NEWS
Kohout: Canada to wait on visa decision
Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, speaking on Czech TV yesterday, said Canada is unlikely to introduce visa for the Czechs in the next few days. Hospodářské noviny reports that Canada is hesitating due to the possibility that the EU will mandate visas for Canadian citizens in return. Kohout said the number of Roma asylum seekers has dropped by one-quarter in recent weeks.
most Czech press
Štěpánek sends ČR into Davis Cup semis
The Czech Republic advanced to the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time in 13 years yesterday as Radek Štěpánek defeated Juan Monaco to complete a 3-2 victory over Argentina. The Czech squad will face Croatia in September.
most Czech press
Police pin Prague restaurant blast on grenade
An explosion in a restaurant on Prague’s Sokolovská street Thursday that injured four people was caused by a hand grenade in a customer’s luggage, police spokeswoman Jolana Číhová said. The 62-year-old man could face up to eight years in prison.
most Czech press
12 die on Czech roads at weekend
Last weekend was one of the deadliest of the year on Czech roads with 12 fatalities, police said. Six of those killed were motorcyclists. The worst weekend of the year so far was 16-17 May, when accidents claimed 14 lives.
most Czech press
Banderas, Švankmajer close KVIFF
Antonio Banderas was the final star to attend the 44th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, arriving Friday afternoon to introduce Summer Rain, which he directed, and accept the Festival President’s Award. Czech filmmaker and surrealist artist Jan Švankmajer received a Crystal Globe for exceptional artistic contribution, while the Belgian-Canadian production film Angel at Sea, directed by Frédéric Dumont, won the main prize.
most Czech press
HN: Bušina’s companies helped each other to tenders
A Hospodářské noviny report alleges that Filip Bušina’s company Executive Project Group (EPG), which prepared public tenders for the Central Bohemia region, steered contracts to another Bušina firm, Stavby. Bušina denied any wrongdoing, saying he sold both companies before he went to work in the private sector. The former adviser to Central Bohemia Governor David Rath is under investigation for alleged tax evasion amounting to hundreds of millions of crowns.
HN 1, 4
MfD: Roma refugees returning from Canada
Many Czech Roma who sought asylum in Canada are returning home, citing the language barrier or the limited amount of pocket money they got from authorities there while awaiting decisions on their claims, Mladá fronta Dnes reported Saturday. Ivan Veselý, chairman of the Czech Roma association Dženo, said a few dozen Roma have come back from Canada recently, but MfD said exact figures were unavailable.
MfD A1, A2 Sat
Defence minister denies report on mothballing tanks
Defence Minister Martin Barták denied Friday’s report by Lidové noviny that modernised T-72M4 tanks would be taken out of service due to budget cuts. Barták said there has been no discussion in the ministry of mothballing the country’s tank fleet.
ČTK
Slovak man detained for Prague Airport threat
Slovak police have detained a pensioner who called authorities Thursday and said five bombs would explode at midnight at Prague Airport. Czech foreign police spokeswoman Kateřina Rendlová said the man apparently expected Czech police would escort him to Prague, which he had been to two years ago and wanted to see again.
ČTK, MfD B3 Sat
Foreign Ministry: Paroubek’s Russia trip OK
ČSSD leader Jiří Paroubek’s recent Moscow trip did not undermine Czech foreign policy, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. The ministry was responding to a Hospodářské noviny report on alleged diplomatic criticism of Paroubek’s talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his promise to fight US plans to build an anti-missile radar in the Czech Republic.
ČTK
Poll: Most Czechs back death penalty
Nearly two-thirds of Czechs believe the country should introduce capital punishment, according to a May CVVM survey.
Právo 2 Sat
PM: No plan to kill Academy of Sciences
Responding in a Mladá fronta Dnes interview to the cabinet’s plan to reduce funding for the Czech Academy of Sciences, the institution’s president, Jiří Drahoš, said it is in danger of being eliminated. Prime Minister Jan Fischer told Lidové noviny it is “bizarre” to suspect him of wanting to do away with the sciences but said he cannot ignore budget realities.
MfD A12 Sat, LN 9 Sat
Three new swine flu cases reported
Three new cases of H1N1 swine flu have been confirmed in the Czech Republic, bringing the total number to 20.
Právo 4 Sat
BUSINESS
Travel agents want flexible summer holidays
AČCKA, the association of Czech travel agents, proposes extending the overall summer school holiday period to four months, with the actual time off staggered by region, so that more travellers can take advantage of lower package tour prices in June and September. The Regional Development Ministry is examining the plan, and Education Minister Miroslava Kopicová said she would consider it.
MfD A1, A9 Sat, LN 1, 5 Sat
Economists: Trade key to Czech recovery
Patria Finance analyst David Marek told Mladá fronta Dnes that the economic crisis will leave the Czech Republic by the same door through which it entered – foreign trade. Other economists agree that the country’s recovery depends on Germany, the biggest importer of Czech goods. They expect the recovery to take hold in Europe about six months after the US economy starts growing, which the International Monetary Fund predicts will happen next year.
MfD A1, A8
RETUR goes bust, cancels all tours
Travel agency RETUR entered insolvency proceedings Friday and has cancelled all scheduled tours. Insurance is expected to cover reimbursement of hundreds of clients who have paid for RETUR packages, said Tomio Okamura of AČCKA, the association of Czech travel agencies and tour operators.
LN 13, HN 17, 19
Press: Hyundai mulling i20 production in ČR
The website of India’s Economic Times reports that South Korean carmaker Hyundai plans to shift some production of its i20 model from India to a plant in Turkey, Slovakia or the Czech Republic by the end of 2010. Petr Vaněk, spokesman for the company’s Czech operation, confirmed to Slovak daily Hospodárske noviny that an i20 move is in the works but said the Czech plant is not likely to be picked.
ČTK
Farm association chief: Food markups on the rise
Retailers’ markups on food prices could reach CZK 75 billion this year, nearly a third of total Czech spending on foodstuffs, Agricultural Association chairman Miroslav Jirovský told journalists on Friday. Jirovský maintained the surcharge on some agricultural commodities is a multiple of the farmer’s price, but retailers say their markups are much lower.
ČTK, iDNES.cz
ČEZ hydroelectric power production down
ČEZ-operated hydroelectric power stations generated 114 gigawatt hours of electricity in the first half of this year, a year-on-year decline of 26%. The decrease is equivalent to the six-month consumption of 65,000 households, said Libor Kičmer of ČEZ Obnovitelné zdroje, which operates the power giant’s hydroelectric plans.
ČTK
ČSAD expanding to South America
Bus transport operators ČSAD Semily and ČSAD Jablonec nad Nisou are planning to create a public transport network in Paraguay. The project is expected to cost some CZK 2 billion in the first five years. The companies hope to subsequently expand to neighbouring Bolivia.
ČTK
Czech agricultural shrinks slightly in ’09
Agricultural land in the Czech Republic has shrunk by 26,000 hectares to 3.546 million hectares this year, the Czech Statistical Office reported Friday. The amount of arable land declined by 18,000 hectares to 2.574 million hectares.
ČTK
