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04/26/2008
Czech President Václav Klaus has criticized the choice of Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as the EU anthem, saying that it was a false symbol of artificial brotherhood, Mladá fronta Dnes writes in its Saturday edition. In a speech made at the Bertelsmann Foundation in Berlin last Wednesday Mr. Klaus said that Europe needed to respect its diversity in which case he would deem Arnold Schoenberg’s cacophony a more appropriate symbol of the EU.
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04/26/2008
The Military Hospital in Prague is working on a study that should reveal the extent to which soldiers serving on foreign missions suffer from so called “war-syndrome” – a range of psychic disorders such as chronic fatigue, loss of muscle control, headaches, indigestion and insomnia. The hospital has requested cooperation from several hundred veterans. The outcome of the study is expected in three years’ time.
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04/26/2008
The Moravian town of Šumperk has enforced a ban on alcohol consumption in public places. The town hall said its intention was to create a cleaner, friendlier environment for both locals and visitors. The regulation is directed primarily against homeless and out-of-work people who congregate in public places and spend the day drinking and pestering passers-by. A number of other Czech towns have taken similar action, banning alcohol consumption in residential areas, in the vicinity of hospitals, schools and playgrounds.
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04/26/2008
An opinion survey conducted by AXA Retirement Scope suggests that Czechs are not worried about the government’s plans to raise the retirement age to 65. Sixty-two percent of respondents said that they planned to remain active until around 70 years of age, if their health allowed. The survey shows that 22 percent of pensioners in the Czech Republic currently work full-time. Thirty-four percent of pensioners in Prague are employed.
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04/26/2008
Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has agreed to give a number of lectures at the Prague School of Economics. The prime minister confirmed the news during question-time in the Chamber of Deputies this week. He will be giving a number of open lectures on public financing and adoption of the euro.
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04/25/2008
The Czech Rail Safety Inspection Office has concluded that the Ostrava Transport Authority should have alerted it to previous near-misses on a local tram route which saw a deadly collision this month. Three people died when two trams crashed head-on two weeks ago. Last week the Ostrava Transport Authority hinted there had been close calls in the past along the area of track in question. The recent tragedy happened after a tram driver failed to wait along a loop of track before heading out. The spokesman for the Rail Safety Inspection Office said on Friday that if authorities had been aware of the problem, preventative measures might have been taken. The Ostrava Transport Authority could now be fined tens of millions of crowns.
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04/25/2008
The opposition Social Democrats have confirmed they will call a vote of no confidence on the coalition government next week. The date has been set for April 30. For the motion to succeed, the opposition requires at least 101 votes in the 200-member Parliament, but the opposition can only effectively rely on 97 MPs. Former Social Democrat lawmakers Miloš Melčák and Michal Pohanka confirmed on Friday they would continue to back the government. The opposition Social Democrats along with the Communist Party have tried to topple the coalition twice before. On Friday the Social Democrats stepped up their rhetoric, accusing the government of corruption and criticising steps taken in health care and other sectors.
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04/25/2008
Police have shelved their investigation into a widely-publicised case of death threats against a number of MPs and senators. The threats took place during the presidential election in February. According to internet news site aktualne.cz, investigators failed to uncover any perpetrators. After a first attempt to elect the country’s president failed, lawmakers such as Social Democrat MP Evžen Snítilý and Senator Liana Janáčková received envelopes containing bullets – an apparent attempt at intimidation. As a result Mr Snítilý and family members for a time were provided police protection.
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04/25/2008
Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkánová and her Slovak counterpart Jaroslav Baška signed an agreement on Friday towards founding a joint military unit - one of the biggest joint defence projects since Czechoslovakia's Velvet Divorce in 1993. The unit will start operating in 2009 and will be made up of 1,500 soldiers, the ministers told journalists after a Visegrad Four meeting on Friday with Ukraine. Of that, 300 soldiers and 100-member strong support team will be Slovak nationals. EU members pledged back in 2004 to form 13 battlegroups to be on alert for defence missions, with soldiers being ready for deployment to emergency areas ten days after a decision is taken. The Czech Republic is to provide a mechanised battalion, artillery systems and combat helicopters.
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04/25/2008
The Czech daily E15 has reported that a Raytheon, a US defence firm, has become the first to win a contract in connection with a planned US radar base in the Czech Republic. According to the daily’s website, a contract worth five million US dollars was awarded last week. Under the agreement the firm will reportedly gauge planning and demands surrounding the radar system, which could one day be located in the Brdy military zone. Raytheon spokeswoman Maureen Heard confirmed for the daily the signing of the contract; Raytheon is the world’s fifth biggest arms producer as well as a producer of missile defence systems.
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