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4/7

  • Press: labour minister to save billions on welfare benefits
    03/20/2007

    The economic daily Hospodarske noviny writes that Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Necas is preparing a package of measures that he believes would allow the government to annually save 23 billion crowns (over 1 billion USD) on welfare benefits. The largest sum is to be saved on parental benefits and sickness benefits and the government also intends to withdraw social security benefits from people with higher incomes, the paper says. However, the changes will be smaller than was expected, Hospodarske noviny writes.
    Author: Coilin O'Connor

  • Mother murders her two toddlers in Ústí nad Labem
    03/20/2007

    A mother has murdered her two children aged one and three years in the north Bohemian town of Ústí nad Labem. A police spokeswoman told the Czech Press Agency that further details of the crime would be divulged later on Tuesday, adding that the unnamed mother had been hospitalised in a psychiatric unit.
    Author: Coilin O'Connor

  • Heavy snowfalls in Moravia and Silesia
    03/20/2007

    Winter has returned with a vengeance in the regions of Moravia and Silesia, which have been experiencing heavy snowfalls. Meteorologists expect up to 20 cm of snow to fall in certain places by Wednesday afternoon. In the Moravian city of Ostrava, a covered tennis court collapsed under the weight of snow on uesday morning. No one was hurt in the incident.
    Author: Coilin O'Connor

  • UNESCO-listed Tugendhat villa to remain property of Brno
    03/19/2007

    The Brno city councillors have agreed that the UNESCO-listed Tugendhat villa which is being claimed back by the descendants of its pre-WWII owners should remain property of the city. The decision has yet to be approved by a vote of the city hall assembly. The city originally intended to give the villa back to the Tugendhat family via the state but the state authorities refused it.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Government to sell 7 percent of power company CEZ shares
    03/19/2007

    The Czech government has decided to sell a seven-percent share of the power company CEZ on the capital market. According to Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, at the current price of the stock the sale could bring 36 billion crowns (1.7 billion USD) to the state coffers which the government plans to use for the repairs and construction of roads. The government holds a 67.6-percent stake at CEZ.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Police check another attempt at bribing witness in Cunek case
    03/19/2007

    Police are investigating another alleged attempt at bribing Marcela Urbanova, a key witness in the case of Deputy Prime Minister and Christian Democrat chairman Jiri Cunek who has been accused of corruption, state attorney Petr Bares told the CTK news agency. The investigation has been initiated by an article in a regional Vsetin weekly which accuses Ms Urbanova, former secretary to Mr Cunek when he was still mayor of the town of Vsetin, of having taken a bribe for mediating a municipal contract for a private company.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech troops fly to Afghanistan to man field hospital
    03/19/2007

    Around 30 Czech soldiers have left Prague to man a field hospital in Afghanistan. The troops flew to Kabul on Monday where they will join up with colleagues who left with equipment earlier. The hospital will begin operations in April and will provide surgical, post-op and dental care for allied troops in Afghanistan. The mission will cost 150 million crowns (7.1 million US dollars), paid from the defence ministry budget while some costs will also be covered by NATO.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Poll: 4/5 of Czechs unhappy with political situation
    03/19/2007

    A new poll by the STEM agency suggests that 4/5 of Czechs are not happy with the current political situation. Sixty-percent of those polled said they were dissatisfied with the performance of the cabinet. Parliament enjoys even less support. On the other hand, 70 percent of the population support the president, according to the poll.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Skoda Auto unions begin meetings in support of wage increase
    03/19/2007

    The unions at Skoda Auto have begun what is going to be a series of over 50 informative meetings in support of their wage demands. The company says production has not been disrupted. The unions are demanding an average wage increase of 17 percent, the company is offering a 6.1-percent increase.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Ekonom: Communist Party appeals against ruling ordering it to sell its headquarters
    03/19/2007

    The Ekonom weekly writes that the Communist Party has appealed against a court verdict ordering it to sell its Prague headquarters for 410 million crowns (20 million USD) to a private company. According to the weekly, the party is meanwhile seeking an out-of-court settlement with the company. The Communist Party leadership decided to sell its headquarters in 2005 but changed their minds afterwards. The company interested in the purchase filed a lawsuit and a Prague court has ruled in its favour.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

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