NEWS
Twenty Prague events for Velvet anniversary
About 20 public events are planned in Prague for tomorrow, the official date of national commemorations for the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Some 10,000 are expected to turn out at the main march starting at Albertov. Outside authorised events, the far-right Workers’ Party and banned neo-Nazi group National Resistance are planning rallies at Národní třída.
Source: HN 3
Havel leads weekend celebrations
To commemorate the Velvet Revolution, former President Václav Havel organised a special concert on Friday starring Suzanne Vega, Lou Reed and Joan Baez, which was attended by former US Foreign Secretary Madeleine Albright. The celebration included a video message from US President Barack Obama congratulating the Czech and Slovak Republic on the 20th anniversary. On Saturday, Havel delivered a speech on freedom at Charles University, concluding by ironically restating the former communist slogan “People, keep guard!” in reference to existing totalitarian regimes.
Source: most Czech press
PM: Cabinet changes set for November
Prime Minister Jan Fischer said on Friday that key changes to the membership of cabinet should take place at the end of November. Fischer will hold talks with ODS leader Mirek Topolánek next week on replacing current Minister for European Affairs Štefan Füle, recently nominated for Czech EU Commissioner. Fischer told deputies he had no replacement in mind yet. Topolánek said on Thursday that he already had a candidate, whom he declined to identify before meeting with the PM.
Source: ČTK
New swine flu treatment unveiled
In an interview on Czech TV this weekend, the country’s chief public health officer Michael Vít described a new system for treating swine flu in young people infected by the H1N1 virus resulting in serious lung disease. The method is known at the IKEM institute of clinical and experimental medicine and the VFN general teaching hospital in Prague. It involves extracorporeal blood circulation and has been used in Australia and New Zealand.
Source: most Czech press
ČR to slash foreign aid next year
The Czech Republic will decrease its spending on foreign development by 16% next year, Hana Ševčíková, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s development cooperation department told journalists on Friday. Local NGOs dedicated to assisting poor countries were warned that the current economic crisis is jeopardising the country’s development efforts. Last year the Czech Republic spent more than CZK 4.2 billion, or 0.12% of GDP, on foreign aid, she said.
Source: ČTK
Klaus blasts Berlin wall celebrations
In a letter to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, President Václav Klaus praised his role in the fall of communism and criticised the lack of commemoration of the work of Kohl, former US President Ronald Reagan and ex-British PM Margaret Thatcher during last week’s celebrations of the fall of the Berlin wall.
Source: ČTK
Kocáb: Suspend Communist Party
The Human Rights and Minorities Minister Michael Kocáb yesterday called for the suspension of the activities of the Communist Party (KSČM) until the Supreme Administrative Court decides on its legitimacy. He said cabinet will deal again with an earlier proposal from a group of senators to ban the party. Under Czech law, only cabinet can demand the court decide on suspending a political party
Source: Právo 2, iDnes.cz
Právo: Janota faced death threats over budget
Finance Minister Eduard Janota was given state bodyguards from mid-October until last week after receiving several threatening letters accompanied by bullets in connection with the cost-cutting laws passed by parliament last month, the daily Právo reported Saturday.
Source: Právo 1, 2 Sat
Right-wing extremists rally at RFE
Some 60 right-wing campaigners demonstrated in front of Radio Free Europe in Prague on Saturday against the allegedly unlawful investigation of supporters of banned organisation National Resistance (Národni odpor), who were arrested during the recent police raids. The arrested individuals have been accused of organising concerts promoting Nazism and racism. Saturday’s protest was authorised and peaceful.
Source: ČTK
MfD: Ostrava hospital tops national survey
Ostrava teaching hospital ranked highest in the latest survey of 21,000 patients by Mf Dnes and polling agency STEM, with institutions in Plzeň and Hradec Králové coming in behind. The poll compared services in the country’s 12 teaching hospitals. The lack of privacy and emotional support from doctors and nurses, chaotic medical checkups and low-quality food were among the most frequent complaints.
Source: MfD A1, A3 Sat
BUSINESS
HN: State transport tender made for Kapsch
HN claims a Transport Ministry tender worth CZK 2 billion to extend the current toll collection system on Czech roads by satellite technology has been tailored for Kapsch, the current operator of a toll collection system using microwave technology. HN says Kapsch has been testing its satellite technology since the summer of 2008 as part of its contract with the Transport Ministry, which gives the company advantage over rival bidders including the companies Satellic and Princip.
Source: HN 1, 20
Transport strike averted
Representatives of public transport unions reached an agreement with Prague City Council on Friday on all seven of the unions’ demands. Representatives of both sides told the press no threat of strikes remained. Head of Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) Martin Dvořák said compromises had been made on all points, adding that talks would continue on concrete issues and lay-offs.
Source: most Czech press
ČNB: Economy to pick up early next year
In this year’s latest inflation report released last Thursday, the Czech National Bank (ČNB) predicts that the annual economic decline for 2009 will reach 4.4%. The report says the economy should return to mild growth of 1.4% next year.
Source: Euro.cz, E15 10
Lower house raises budget deficit for 2009
The chamber of deputies endorsed an increase of this year’s budget deficit by CZK 14 billion to CZK 52.2 billion on Friday. The government claims the extra funds are needed to cover pensions, unemployment benefits and interest on state debts due to this year’s shortfall from state coffers.
Source: ČTK, MfD A9 Sat, Právo 2 Sat
GDP on the rise in Q3
The country’s gross domestic product rose by 0.8% year-on-year during the third quarter of the year while the annual contraction of the economy was revised to 4.1% down from 4.7% in Q2. David Marek from Patria Finance said the figures proved the Czech economy was recovering from the recession, adding that GDP was boosted mainly by export and reserves.
Source: most Czech press
Tůma: No sense now in setting euro adoption date
Speaking at the Žofín Forum conference in Prague on Friday, Zdeněk Tůma, the Czech National Bank governor, said Czech public finances had deteriorated so much that it was irrelevant to set a date for the country’s euro adoption.
Source: Právo 9 Sat, LN 18
Zetor continues mass lay-offs
Czech tractor producer Zetor has announced the sacking of a further 185 current employees, blaming the global economic crisis and Zetor Group restructuring. The company currently employs some 850 people after dismissing 150 staff earlier this year. Zetor Group posted a loss of CZK 32 million last year.
Source: ČTK
Unipetrol down CZK 35m in Q3
In the latest results for the third quarter this year, petrochemical company Unipetrol posted a loss of CZK 35 million, down from a CZK 557 million profit for the same period last year. Company revenues sank 37.3% annually to CZK 18.73 billion, while its operating profit stood at CZK 5 million. The results were slightly worse than expected.
Source: most Czech press
New public tender law includes blacklist
President Václav Klaus has signed an amendment to the law on public tenders which includes a facility to blacklist companies found guilty of providing false information in public tenders.
Source: ČTK
PPF sells Ukraine bank
Investment group PPF has sold the Privatinvest bank in Ukraine to a private local investor for CZK 163.5 million, the news site Týden.cz reports. PPF’s Milan Tománek said the bank had not performed sufficiently.
Source: ČTK
More demand for disabled workers
Jaroslav Kouba, the owner of job agency Pancéř, told LN the private sector is increasingly interested in hiring disabled workers, enticed by state subsidies which can reduce wage costs for disadvantaged staff by up to 50%. A spokesperson for job portal Práce.cz confirmed the trend, saying the number of job offers seeking disabled applicants had recently topped 1,000.
Source: LN 14 Sat
