News of Radio Prague
Lower House passes bill to help those who provided humanitarian aid in this year's floods
The Czech Lower House has passed a bill that will provide tax benefits for individuals or businesses that provided humanitarian aid to those hit by this year's devastating floods. According to the bill subsidies from the state budget, local municipal budgets, state funds, and grants, will be tax-exempt provided they were used for aid and repair after the floods which hit much of the country in August. Also exempt: loans of up to a million crowns provided by businesses for employees to obtain new homes, and loans of 200, 000 crowns for those suffering financial difficulty. The bill must now be passed by the Senate and signed by the president, in order to take effect.
Case continues against police officers indicted in brutal racist attack
Legal proceedings continued on Thursday against five police officers from the Karlovy Vary region in western Bohemia, four of whom are charged with a brutal and racially-motivated attack on a Roma citizen. Four officers are believed to have driven the man to a secluded forest area where they beat him with a pipe, hurled racist slurs, and threatened to take his life. One witness, a state prosecutor, testifying that he was in the area on the day of the incident, said he was "surprised" to see the police car in the area. The witness was, however, unable to provide clear testimony on which officers were present or whether the Roma man was injured. Charges were only pressed against the police after the man was treated in a local hospital.
Police say a single group may be responsible for sabotage on tracks
Police say a single group of perpatrators may be responsible for recent sabotage attempts on rail lines in the Czech Republic, and say that one of them may even be a former railways employee. A police spokeswoman said on Thursday that investigators were studying possible connections between several incidents, the most serious of which was the placement of a home-made bomb device on tracks near Prague two weeks ago, at the time of the NATO summit. The device, discovered by railway employees, was deemed powerful enough to derail a fast-moving train. It was defused by pyrotechnics experts, after police closed-off the area.
Czech Republic sue Nomura for up to 263 million crowns in damages
The Czech Republic and the country's National Property Fund are suing Nomura Principal Investments, and a subsidiary company, for up to 263 million crowns in damages in connection with an alleged contract breach in the former IPB bank, in which Nomura was the majority shareholder. Two years ago the government stepped and introduced forced administration at the IPB after information surfaced that the bank had billions of Czech crowns in bad debt and was in risk of going under. The IPB bank scandal is one that has seen dozens of legal cases so far; the Czech Republic and representatives of Nomura must now decide on arbiters and agree on a location for arbitration to take place.
Ombudsman says landlords misreading court decision on rents
A court decision that ruled the Czech Republic's rent system unconstitutional two weeks ago is being misinterpreted by some landlords, says the country's public ombudsman Otakar Motejl. According to the ombudsman, landlords who are now trying to raise rents in reaction to the court decision are not within their rights; the ombudsman says that landlords must still reach mutual agreement with their tenants and obtain tenants' signatures in the event of a raise in rent. Also, government coalition members the Social Democrats, as well as Mr Motejl, say rents will remain frozen until new legislation is passed. A new bill is currently being prepared by the Finance Ministry and the Ministry for Local Development.
Weather
Friday will be cloudy with a chance of rain and even snowfall. Daytime temperatures will hover between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius.
