NEWS
TOP 09 likely to nominate Schwarzenberg in Prague
The new political party TOP 09 could appoint Karel Schwarzenberg as its Prague candidate in the October general elections. Civic Democrats, who have nominated David Vodrážka for Prague, claim they expected the move and do not think it poses any threat, Lidové noviny reports.
LN 1, 2
Havel: Mobsters are the new elite
Former President Václav Havel told the Bloomberg news service that Czechs are building “palaces of consumerism, … politicians can’t see farther than the next opinion poll, and mobsters and moneychangers have become the new economic elite”.
ČTK, Právo 3
Senate rejects ČSSD proposal to abolish medical fees
Yesterday, the Senate sent two ČSSD proposals to abolish and significantly limit the medical co-pay back to the lower house. KDU-ČSL MP Ludvík Hovorka, who holds the decisive vote on the issue in the lower house, told Hospodářské noviny that he would not support either proposal. The ČSSD’s chance to abolish or restrict the fee before this autumn’s early elections is therefore very low.
most Czech press
Chamber of Deputies chair dismisses advisors
Lower house chairman Miloslav Vlček ended cooperation with his advisors Jan Kavan, Vladimír Laštůvka and Helena Opolecká over their alleged meeting with members of Hamas in the Gaza Strip earlier this month. The EU recognises Hamas as a terrorist group.
most Czech press
Topolánek issues a call to arms against the left
ODS leader Mirek Topolánek yesterday called on 30 “non-left entities”, including political parties, NGOs and interest groups, to rally against “the real risk of leftwing parties in autumn’s general elections”. ČSSD leader Jiří Paroubek called his rival’s plea an attempt to “gobble up” smaller parties.
most Czech press
ČR’s sixth swine flu case confirmed
A 34-year-old man from Kroměříž has become the sixth Czech diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, which he contracted during a trip to New York.
ČTK
Cable channels fined for violent porn
The TV and Radio Broadcasting Council has fined 25 Czech cable providers CZK 200,000 each for airing a porn scene including a rape on Hustler TV.
ČTK
Czech mothers feel discriminated against
An Ipsos Tambor survey shows that among mothers of children 10 years old and younger, 54% have experienced discrimination related to their parenthood at work or while looking for a work.
ČTK
Students to protest unified exit exams
Some 10,000 students are expected to take part in today’s protest against the introduction of standardised testing for secondary school-leaving exams. The students will gather at Palackého náměstí at noon and march toward the Education Ministry. The action has been organised through Facebook.
most Czech press
Neumannová admits financial problems
Kateřina Neumannová, former ski champion and the president of the committee that organised the 2009 Nordic World Ski Championship in Liberec, admitted financial problems yesterday, saying that some CZK 100 million remains to be paid. However, she said the event was a success and the only mistake she made was her miscalculation regarding the number of visitors who would show up.
MfD A1, A6
CZK 20m in jewellery stolen from store
Three armed robbers stole jewellery worth CZK 20 million from a store in Karlovy Vary yesterday and drove off in a dark car. The robbery is one of the biggest in recent years. Police with machine guns monitored the roads in the greater Karlovy Vary and Plzeň areas yesterday without success.
HN 4
Matuška tribute draws crowd of 15,000
Some 15,000 people went to Prague’s Žofín hall yesterday to honour the recently deceased pop star Waldemar Matuška.
most Czech press
BUSINESS
Crown strengthens
The crown increased 1% yesterday, to CZK 26.42 against the euro, compared with nine days ago, when the exchange rate was CZK 27 per euro. The crown also grew against the dollar to CZK 18.89. It is likely the crown will rise to CZK 26.35 against the euro and drop again.
HN 22
Delta launches Prague-NY service
Starting this morning, Delta Air Lines will operate three weekly flights between Prague and New York, a route so far only served by Czech Airlines.
most Czech press
Watchdog: One in four beer outlets cheats
One-fourth of Czech restaurants and bars inspected by the Consumers Defence Association failed to fill beer glasses up to the 0.5l mark, with the majority of the skimping venues being in Ostrava and Brno.
ČTK
Heineken plans to merge Krušovice and Ústí
Heineken will combine its Krušovice brewery with the Ústí nad Labem-based beer company Drinks Union, which the Dutch brewer acquired last year. Jiří Daněk, Heineken’s sales director for the Czech Republic, said the acquisition will not affect the brew. Josef Krýsl, an independent brewer, called this another example of large corporations liquidating small and midsize breweries to boost profits.
HN 15
Car-scrapping bonus might increase sales of cheaper vehicles
Pavel Tunkl, secretary of the Car Importers’ Association, thinks the car-scrapping bonus might increase the sales of cars priced between CZK 200,000-CZK 300,000. There are currently some 50 models that run under CZK 300,000 on the Czech market. Some CZK 2.5 billion has been earmarked for the bonus, and the money should cover 83,300 cars.
HN 16
The former Škodaexport goes into administration
A court yesterday started insolvency proceedings against machinery trader PA Export, formerly Škodaexport. The Siemens company had initiated the move, saying PA Export owes it CZK 130 million.
ČTK
Sales of Fairtrade goods double in ČR
Last year, Czechs spent an estimated CZK 41 million on Fairtrade goods, twice as much as in 2007 and the highest amount ever, according to the Green Marketing consultancy.
ČTK
Wellness facilities to be rated like hotels
The Ministry for Regional Development and a wellness association will start this summer to work on rules that would differentiate the quality of service provided in the travel industry. Various wellness facilities would be rated on a similar basis to that now used for hotels. The project should be co-financed from EU funds.
HN 18
Hamé takes over Hungarian meat processor
The food-processing company Hamé acquired a meat division in Hungary’s leading canning company, Globus, for an undisclosed price, according to the Hungarian daily Magyar Hírlap. Globus posts annual sales of some EUR 20 million, and the meat division contributes 20% of that.
HN 15
PPF fails to get dividend from ArcelorMittal
PPF, which holds a 14% stake in ArcelorMittal Ostrava, unsuccessfully proposed at a general meeting yesterday that the metal processor pay out a dividend of CZK 17 billion to shareholders. PPF also failed to work its way into ArcelorMittal Ostrava’s governing body. ArcelorMittal Ostrava has lent CZK 24.5 billion to its mother company, Arcelor Mittal, in recent years.
HN 1, 15, 18
Toshulin pays CZK 121.4m for Strojimport
Last year’s privatisation of a 99% stake in the machinery trader Strojimport was finalised yesterday when the new owner, Toshulin, paid the Finance Ministry CZK 121.4 million.
ČTK
