NEWS
Kohout: EU to intervene on Canada visa issue
EU Affairs Minister Jan Kohout said yesterday that at the G8 summit in Italy, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso will talk to Canadian representatives about the possible re-imposition of visas for Czech visitors. Kohout said he was pessimistic about the ongoing talks between Prague and Ottawa, which are to last until the end of this week.
ČTK, HN 4, E15 3
Airport checks mulled to reduce asylum claims
The introduction of checks at Prague Airport of travellers going to Canada is reportedly being discussed in diplomatic circles to prevent the growing tide of asylum seekers. Canada received 1,720 asylum claims from Czechs in the first half of the year, double the total for all of 2008. Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board finalised 334 Czech claims from January 2008 through April 2009, approving 132.
ČTK, HN 4
Minister: Crowded prison system faces ‘collapse’
The Czech penal system “could collapse” without action to reduce overcrowding, Justice Minister Daniela Kovářová said yesterday. The country’s 35 prisons now house 22,000 inmates, the highest number since 2000, with another 7,500 waiting to start sentences. Prison service head Luděk Kula said the system would have to take emergency measures if the population reaches 25,000.
most Czech press
Squatters reject Truhlářská flats
Prague squatters have turned down an offer of three flats in a Truhlářská street building owned by real estate developer Petr Svinka, saying they will use the site only to host cultural events. The squatters contend the deal, brokered by Minister for Minorities and Human Rights Michael Kocáb, was intended by Svinka to force other tenants out of the building.
LN 1, 4
Tycoon Soukup says he is backing Zubová, not ČSSD
Media mogul Jaromír Soukup, who has said he will finance former Green Party MP Olga Zubová’s candidacy on the ČSSD list in October’s elections, denied speculation that he will back ČSSD as a whole to the tune of CZK 100 million. Soukup also said he wants to sell his company, Médea, and enter politics. Zubová told Aktuálně.cz yesterday that her chief campaign issue will be realising the National Library project designed by the late Jan Kaplický.
LN 1, 3, Aktuálně.cz
Digital archive containing StB files to open Friday
The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes will launch its digital archive Friday, allowing people to search and print documents from communist-era secret police files. In the beginning, the digital files will only be available at the archives building, but institute spokesman Jiří Reichl said they will eventually be accessible from users’ computers.
ČTK
Klaus signs off on Czech ICC entry
President Václav Klaus signed an agreement yesterday on the country’s accession to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Czech Republic is the last EU member to ratify the agreement.
ČTK
Depeche Mode concert violated noise rules
Concert promoter Live Nation faces hundreds of thousands of crowns in fines in connection with Depeche Mode’s 25 June show at Synot Tip Arena. The event did not have noise permits from public health officials. A Prague 10 spokesman said concerts have been banned from the venue due to noise regulations. Arena owner E Side Property is negotiating with officials on the issue.
Euro.cz
Poll: Fischer’s govt more trusted than Topolánek’s
Fifty-five percent of Czechs trust interim PM Jan Fischer’s government, according to a June CVVM poll. The outgoing government of Mirek Topolánek was rated trustworthy by 20% in April, at the end of its tenure.
ČTK, E15 4, Právo 4
President issues 15 pardons
President Václav Klaus granted 15 pardons yesterday. Four foreigners – two Vietnamese, a Slovak and a citizen of the former Yugoslavia – were among the beneficiaries. The president’s office said the reason in most cases was humanitarian.
ČTK, Právo 4
BUSINESS
Orco shareholders elect 7 new board members, retain Ott
Orco shareholders yesterday renewed the mandate of current management, including CEO Jean-Francois Ott, while adding seven new members to the property development firm’s board. Voters at the firm’s general assembly overwhelmingly rejected a bid by an association of small shareholders to oust Ott and current management. Orco is currently under a six-month court protection from creditors.
most Czech press
Czechs buying record amounts of gold
Inflation fears are prompting Czech investors to buy gold in record volumes. Pavel Trtík, head of gold coin dealer Zlaté Mince, said CZK 2 billion worth of gold was bought on the Czech market in 2008, a fourfold increase year-on-year. Trtík said sales will likely match that level this year.
E15 1, 6-7
Big builders falling short on orders
A survey of more than 100 construction companies that make up a third of the Czech building sector found that the firms’ orders this year are a collective CZK 29 billion short of projections. The companies said they planned to cut jobs and reduce wages and investments, and they have proposed more than 50 government actions they say are necessary to alleviate the situation long-term.
HN 16
ČR wins TV3 arbitration case
The Czech Republic has won an arbitration dispute with Luxembourg-based European Media Ventures, which claimed CZK 2 billion in compensation for lost investments in defunct television station TV3.
most Czech press
HN: Dial Telecom wants České Radiokomunikace
Dial Telecom is in talks to buy an unspecified stake in the biggest Czech radio and television broadcaster, České Radiokomunikace, two sources close to the talks told Hospodářské noviny. Dial spokeswoman Alžběta Šťastná said she could not confirm the information. České Radiokomunikace denied the sale but acknowledged that the two firms are cooperating closely.
HN 13
FinMin proposes new mortgage refinancing rules
The Finance Ministry is preparing legislation that would put an end to tax deduction claims for mortgage holders who transfer their loans to a different bank or change their type of mortgage more than once.
ČTK, HN 13
State debt tops CZK 1 trillion
The Czech state’s debt grew to CZK 1.137 trillion at the end of last month, up by almost CZK 138 billion since the start of the year, the Finance Ministry reported yesterday.
E15 4, Právo 15
Insurers report CZK 1.45bn in flood damage
The recent floods have caused about CZK 1.45 billion in property damage so far, the Czech Insurance Association reported yesterday. Claims are expected to reach nearly CZK 2bn.
ČTK
Inspection: 41% of taxi drivers cheating
Fifty-nine of 144 taxi drivers checked by the Czech Commercial Inspection (ČOI) from April through June committed violations. In 37 cases cabbies did not inform the passenger about the rates.
ČTK
Influential Czechs blast ČT director search
A group of 100 major figures in Czech public life sent an open letter to the leaders of the major political parties expressing disapproval of the Czech Television Council’s “unrepresentative” process for choosing a new general director for the public broadcaster. Filmmaker Věra Chytilová and writer Ludvík Vaculík are among the signatories.
ČTK, iDnes.cz, Právo 2
Audit report criticises bail-out agency
The now defunct government bail-out agency ČKA failed to use all means possible to get the maximum yield on the assets it sold and made mistakes in evaluation and accounting, according to a Supreme Audit Office report published yesterday.
ČTK
