolar said on Friday that the letter was in response to the reprinting of a caricature depicting the Prophet Mohammed by two Czech newspapers. In recent days, the caricatures, first printed by a Danish newspaper, sparked vehement and sometimes violent protests in Muslim communities from Asia to the Middle East. The Czech dailies - Mlada Fronta Dnes and the financial newspaper Hospodarske Noviny - defended their decision to reprint one of over a dozen caricatures, on the grounds that it was for "illustrative purposes" only. The Iranian Embassy has asked for an official apology. But, the Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda, while denouncing the cartoons, has stressed it is up to the dailies themselves to choose what to print.

Counter-intelligence service expects no violence in connection with caricature

In related news, the Czech Republic's counter-intelligence agency, the BIS, has said it does not expect any violence related to the caricatures to ensue on Czech territory. The agency's spokesman Jan Subert said on Friday that Muslims in the Czech Republic had no intention of provoking violence. According to Mr Subert, no special measures had been taken to increase security, although the service is monitoring the situation. Police spokesman, Jiri Vokus meanwhile, has said that while special measures have not been taken elsewhere, security at the Danish Embassy has been heightened. Denmark has seen the brunt of outrage by Muslims offended by the depiction of Mohammed, considered blasphemous in the Islamic tradition.

Amendment to media bill passed

A much-discussed amendment to the country's media law has passed in the Lower House. On Friday 88 of 120 MPs present voted in favour, to lay the foundations for widespread digital broadcasting. Currently, the country has four nation-wide analogue channels, two belonging to public broadcaster Czech TV, two to commercial broadcasters TV Nova and Prima. It is estimated that under the wave of digitalisation as many as 24 new channels could come into being, both for national as well as regional audiences. Some digital broadcasting began in the Czech Republic last year, not covering the whole of the country.

All analogue broadcasters are expected to make the transition to digital between the years 2010 - 2012.

Lower House supports transfer of injury insurance to state

The Lower House has passed a bill on injury insurance transferring compensation for work-related injuries and illnesses from commercial insurance companies to the state. Under the law, the Czech Social Security Administration will take over responsibility. At present, employers in the Czech Republic pay injury insurance fees to one of the two insurance companies authorised with the task, under the country's labour code.

The European Union, critical of the situation, proposed two solutions - either allowing all health insurance companies to pay out compensation or to transfer the duty to the state. Some observers have criticised the bill for not being sufficiently transparent.

Conditions for pilots' security clearance to be softened

The Lower House on Friday passed an amendment to the bill on civilian aviation that will soften the conditions for the security clearance of pilots and flight attendants. Under the law, pilots and attendants will not have to pass as demanding security vetting carried out by the National Security Office in the future. They will be vetted under more standard procedures by employers themselves. In this way MPs have reacted to demands by civilian pilots who have long sought to abolish Security Office vetting. Pilots objected to the demand of a high number of personal documents including information about their families, short and long foreign trips or contacts with persons living abroad. The NBU has already screened most of the 14,000 pilots and stewardesses who applied for clearance. If passed by the Senate and signed by the president the bill will take effect in July 2006.

Snow-related accident kills elderly man

Heavy snowfall in the Czech Republic this week has continued to hamper conditions throughout the country. In Southern Bohemia the Czech Army has been asked to step in to help with snow clearance. South-Eastern Moravia has seen a number of accidents related to heavy snow fall. An elderly man was found dead after having fallen from a roof he had been trying to clear of snow, while another, a 53-year-old man, suffered serious injury when he was hit by a frozen block of ice sliding from a building. This week more than twenty buildings - including storage sites - in the Czech Republic collapsed under the weight of snow. Snowfall in the Czech Republic, as in other parts of Central Europe, has been unusually high.

Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, set to get underway

On Friday the XX Olympic Winter Games will officially open in Torino, Italy, lasting from the 10th of February until February 26th. The Czechs have an unprecedented 82 athletes competing. Medal hopefuls include the ice hockey team lead by Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek, who will be attempting a gold-medal run similar to the Czech team's success in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. Team representatives are approaching the challenge cautiously, saying that the Czech team is only one among a strong group of favourites that includes Canada, Sweden, and the United States.

Weather

The weekend should see mostly cloudy conditions with some sunny intervals. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover at around 2 degrees Celsius.