• Poultry meat imports from EU renewed as of August
    07/25/2002

    As of August, imports of poultry from the European Union to the Czech Republic will be renewed, but only under new veterinary rules. According to the spokesman of the State Veterinary Administration, Josef Duben, the veterinary authority in the country of origin will be obliged to provide information as to whether the exported meat was modified with beef proteins. Poultry imports were banned earlier this month after beef proteins had been found in meat coming from the Netherlands. Modification by beef proteins is not allowed in the Czech Republic.
    Author: Alena Škodová

  • Lower house elects new leadership
    07/18/2002

    Czech MPs have elected six deputy chairpersons of the lower house of parliament, completing the seven-member leadership of the chamber chaired by Social Democrat Lubomir Zaoralek who was elected last Thursday. The election-winning Social Democrats have another member in the leadership, deputy chairwoman Jitka Kupcova. Two of the deputy chairpersons of the lower house, Miroslava Nemcova and Ivan Langer, are members of the right-of-centre Civic Democrats, the second strongest party in this year’s elections. Christian Democrat Jan Kasal and Hana Marvanova of the Freedom Union represent the two-party bloc which has formed a coalition government with the Social Democrats. And for the first time since the fall of communism, the Communist Party has a representative in the lower house leadership, Vojtech Filip.
    Author: Vladimír Tax

  • Floods in southern Moravia
    07/17/2002

    The governor of south Moravia Stanislav Juranek has called a state of emergency in five villages where heavy floods killed two people and caused extensive property damage on Tuesday. A huge clean-up operation is underway in the region and volunteers are helping to pile up sandbags on river banks as protection against further flooding. Meteorologists have forecast more torrential rain over the next 24 hours. Tuesday's floods took the region by surprise and rivers rose by two meters in places. The Interior Minister Stanislav Gross, who visited the region on Tuesday, said the state would provide humanitarian aid. The damage has been estimated at over 30 million Czech crowns.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Two more candidates prevail in parliament deputy leader bids
    07/16/2002

    On Tuesday, the lower house of parliament voted Civic Democrat Ivan Langer and Communist MP Vojtech Filip as lower house deputy chairmen. This brings the total number of elected deputy leaders to four, although the new lower house of parliament passed a proposal last Thursday allowing for six new parliament deputy chairpersons. In secret ballots, Mr Langer received 161 votes and Mr Filip 105. The two other candidates, the Freedom Union's Hana Marvanova and Civic Democrat Miroslava Nemcova, failed to get the mandatory 100 votes. The two MPs hope to receive the necessary number of votes in the next round of secret balloting.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Poll: Low turnout due to public disgust with politics
    07/16/2002

    A public opinion poll conducted by the TNS Factum agency says that the main reason for the low turnout during the parliamentary elections in June was public disgust with the general behaviour of Czech politicians. Sixty-three percent of those polled furthermore said they failed to vote as they did not feel it would make a difference. Over half of the questioned parties also added that they were not able to choose a suitable party.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Poll: Money most important factor in choosing to go on to higher education
    07/16/2002

    Another opinion poll, this time conducted by the STEM agency on the education system, has revealed that half of the Czech public believes they do not enjoy equal opportunities when pursuing university degrees. According to the results released on Tuesday, eighty percent of those polled claim to be discouraged from pursuing a higher education because they lack enough money to do so. Another reason stated in the poll was corruption. Many believed that a place in a good university can only be gained by offering bribes.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • President Havel appoints new cabinet
    07/15/2002

    President Vaclav Havel appointed a new centre left coalition government on Monday, one month to the day after the general elections. The new Cabinet, which is expected to lead the country into the European Union, is headed by Social Democrat Vladimir Spidla. The government is dominated by the Social Democratic Party which has 11 ministerial posts, the remaining 6 have been divided between the centrist Christian Democrats and the liberal Freedom Union. With an average age of 42, the cabinet is the youngest ever in the country's history. The new government commands a one-vote majority, with 101 votes of the 200 seats in the lower house.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Civic Democrats to form a shadow cabinet by end of September
    07/15/2002

    The leadership of the opposition Civic Democratic Party met on Monday to discuss the causes of their election defeat in June. At the meeting, the Civic Democrats agreed to form a new shadow cabinet by the end of September. The previous shadow cabinet, much criticised by the party's chief Vaclav Klaus, was dissolved on Monday. The Civic Democrats' leadership also endorsed a study the party had commissioned analysing its poor election results. A new party convention where the leadership is expected to offer its resignation will take place in December this year. Only one high-ranking member of the Civic Democrats resigned in the wake of the party's poor showing in the elections.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Karlovy Vary Film Festival ends
    07/14/2002

    The 37th International Karlovy Vary Film Festival proved to be a triumph for Czech film makers. The main prize –the Crystal Globe Award -went to the Czech film Year of the Devil –directed by Petr Zelenka - a black comedy about a group of Czech musicians confronting the horrors of alcoholism. The main prize in the category of documentary films likewise went to a Czech production called Town B directed by Filip Remunda. The jury, headed by the French actor and director Jean Marc Barr, awarded a special prize to the German movie Nowhere in Africa directed by Caroline Link. The Best Director award went to Asghar Massombagi for the Canadian movie Khaled. The Best Camera Award went to Ming Boung-hun for the Korean film No time for tears. The British actor Sean Connery was presented with a special award for his lifelong contribution to the world of cinematography. Over the past ten days the famous West Bohemian spa town hosted over 140 thousand film fans who saw close to 300 domestic and foreign movies. Visitors also got the chance to mingle with some of their film idols –among them Sean Connery, Michael York, Stephen Fry, Ben Chaplin, Claire Duval, Keira Knightley and Orla Brayd.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • EU says Temelin is safe
    07/14/2002

    The European Commission's deputy chairwoman Loyola de Palacio has said that the European Union has no reservations regarding the safety of the Temelin nuclear power plant in southern Bohemia. According to de Palacio Temelin meets all international nuclear safety requirements as well as a list of nuclear safety norms which the EC is preparing for EU states. The EC's deputy chairwoman on Sunday rejected another bid for EU intervention from Austria saying that the question of Temelin's future was strictly the Czech Republic's internal affair and the European Union would put no pressure on Prague in connection with plant.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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