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01/18/2008
Some 39 percent of Czech families lost child benefits as of January due to public finance reforms that took effect at the beginning of January, according to statistics revealed by the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry on Friday. According to the numbers, some 1.5 million families who received child benefits up until the end of 2007, more than 580 thousand lost the possibility. Of some 200 thousand families previously entitled to social benefits, more than 20 thousand lost the right as of January 1. Labour Ministry spokesman Jiří Sezemský has stressed, despite the changes, that a majority of Czech families will not lose out, as taxes have been lowered. But union organisations have largely argued the opposite, saying peoples’ financial situations will worsen. They contend that families with children, as well as pensioners, will be the hardest hit.
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01/18/2008
Czech tennis star Nicole Vaidišová has made it to the final 16 in the women’s singles competition at the Australian Open. In the third round, Vaidišová – the twelfth seed - defeated Ai Sugiyama of Japan in straight sets: 6:3, 6:4. Vaidišová will next face US player Serena Williams. Williams defeated the Czech player at the Australian Open last year in the semi-finals.
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01/18/2008
In NHL ice hockey action on Thursday Czech goalie Dominik Hašek cam through the winner in a match between his Detroit Red Wings and the Vancouver Canucks. During the game, Hašek turned away 26 shots, while his counterpart for the Canucks, Roberto Luongo stopped 47. With the game tied 2:2 and no goals in OT, the game went to a penalty shootout, which was won by Detroit. The Red Wings continue to top the National League.
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01/17/2008
A march planned by neo-Nazis in Plzeň on Saturday has been banned by the town’s authorities. The march had been planned by neo-Nazis in protest against what they called the curtailment of freedom of speech. Far-right groups were unhappy with the decision of Prague authorities in November to ban a similar march through the town’s Jewish quarter on the anniversary of Kristallnacht – a Nazi pogrom. The neo-Nazis were planning to march through Plzeň on the anniversary of the transportation of the town’s Jews to the concentration camp Terezín. Plzeň authorities had originally allowed the march to take place, and hundreds of neo-Nazis were expected to turn up, but, on Thursday, in the face of strong media pressure, the municipality outlawed the march.
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01/17/2008
The chief of the U.S Missile Defence Agency, Henry Obering, told a Czech National Security Council meeting on Thursday that any radar built by the United States in the Czech Republic would fall under the remit of NATO. Mr Obering is in the Czech Republic this week, accompanied by a US delegation, to discuss contracts and possible cooperation with Czech firms should the radar base be built. The Czech Republic is expected to make its final decision on the radar later this year.
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01/17/2008
Visa announced on Thursday that its customers in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary could have been left out of pocket following a glitch in its systems earlier this week. An unspecified number of customers who withdrew money from ATMs in the region at the beginning of the week have been left with duplicated withdrawals on their accounts. A spokesperson for the company said that customers could have been charged on more than one occasion for each withdrawal that they made. One Polish newspaper reported that its editor had been charged on 17 occasions for a single withdrawal. Visa has declined to comment upon the number of customers affected by the glitch. The firm did, however, stress that this was not the work of hackers. According to a spokesperson, the problem has now been fixed, and customers will be refunded.
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01/17/2008
The European Union expects the Czech Republic to return 430 million CZK (21.5 million USD) worth of grant money, after it was revealed that the money had been misused by the Czech Ministry of Regional Development. On Thursday, the newspaper Právo reported that the European Commission had already asked for the first 330 million CZK to be returned, and would decide upon the final 100 million CZK later. The Czech Finance Ministry has confirmed the reports. The scandal surrounding the misuse of EU funds took place at the Ministry of Regional Development in the 1990s. In 2006, ten businessmen and some high-ranking ministry officials were found guilty of embezzling funds from the EUs Phare programme.
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01/17/2008
Shares on the Prague Stock Exchange slumped to their lowest level in more than 13 months on Thursday, following further sell-offs by foreign investors. The blue-chip PX index fell by 0.55% to 1,561.5 points, its lowest value since November 2006. The loss in value of the shares has been attributed to the current financial situation in the US, and on global markets. The Czech bank Komerční banka sustained the biggest losses of the day, with shares shedding 6.03% to 3,645 CZK.
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01/17/2008
The Czech parliamentary Healthcare Commission has recommended that the country outlaw smoking in its restaurants, bars and nightclubs as of January 1, 2009. The Parliament will discuss the matter officially at the end of the month. MPs have voted on whether to ban smoking in Czech restaurants in the past, but have always decided against the move. Despite an increasing number of European countries opting for a smoking ban in public places, the Czech Republic has been reluctant to follow suit, with many fearing that a ban would lower takings in pubs and restaurants, and infringe traders’ rights. Smoking is already banned in certain places in the Czech Republic, for example, the national rail network has outlawed smoking on its trains.
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01/17/2008
If the Czech public were able to vote in next month’s presidential elections, then Jan Švejnar would win, suggests a poll commissioned by the opposition Social Democrats and conducted by the STEM agency. Fifty-two percent of the polls respondents said that they would vote for Mr Švejnar, while the remaining 48% said that they would pot for Mr Klaus. According to the poll, those who normally vote for the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Communists backed Mr Švejnar, while Civic Democratic voters overwhelmingly gave Mr Klaus their support. Those who didn’t affiliate themselves with any political party were split roughly down the middle over the two candidates. Mr Švejnar had a clear lead over Václav Klaus when it came to women voters, the poll found. The president will be elected by Czech deputies and senators on February 8.
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