News of Radio Prague
Britain to abolish immigration procedure at Prague airport
Britain lifted its controversial immigration controls at Prague's Ruzyne Airport as of midnight on Thursday. The measures were introduced three weeks ago by the British government with the aim of limiting the influx of Roma asylum seekers to the UK. The pre-clearance procedure had been severely criticised by human rights organisations who saw it as discriminating against the Czech Roma minority.
Minority league launches anti-racist campaign
The Czech League of Ethnic Minorities has launched a media campaign against racial prejudice and xenophobia. The campaign will address the general public in the form of TV and radio advertisements and leaflets handed out on public transport. The organisers of the campaign say they are not trying to change the way of thinking of the majority population, but want to provoke public debate on racial intolerance by being intentionally controversial. Czechs have already seen two media campaigns against racial prejudice, organised by the Czech Helsinki Committee and the Czech government respectively.
Central Bank blames government for causing inflation growth
The governor of the Czech National Bank, Zdenek Tuma, has blamed the government's expansionary fiscal policy for causing the current high growth in inflation. According to Mr Tuma, Czech fiscal policy has been turned upside down and instead of working against the economic cycle, it is amplifying negative fluctuations. The Czech inflation rate continued its rise in July, growing 1 percent month-on-month to 5.9 percent in year-on-year terms, which is the highest figure in more than 2 years. The main factor behind the increase was the partial lifting of administrative price regulations on gas and rent as well as a 25-percent increase in the price of holiday travel abroad, and the continuing growth of food prices.
Police discover illegal distillery
Czech police say they have discovered an illegal distillery in the town of Bystrice pod Hostynem. A police spokesperson said officers had seized large volumes of pure alcohol with an estimated value of 5 million CZK or over 120,000 USD. They also arrested three suspects who have been charged with unauthorised business activity and illegal use of trade marks. The suspects are accused of avoiding paying duties amounting to some 340,000 CZK or 8500 USD. If convicted, the three men could face up to eight years in prison.
New Papal Nuncio arrives in Prague
The new Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Erwin Josef Ender, arrives in Prague next week. He becomes the second Vatican envoy to the Czech Republic, replacing his predecessor Giovanni Coppa who represented the Holy See in the Czech Republic since 1990. Archbishop Ender joined the Vatican diplomatic service in 1970 and since then he has served as Papal Nuncio in some African and Baltic countries.
Czech weather report
And finally, the weather forecast. Friday should see rather cloudy skies with rain showers, the highest daytime temperatures should range from 16 to 20 degrees Celsius. Saturday should also be rather cloudy with scattered showers, with afternoon highs between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius. The weather is expected to improve on Sunday when
