News

Long-term statistical data on unemployment published by the Czech Statistical Office indicate a disturbing trend – the emergence of a generation of young people who have never worked. Out of 30,000 people who have not worked in the last eight years, almost 16 thousand are people under 29 years. In the second quarter of 2010, the number of people who were jobless for more than a year grew to 155,000. Of those more than 81,000 are women, 72,000 are people with apprenticeship certificates, and the rest are people with only primary school education.

The Czech Republic is among the states that failed to fulfil the EU’s pledge to stop the decline in biological diversity by 2010, Czech ornithologist Lukas Viktora said on Friday in reaction to a report issued by BirdLife International ahead of a world conference on biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan. The report states that wildlife species are still dying out and wildlife habitats continue to shrink due to intensive farming, the construction of new motorways, giant storing facilities, energy industry and the development of cities. The Czech Ornithological Society has criticized the fact that while 41 protected bird areas have been established in the Czech Republic, protection in them is not always effective, and many measures remain only on paper.

A public opinion poll conducted by the STEM agency shows the President’s Office as the most trusted institution in the country with 76 percent of those polled saying they trusted the president. In comparison, the lower house of Parliament received only as 36 percent credibility rating and the Senate a mere 28 percent.

A South Moravian court has ruled that the Slav Epic, the masterpiece of artist Alfons Mucha, must be turned over to the City of Prague for a prepared exhibit in the National Gallery. The decision overrules a restraining measure filed by the town of Moravský Krumlov to prevent the renowned, 20-canvass artwork from being relocated until questions regarding its ownership are resolved. Mucha’s will bestows the paintings to the City of Prague, though only on the condition that a special pavilion is created for them. No such venue was ever built, and the court based its decision on a 1993 document through which Prague assumed ownership of them from the Ministry of Culture. The decision may be appealed, however Moravský Krumlov must hand over the artwork at least until the planned exhibit ends on May 31.