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08/26/2008
A study by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, has suggested that the population of the Czech Republic will decrease by almost one million to some 9.5 million inhabitants by 2060, mainly due to population ageing. At present people over 65 make up less than 15 percent of the Czech population, while in 52 years it will be more than one-third. This trend will also require higher budget expenditures on care for the elderly. The demographic development in other former-communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe is similar. Neighbours Slovakia, for example, are to have the oldest population in Europe in 52 years, when its share of citizens over 65 is to make up over 36 percent of all inhabitants.
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08/26/2008
Fans of American hard rock will have a chance to see American legend Alice Cooper in December in the Czech Republic’s second-largest city, Brno. The appearance will be Cooper’s first in the country in eight years. A promoter said on Tuesday that the show – which will feature horror elements such as fake blood, a giant snake, and a guillotine – will see classic hits by the “shock rock” musician, as well as new songs. Mr Cooper will play Brno on December 2.
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08/26/2008
Czech footballer Milan Baroš has signed a three-year deal with Turkish giant Galatasaray Istanbul. The former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker leaves the French league’s Olympique Lyon after a year-and-a half. He spent last spring on loan to Portsmouth. Baroš was the top-scorer at Euro 2004 but has been less effective since. The player welcomed the move to the Turkish league, while a Galatasaray representative called Baroš’s joining the team a “major development”.
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08/25/2008
A spokesperson for the Defence Ministry has said that the Czech-American Status of Forces Agreement may be signed in September, and not, as Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg suggested recently, in a couple of days. The Status of Forces (or SOFA) agreement will lay down the conditions for US soldiers living and working at a planned American radar base in Brdy, Central Bohemia. According to Defence Ministry Spokesman Andrej Čírtek, the individual points of the SOFA agreement have already been approved by both Czech and American delegates. The final wording of the agreement, however, is yet to be settled.
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08/25/2008
Advertising the Czech Republic’s EU presidency will cost the government 26 million crowns (1.6 million USD), Mladá fronta Dnes reported on Monday. The paper says that devising a logo for the country’s EU presidency has cost the Czech state 50,000 crowns (just over 3,000 USD), while gifts, and pamphlets about the presidency, have already cost nearly 18 million crowns (1.1 million crowns). The rest of the sum has been put towards decorating government buildings and working out an overall visual scheme for the presidency. Prague will take over from Paris at the head of the European Union in January 2009. The Czech Republic is the second post-communist country to take over the EU presidency, after Slovenia.
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08/25/2008
The trial of two Czechs accused of smuggling rare insects from India has begun in New Dehli. Etymologists Petr Švacha and Emil Kučera were detained bug-catching in the Singalia National Park in June. They spent one month in prison and were released on bail a couple of weeks ago. If found guilty of smuggling, the pair could face up to seven years in prison. Hundreds of scientists from around the world have signed a petition calling for their release. The pair have maintained their innocence throughout.
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08/25/2008
Milana Smékalová, the family doctor of two boys who were horrifically abused, has been cleared of professional misconduct by a Brno court. Ms Smékalová faced up to three years in prison for failing to report the boys’ maltreatment. A judge ruled on Monday, however, that there was no proof that Ms Smékalová had ever seen the boys’ injuries. It is thought that the GP will now sue for compensation. The trial of Ms Smékalová is only one part of a bigger child abuse case, in which six people, including the mother of the abused boys Klára Mauerová, are being tried. The second stage of the trial will take place in October.
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08/25/2008
The ruling Civic Democrats would like to speed up Georgia’s bid to become a member of NATO, Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra said on Monday. Mr Vondra said that the Civic Democrats would do all that they could to speed up Georgia’s NATO membership following Russian ‘aggression’ in the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The views of the Civic Democratic Party are at variance with those of Czech President Václav Klaus, himself a former Civic Democrat. Mr Klaus has recently said that he holds Georgia responsible for the current crisis in the Caucuses. Russia is firmly opposed to Georgia joining NATO.
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08/25/2008
The opposition Social Democrats would consider the introduction of fines for underachieving students, Hospodářské noviny reported on Monday. The Civic Democratic Party, which is currently in power, is for the idea of a British-style system of tuition fees and student loans, but has said that it will not implement such a system during this term in office. The Social Democrats have always been against such a plan to make students pay. In a new proposal published on Monday, however, the Social Democrats said that they were for the idea of ‘penalisation fees’ – in other words, charging those who fail an exam, should they want to re-sit it. The shadow education minister Jiří Havel has said that such fees would not discriminate against any parts of society, as the cost of re-sitting an exam would not be that high. Mr Havel envisages charging students around 200 crowns (12 USD) for an exam re-sit, and an additional 100 crowns per term if their results were bad.
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08/25/2008
Nineteen Czech tourists have died in Croatia so far this year, said the Czech Foreign Ministry on Monday. This number is already higher than 2007’s tally – which was a total of 17 casualties. According to the ministry, four Czechs have drowned while on holiday in Croatia, while six have died in road accidents. The most recent tragedy was two Czech divers drowning – Croatian coast guards found their bodies on Sunday.
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