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Business NewsBusiness News
In today’s business news: A debate on tax reform has been postponed due
to a dispute over flat expense deductions between the prime minister and
the finance minister, the bankrupt betting giant Sazka is to be sold in a
public tender, grocery chains launch online discount coupons, the Czech
Tourism agency announces a campaign targeting gay and lesbian travelers,
and an American journal finds that Czech banknotes have some of the
world’s highest levels of a potentially dangerous chemical. More
Current AffairsPrague Pride gay festival begins amidst political controversy
The five-day Prague Pride gay festival kicked off on Wednesday amidst
heated political controversy. The country’s top political figures,
including President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Petr Nečas have
voiced their opinions on the event. Organizers say the media attention will
swell the ranks of participants – both supporters and opponents – of
Saturday’s gay parade through the city centre. More
Current AffairsControversy over Prague’s first gay and lesbian pride parade escalates
With two more days left to go before it begins, the gay and lesbian
community’s Prague Pride festival has stirred up considerable
controversy. The event, held under the auspices of Prague Mayor Bohuslav
Svoboda, has come under fire from public figures such as the head of the
ultra-conservative Civic Initiative D.O.S.T. Ladislav Bátora, the
controversial presidential aide Petr Hájek, and even the president
himself. More
Current AffairsFive years since same-sex registered partnership was introduced activists say bill didn’t go far enough
It has been five years since the bill on registered partnership between gay
couples came into force in the Czech Republic. During the period, more than
1,200 gay and lesbian couples in the country formed civil unions. While
most within the gay community welcomed the original legislation as an
important milestone, many still feel it didn’t go far enough as it failed
to recognise gay marriage or adoption rights. Radio Prague spoke to Zdeněk
Sloboda, a representative of PROUD, a Czech initiative promoting human
rights.
More
Current AffairsEU criticizes degrading practice of sexual arousal testing for asylum seekers in Czech Republic
The EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, has severely
criticized the Czech Republic’s use of sexual arousal testing to
ascertain whether men who seek asylum on the grounds that they are gay are
actually homosexual. She said on Tuesday that this treatment was degrading
and interfered with the person’s human dignity. The EU this week sent
another warning to Prague, stating that 'concerns still remain' about
phallometric tests, which appear to breach the union's Charter of
Fundamental Rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights. The procedure, which involves the measuring of the applicant’s
penis’ blood flow while being shown pornographic films, has also come
under fire from Czech NGOs dealing with asylum seekers’ rights. I spoke
to Magda Faltová of the Prague-based Association for Integration and
Migration about the issue and started by asking her how long this form of
testing had been in use. More
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