• 10/07/2007

    In another interview with Vaclav Moravec, the Deputy Finance Minister, Ivan Fuksa, said that he was planning to review the system of tax exemptions in the Czech Republic. Mr. Fuksa wants to annul around 120 of the country's 400 or so tax exemptions, most controversially, the tax exemptions that Czech mortgage owners currently enjoy. Mr. Fuksa told Czech Television that he was trying to systematize a chaotic tax-exemption structure, citing zoos, betting-shops and trade unions as organizations currently experiencing 'nonsensical' tax-breaks. But the opposition Social Democrats are against the proposed reforms, saying that mortgage owners are being stung twice - firstly by a rise in VAT, which has, they calculate, put the price of mortgages up by around 4%, and then by this proposal to end tax exemptions on mortgages. Mr. Fuksa responds that the details of the proposal are still to be worked out, but that he hopes to bring a bill to parliament by the end of this year.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/07/2007

    Three nurses who were on duty when babies Nicole and Veronica were accidentally swapped are to be questioned by police, reported TV Prima on Saturday. One of the nurses has been suspended from duty following the disclosure of the mix-up. According to Prima, the three nurses, who have not been named, are wanted for questioning in connection with charges of gross professional misconduct. The hospital has declined to comment.

    Photos taken by one of the parents involved show that his child was not allocated a number, written directly onto the skin to avoid confusion, as is normally the case. These photos are being handed over to the police as evidence. The parents of Nicole and Veronica met face-to-face this week, to discuss their next move. It was agreed that the girls will be handed over to their biological parents before their first birthday on the 9th of December.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/07/2007

    Leading members of the Czech Green Party have started discussing their role in the governing coalition at a conference in Brno. In the last week, factions of the party have suggested withdrawing from the ruling coalition, unhappy with what they call a 'lack of influence' in the government. But the party's six deputies in the lower house are against the idea, and in the run up to the meeting, the leader of the Czech Greens Martin Bursik said that his party was enjoying its strongest position ever in Czech politics, and that he was not going to let this be compromised by in-party bickering.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/07/2007

    Also on the agenda at the Green Party's Sunday conference is finding a successor to Education Minister Dana Kuchtova, who resigned this week. While a candidate is expected to be put forward today by the party's leading members, leader of the Greens Martin Bursik wants further consultation with those elsewhere in the party, before any decision is taken. At the moment, Ms. Kuchtova's former deputy Dusan Luzny is hotly-tipped to replace her at the helm, though Green MP Olga Zubova and former rector of Zlin University, Petr Saha, have also been mentioned in connection with the post.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/07/2007

    A painting by Czech artist Frantisek Kupka has been sold at auction for 22.1 million CZK (1.1 million USD), becoming the most expensive work of art ever to be sold at a Czech auction. The painting, called Elevation IV, was created in 1938 and has been described as 'abstraction at its purest'. Previously, the most expensive painting to be sold at a Czech auction had been another work by Mr. Kupka, which fetched 13.4 million CZK in May this year.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/07/2007

    Domestic beer sales for the first eight months of this year are up by 2.2% on last year's figures, revealed the Czech Beer and Malt Association on Sunday. But a surprise came in the form of beer sales for the months of July and August, which had been unexpectedly low. July and August's beer sales were actually down on last year's - a result which those in the industry are attributing to last year's exceptionally strong sales throughout the summer months. Despite the setback, sales of Czech beer are expected to go up by somewhere in the region of 2 - 3% this year. And beer production is expected to rise above the golden 20 million hectoliter mark for the first time. Last year, the Czech Republic produced some 19.8 million hectoliters of beer.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/07/2007

    Sunday sees the launch of the 11th Forum 2000, a conference held by former Czech President Vaclav Havel, and attracting prominent figures from all over the world. The theme for this 11th Forum is 'Freedom and Responsibility', and guests include former US Foreign Secretary Madeleine Albright, Nobel peace-prize winner Shirin Ebadi, and former head of the World Bank Paul Wolfowitz. Forum 2000 will run until Tuesday, and consists of seminars, workshops, roundtables and exhibitions. More information can be found at www.forum2000.cz.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/07/2007

    The Czech Women's Basketball team has won its play-off for fifth place in the European Basketball Championships. The Czechs, who won the competition last year, secured fifth spot by beating Lithuania 93:54 on Sunday. The Czech team sought to retain the European title, but was knocked out of the running by a surprise defeat to Belarus on Thursday. This victory against Lithuania guarantees the Czech team a place in next year's Olympic Games.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/06/2007

    The United States is set to donate over 6 million USD worth of military equipment to the Czech Republic. Czech Deputy Defence Minister Martin Bartak made the announcement on Friday, following talks with Debra Cagan, an assistant to the US Secretary of Defence. The donation will consist of around 20 light armoured vehicles, electronic navigation equipment and weapons systems. It is being given under the auspices of the American 'Solidarity Fund', through which the United States donates to other allied armed forces. The first delivery is expected by the end of this year. The Defence Ministry plan to use the donated equipment in Afghanistan's Logar province in particular, where Czech forces are currently operating alongside their US allies.

    Author: Rosie Johnston
  • 10/06/2007

    At a meeting on Friday, Green Party deputies agreed that their party should not withdraw from the governing coalition. Some Greens had suggested pulling out of the coalition, in reaction to what they called the 'unfair' treatment of former Education Minister Dana Kuchtova and her subsequent resignation. Heads of the Czech Green Party said that the events leading up to Ms. Kuchtova's resignation 'were not to be repeated', but added that it would be irresponsible to leave the government coalition now, when there was 'no other defender of environment-focused policy and human rights'. The Green Party will be holding a conference for its members on Sunday in Brno, at which the issue will further be discussed.

    Author: Rosie Johnston

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