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09/26/2007
A new poll conducted by the STEM agency has suggested that the number of Czechs opposed to a US radar base on Czech territory has lessened, although those against the project remain firmly in the majority. According to the poll, 49 percent are now "against" while those "in favour" number 22 percent. Around half of those surveyed said they would be willing to change their mind on the radar issue if they were provided more information. Most polls until now have suggested that around two-thirds of Czechs were against the idea of a US base on Czech soil.
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09/26/2007
Former Social Democrat prime minister Stanislav Gross is facing a legal complaint on the suspicion of insider dealing in connection with the purchase of shares. The complaint was filed by Jiri Jehlicka, of the Central Registry of Debtors (CERD), running web pages and an anti-corruption hotline. According to Mr Jehlicka, Mr Gross may have abused information while in politics in a business deal that has now seen him acquire a reported 300 million crowns (more than 15 million US dollars) worth of shares in energy producer Moravia Energo. Mr Gross himself has valued the shares at a tenth of that amount. The opposition Social Democrats have called on the former prime minister to explain his holdings, with party deputy leader Bohuslav Sobotka saying that although Mr Gross was now a private citizen it was in his interest, as a former prime minister, not to keep information secret.
It has been almost three years since a financial scandal forced Stanislav Gross - then the youngest prime minister in Europe - from office. Mr Gross was unable to explain where he obtained 1.2 million crowns for the purchase of his apartment.
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09/26/2007
In related news, a spokeswoman for the anti-corruption and organised crime unit has said that members of the unit have begun an investigation into Mr Gross' holdings, despite not having received an official complaint against the former prime minister yet. The spokeswoman said the unit had begun investigating on its "own initiative".
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09/26/2007
The Czech capital Prague, Brno, south Moravia and Olomouc and Ostrava in north Moravia, are all likely to see informal meetings between EU ministers during the Czech presidency of the EU in 2009. The information was released by the office of the government on Wednesday. Of 11 scheduled informal meetings of EU ministers, seven are to take place in regions and the remaining four in Prague. The deputy prime minister in charge of European Affairs, Alexandr Vondra, discussed the regions' roles in the Czech EU presidency with representatives of the Czech Association of Regions on Wednesday. A final decision on the chosen sites is to be made on October 10th.
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09/26/2007
The Green Party has announced it will decide on a successor to outgoing Education Minister Dana Kuchtova on October 7th. This Tuesday, after hours of deliberation amongst the Greens, Ms Kuchtova announced she would step down next week; she had faced increasing pressure following mistakes jeopardising the education sector's ability to draw EU funds. Ms Kuchtova admitted it was not clear who would replace her and said it was uncertain whether the candidate would be a Green Party member. The outgoing minister, who is also a Green Party deputy leader, said she would be able to help her successor for a period of about three weeks.
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09/26/2007
The possession of child pornography will, in all likelihood, soon be a criminal offence in the Czech Republic: on Wednesday the lower house overruled reservations by the Senate, approving a planned amendment to the Penal Code. Under the legislation, anyone possessing photographic, film, computer, electronic pornographic material featuring minors could face up to two years in prison. The legislation will now have to be signed into law by the president. The lower house first passed the amendment in June, but the Senate returned it for reappraisal, fearing the bill might easily be abused or misapplied.
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09/26/2007
Two days after Czech President Vaclav Klaus gave a speech challenging the human impact on climate change at a conference on global warming in New York, his predecessor Vaclav Havel has written an editorial in the International Herald Tribune arguing the impact of global warming must not be ignored. He writes that it is the human race and not the planet which is at risk and says that scientific studies have shown that "changes in temperature and energy cycles on a planetary scale" could prove dangerous "for people on all continents". Mr Havel and Mr Klaus were well-known for differing political views in the past; Vaclav Klaus succeeded Mr Havel as Czech president in February 2003.
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09/26/2007
Ice hockey's Detroit Red Wings, home to Czech goalie Dominik Hasek, demolished Jaromir Jagr's New York Rangers in an NHL preseason match on Tuesday. Hasek's Red Wings went up 1:0 just 28 seconds into the game. Hasek made 18 saves for Detroit in the game, allowing the Rangers' lone goal with less than three minutes left. Jarmoir Jagr assisted on the goal, which was scored by Scott Gomez.
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09/25/2007
Minister of Education Dana Kuchtova stepped down on Tuesday after being accused of failing to draw sufficient money from European Union funds. The Green Party politician has been criticized by Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek as well as Michaela Sojdrova, the head of Parliament's Education Committee, for not being able to draw about 60 billion crowns, or three billion U.S. dollars, for research and education programmes from the funds of the EU. Green Party chairman Martin Bursik said, however, that Ms Kuchtova can rely on the support of Green Party leadership and deputies. It is yet not clear who will replace Dana Kuchtova as education minister.
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09/25/2007
At a conference on global warming held in New York on Monday by U.N. Secretary General Ba Ki-moon, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said that the rise in temperatures is small in a historical context. The rise in temperatures in the recent years, decades and centuries, according to the Czech President, has been small, and its impact on mankind and its activities is negligible. Vaclav Klaus also said that the threat of hypothetical future global warming is based solely on speculation. The Czech president has been criticized by some Czech politicians, including Martin Bursik, the head of the Green Party, who said that Mr Klaus' speech could weaken the position of the Czech Republic during negotiations on global climate change.
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