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Poll suggests Social Democrats still most popular party, while coalition parties see fall in support
09/23/2010A new opinion poll suggests the Social Democrats would again come first if fresh elections to the Chamber of Deputies were held now. The survey by the STEM agency indicates that 22.7 percent of Czechs would vote for the Social Democrats, less than one percent more than cast their ballots for the party in June. Support for all three parties in the coalition government is now lower than it was when votes were cast three months ago, the poll suggests. In terms of mandates in the 200-seat lower house, the coalition would lose 10 to the left-wing opposition parties but would still enjoy a majority.
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09/23/2010
One of the biggest sports events of the year in the Czech Republic got underway on Thursday evening, with the opening game of the women’s basketball world championships. The hosts faced Argentina in the curtain raiser in Brno, while other matches will also take place in Ostrava and Karlovy Vary. There are 16 teams competing in the women’s basketball world championship, with the final due to take place on Sunday week.
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09/23/2010
One of the Czech Republic’s leading literary awards, the Jaroslav Seifert Prize, has been won by Jáchym Topol for his 2009 novel Chladnou zemí (which translates as through a cold land). Jury member František Janouch said that Topol was a key figure in Czech literature; he said he respected him not only as a novelist but also for his editing work and journalism, which prior to 1989 was linked to underground circles and samizdat publishing. The Jaroslav Seifert Prize is presented by the Charter 77 Foundation and comes with a cash prize of CZK 250,000.
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09/23/2010
The second annual International Cinematographers’ Film Festival gets underway in the north-eastern city of Ostrava on Thursday. The festival includes outdoor screenings at abandoned sites in the former industrial centre, while other highlights include of a screening of a new film by the great Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer. It runs until October 3.
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09/23/2010
The English musician Sting performed with an orchestra to an audience of around 10,000 at Prague’s O2 Arena on Wednesday night. The former leader of the Police performed hits such as Every Breath You Take and more recent songs accompanied by four rock musicians and the Royal Phiharmonic Concert Orchestra. Wednesday’s show was his sixth in the Czech Republic.
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09/22/2010
The government may delay its plan to change the salary scales according to which employees in the public sphere are paid, Social Affairs Minister Jaromír Drábek said on Wednesday following talks with trade union leaders. The government’s concession comes in the wake of a massive anti-government demonstration on Tuesday when 40,000 people took to the streets to protest against 10 percent salary cuts for public sector employees in 2011 and an overhaul of the payment system which would have reduced fixed salaries and increased bonuses for performance. Trade union organizations will meet later today to decide whether the concession is enough to stop further anti-government protests.
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09/22/2010
The Czech government is to meet later today to approve the budget for 2011 which includes a series of cost saving measures. The controversial measures include saving on sickness, maternity and family benefits and abolition of state incentives for building savings accounts. The proposed budget for 2011 counts on a budget deficit of 135 billion crowns. Time is running out for the government to approve the amendments since the budget should proceed through the lower house of parliament by the end of this month.
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09/22/2010
The Czech data protection authority said on Wednesday it had banned internet giant Google from collecting data for its Street View service in September because its cameras were set too high and interfere with people's privacy, taking pictures beyond a common street view. The Office for Protection of Personal Data said it had received dozens of complaints from citizens. It also urged Google to make a distinction between cities and villages, in which it does not make sense to collect detailed information for tourists. Meanwhile Google has appealed the ban and talks on the issue are expected to continue.
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09/22/2010
Deputies of the centre-right governing coalition on Wednesday joined forces to reject the proposed abolition of health care fees in the lower house. The proposal was tabled by the opposition Social Democrats on the argument that the fees are unconstitutional and worsen access to health care for poorer groups of the population. Coalition deputies countered that the fees were a symbolic payment which helped improve the quality of health care for all.
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09/22/2010
The ministers of interior and defense are putting forward an amendment to the law which would allow the military police to wiretap suspect persons. At present only civilian police investigators have that right and the military police must request their cooperation in cases where wiretapping is considered essential. Interior Minister Radek John says increasing the powers of the military police will help improve their performance. The opposition has criticized the proposal, but will most likely not have the power to block it.
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