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10/21/2008
A concert in support of the Civic Democratic Party ahead of the second round of elections to the Senate is being held on Prague’s Old Town Square on Tuesday afternoon. The ruling party took a beating from the opposition Social Democrats in elections last weekend and much depends on the outcome of the second round. The prime minister’s political future hangs in the balance as does the ruling party’s narrow majority in the Senate without which they would find it hard to push through the government’s domestic and foreign policy priorities.
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10/21/2008
A state prosecutor has asked for sentences of up to ten years in prison for a mother and five other adults involved in a shocking case of child abuse. The adults are believed to have been part of a sect which systematically tortured two boys since birth, locking them up, burning them with cigarettes and cutting them with a knife. The case, involving a 33-year-old woman who posed as a twelve-year-old girl, and later as a thirteen- year-old boy in Norway, has shocked the nation but left much unexplained. The leader of the sect, who is believed to be abroad, has so far managed to escape justice.
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10/21/2008
An ultra light two-seater crashed near Brno, Moravia, on Tuesday afternoon, killing both the pilot and passenger. It is not clear what caused the accident.
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10/21/2008
The Czech crown fell to a 12-month low point against the dollar on Tuesday and stock prices here surged 2.68 percent in early trading. The currency slid to 19 crowns to the dollar from 18.88 at the close on Monday, the lowest point for 12 months. The crown also opened weaker at 25.22 per euro, from 25.16 on Monday.
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10/20/2008
Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek said on Monday that the Czech Republic is not delaying its ratification of the Lisbon Treaty artificially, and that the document should be approved by the Czech parliament by the end of the year. Mr Topolánek made the comments following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the treaty’s biggest supporters, who said that the document could help provide a solution to the current global financial crisis. During a one-day visit to Prague, Chancellor Merkel praised Mr Topolánek for outlining a timeframe for Lisbon Treaty ratification. The Czech Republic is one of only two EU member states not to have decided upon whether to ratify the document.
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10/20/2008
Czech President Václav Klaus has responded to last weekend’s Senate and regional elections by saying they send a ‘clear signal’ to politicians that voters are dissatisfied. Mr Klaus urged people to wait until the second round of voting this weekend before making their final judgments, but did say that the Civic Democratic Party, of which he is an honorary chairman, had paid dearly for voters’ apparent desire for change. The Civic Democrats went into the regional elections governing 12 of the country’s 13 regions. In last weekend’s vote they lost in all 13 regions to the opposition Social Democrats. The Social Democrats are also expected to make inroads into the Civic Democrats’ majority in the Upper House in the second round of voting for the Senate which will take place this weekend.
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10/20/2008
The government’s future ahead of Wednesday’s no-confidence vote is looking uncertain with at least two rebel MPs refusing to say which way they will vote. The government coalition is unsure of securing a majority in Wednesday’s vote and needs all of its MPs to vote for its survival. On Monday, Green MP Věra Jakubková said in light of her party’s poor show in this weekend’s regional and Senate elections, she would have to think seriously about whether, with its current leadership, the party should stay in power. Rebel Civic Democrat Jan Schwippel has also voiced reservations about supporting the government, but has said he probably will as the country needs stability going into its first EU presidency.
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10/20/2008
The Czech cabinet approved on Monday the outline of a law overhauling the country’s pension system, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Nečas told journalists. The complete law will be put to the cabinet for approval early next year, the minister added. Under the draft bill, state-run pension funds would be transformed into a number of private pension companies, offering clients a wider range of ways to save. Mr Nečas said that no changes would be made to the planned reforms in light of the ruling Civic Democrats resounding defeat in last weekend’s regional elections.
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10/20/2008
Research conducted for the newspaper Hospodářské noviny suggests that one in five Czech firms are considering job-cuts in light of the current financial crisis. The research was conducted by the Czech Chamber of Commerce and set out to gauge the effects of the current global economic turmoil on the Czech Republic. It found that half of the firms questioned were feeling the pinch caused by the worldwide financial crisis. Some 264 of the companies questioned said that they were planning redundancies. A spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce said that the situation would improve, however, if the banking sector changed its approach when dealing with businesses.
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10/20/2008
Police have said that the fire which destroyed part of Prague’s historic Výstaviště Industrial Palace on Thursday night was most likely caused by a technical fault, which then ignited cans of flammable liquid being sold in the venue by the firm Pragodent. A police spokeswoman said on Monday that the fire broke out on the first floor of the Industrial Palace, where the flammable liquid in question was being stored. The said cans of dental disinfectant exploded when they came into contact with the flames, intensifying the blaze. The damage caused is thought to run into billions of crowns. It is not yet certain whether the Industrial Palace will be rebuilt.
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