News of Radio Prague
ODS to call no-vote of confidence this week
The opposition Civic Democratic Party has confirmed it will call for a no-vote of confidence in the government in the lower house of parliament this week. Speaking at a press conference, deputy party chairman Petr Necas explained the reason for the call was the current government public finance reform plan, which will leave the country in its biggest debt in its entire history. The government is therefore a threat to the country's economy and its internal and foreign policies, Mr Necas said.
Cabinet discussing new law against discrimination
The Czech government has approved the basic idea of a new law that is to protect the public against discrimination, government spokesperson Anna Veverkova said on Monday. The cabinet is yet to decide whether it is to be mediated by the public human rights protector or a special independent Centre for Equal Treatment.
Foreign Ministry to host seminar on discrimination
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan will be attending a seminar this Wednesday discussing the global fight against racism, discrimination and the problems faced by the Roma community. The seminar, which is to be held at the foreign ministry in Prague and chaired by Czech Human Rights Commissioner Jan Jarab, is to be a follow-up meeting on the UN's World Conference Against Racism that was held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. Experts from international and non-governmental organisations will be discussing the developments in the fight against racism since the 2001 conference. During his trip to Prague, Mr Ramcharan also plans to meet with Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda.
Police receive anonymous letter from person threatening to set Czech forests on fire
Czech police are searching for a person who is threatening to set public places on fire unless he receives considerable sums of money. While putting out a fire at a forest near the north-western town of Most on Friday, fire fighters found an anonymous letter from a person admitting to having started the fire and calling for one million Czech crowns, to stop him from proceeding to light another forest. Police are investigating the case and have not released any further details.
Prague police to provide new information service
Prague police are planning to open what they call a "preventive corner" at one of its stations on Kongressova street, at which the public would be informed how to protect their property and where to turn to with various problems. From September 24, the station will be open for two hours every Wednesday, the Interior Ministry informed on its website.
Reuters poll: Markets expect Czech government to survive reform debates
The Reuters news agency reported on Monday that financial markets assign more than a 50 percent chance of the Czech government surviving key parliamentary votes on public finance reforms to prepare the country for adopting the euro. In a Reuters poll of domestic and foreign analysts, a dozen out of 13 respondents predicted Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla's cabinet would stay afloat despite uncertainty over whether it has enough votes to push the reform package through parliament. One analyst said the government was likely to fall apart after the fiscal reform debate which opens on Tuesday afternoon. The three parties in the ruling coalition have 101 deputies in the 200-seat lower house.
Weather
Tuesday is expected to be a little colder than in the past few days with temperatures between 22-26 degrees Celsius.
