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04/24/2006
According to a poll by the SC&C agency, every third Czech has admitted to having paid a bribe in the past. The poll conducted on 3166 people suggests that men over 45 with secondary or university education pay bribes most frequently and are also the most frequent target of bribery. Sixty-four percent of the polled said they had never paid a bribe. The Czech Republic shared 47th to 50th position with Greece, Slovakia and Namibia in last year's Transparency International table of corruption perception.
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04/23/2006
Police in the north Bohemian town of Libcany near Hradec Kralove are continuing their investigation on the site of the company Vertex, where over 1000 types of hazardous contaminants were discovered on Saturday. The material was being stored in barrels on the grounds of a small chemical factory. According to a district official, most of the materials are crude oil-based, and those especially dangerous, like cyanides, were removed from the site on Saturday. Three people have been arrested for selling chemical goods, and for possession of hazardous materials. A special decontamination unit is on site, but no evacuation order has been issued for the area. Police have ordered an information ban surrounding the incident until Monday, when results from lab tests will be available.
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04/23/2006
District officials in the Olomouc region of Moravia decided to combat the expected mosquito outbreak over the weekend. Planes distributed 2.5 tonnes of the anti-mosquito substance VectoBac, which was made available by the Ministry of Health. The substance kills mosquito larva within 2 hours without harming other plants or animals. Reports warn that because of flooding earlier this spring, people should expect more mosquitoes than usual, but that the situation will not be as dramatic as it was following the floods of 1997.
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04/23/2006
On a 4-day state visit to Canada that is due to end on Monday, Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda told reporters that there is no reason Canada should continue to insist on visas for Czech tourists. Besides opening a new Czech General Consulate in Toronto, the main aim of Svoboda's visit is to convince Canadian officials to abolish the current asymmetrical visa requirements. Canada imposed visa requirements on Czech citizens in October 1997, following a wave of Roma arrivals who asked for political asylum in Canada. The Czech foreign minister says he is prepared to file a suit against Canada at the European Court if the meetings in Ottawa are not successful. As a member of the European Union, the Czech Republic can request that the EU impose visa requirements on Canadians. Canadians have not required a visa for the Czech Republic since the country joined the EU on May 1st, 2004.
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04/23/2006
Meanwhile, thus far a low percentage of Czechs living abroad have registered to vote in the June parliamentary elections. In 2002, Czech voter turnout abroad was also minimal. In order for Czech citizens to vote in a foreign country, they must present themselves at a Czech embassy or consular office; mail-in ballots are not accepted, which presents a problem for those living far away from a Czech mission. However, Czech politicians agree that a mail-in ballot should be approved. Sunday is the last day for Czechs living abroad to register for the upcoming elections.
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04/23/2006
The Central Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party voted to dismiss two of its members over the weekend. Ludmila Schwarzova, the former head of the deputy transport minister's office is suspected of corruption, and Marian Kus is thought to have forged his lustration certificate. Sources say that Kus was a former communist-era intelligence agent tasked with infiltrating church circles in Czechoslovakia and Poland prior to 1989; his name appears on the list of communist secret police (StB) collaborators. Schwarzova and Kus were voted out by three-fifths of the Social Democratic Party membership.
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04/23/2006
A new poll indicates that Czechs are not in favour of same-sex partnership adoptions. Sixty-three percent of the one thousand people asked were against adoption rights for same-sex couples, while twenty-seven percent of respondents favoured the idea. The poll was conducted by RCA Research during the first half of April.
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04/23/2006
A tram and a trolley-bus collided on Sunday in the Moravian capital of Brno. The incident occurred when the trolley-bus gave the right-of-way to a pedestrian, and the tram driver rear ended the trolley-bus. Two people sustained minor injuries as a result of the accident.
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04/23/2006
Prague's famous Easter markets closed on Sunday, having recorded more visitors this year than in recent years. The Easter markets on the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square are famous for their hand-painted Easter eggs and other traditional products, such as decorated gingerbread. The folk concerts and exhibits of traditional trades are also popular with locals and tourists.
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04/22/2006
A new bill passed on Friday that promises to create a chain of non-profit hospitals is being strongly challenged by the opposition Civic Democrats. The lower house passed the bill, drafted by the ruling Social Democrats and supported by the opposition Communists. To become law, the bill must still be signed by President Vaclav Klaus. Critics of the bill on non-profit hospitals say it will harm patients and lead to lay-offs and hospital closures. On Saturday, the deputy chairman of the Civic Democrats said that his party will most likely bring the matter before the consitutional court. The Civic Democrats are also vowing to abolish the law if they secure an election victory in June.
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