Section Archive Current Affairs
EU human rights court rules Czech state denied Kinský fair trial in property restitution case
The European Court of Human Rights denounced the Czech state for having
denied a fair trial to František Oldřich Kinský, an Austrian aristocrat
who sued the country over his property claims. The court said that Mr
Kinský, who passed away nearly three years ago, had been subjected to
abusive treatment by the Czech authorities when he sued to get back family
property worth around 40 billion crowns. More
Czech Parliament passes direct presidential elections
Czech citizens themselves will choose their next president in 2013 for the
first time in history. After years of public and partisan discussion, and
five final hours of heated debate on Wednesday, the Czech Senate passed a
Constitutional amendment allowing direct election of the head of state by
the people. As the current president, Václav Klaus, who called direct
elections a "fatal mistake", is unable to veto a constitutional
amendment, I asked political scientist Jan Outlý of the University of
Hradec Králové if anything at all can stop direct presidential elections
now. More
Czech lighting producer Preciosa aims to expand on US, Russian markets
A leading Czech producer of lighting products, Preciosa Lighting, aims to
expand its position in the United States. The firm with a centuries-old
glass making tradition has now opened a permanent showroom in Dallas,
Texas, a must for everyone who’s anyone in the industry, says Preciosa
Lighting’s sales director Petra Macháčková. Radio Prague talked to Ms
Macháčková about her company’s plans. More
Nuclear Faith: Documentary explores Czechs’ trust in nuclear energy
Two-thirds of Czechs are in favor of expanding the country’s nuclear
power sources and nearly half of them trust this source of energy: that was
the result of a SANEP poll published briefly after the Fukushima nuclear
disaster. The Czech’s attitude towards nuclear power remains strikingly
positive compared to other European countries, such as neighboring Germany.
A fresh documentary – titled Nuclear Faith – explores the country’s
perception of nuclear energy. Its director Ivo Bystřičan speaks about the
film. More
Legislators approve changes covering denial of fatherhood
Czech lawmakers have approved changes to legislation covering the denial of
fatherhood, overriding an earlier Senate veto. The amendment will extend a
previous six month period for denying fatherhood (upon learning the
biological parent was someone else) to three years. Experts have argued the
earlier time frame was too short; at stake, of course, are not just the
rights of the parent, but also of the child. More
American hockey players discuss tenure with Sparta Prague
American hockey players Troy Milam and Alex Foster are halfway through a
year-long contract with Sparta Prague, currently the top team in the Czech
Extra League. After an important win over their major rivals HC Plzeň,
reporters Lothar Martin and Lena Drummer from Radio Prague’s German
section met up with the players and asked what they attributed Sparta’s
success to. More
PM tells European-bound Czech exporters to look further afield
The Czech government on Monday unveiled a new export strategy that is to
help Czech exporters find new, fast-developing markets. The move aims to
boost the country’s economic stability amidst concerns over the deepening
debt crisis in the euro zone. More
Czech signature of ACTA agreement sparks controversy and demonstrations
The signature of ACTA, short for Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, by 22
EU member states has sparked a heated controversy and widespread protests
across Europe. In the Czech Republic, hundreds of internet users took to
the streets in Prague and other cities, while hackers associated with the
group Anonymous have attacked websites of the government, political parties
and copyrights holders associations. In neighboring Poland, the
ratification of the agreement was even put on ice after widespread protests
and attacks on government websites. The controversial agreement aims to
protect intellectual property on the internet, but many fear it will lead
to online surveillance and internet censorship. New media and technology
journalist Petr Kočí speaks about ACTA and how it is perceived in the
Czech Republic. More
MPs complete legislation aimed at legalizing cannabis for medical purposes
A group of Czech MPs from all of the parties in the Chamber of Deputies has
completed legislation which could legalise the use of cannabis in the Czech
Republic for medical purposes. Currently, thousands of sufferers from
debilitating diseases such as Parkinson’s, Lyme borreliosis and multiple
sclerosis, have been forced to break the law to obtain marijuana to help
ease their pain, a situation which could soon change if the bill passes in
the lower house. According to reports, the medical use of cannabis in the
Czech Republic could be legal within the year. More
Scandal-plagued Plzeň law faculty will have to close its doors
The scandal-plagued Plzeň faculty of law appears to have come to the end of
the road. On Wednesday the Czech Accreditation Commission announced that
the West-Bohemian law faculty’s undergraduate programme had failed to
pass muster and its accreditation would not be extended past this autumn.
On Thursday some 300 of the faculty’s 2,000 students gathered outside
their school to protest against the decision and have appealed to Education
Minister Josef Dobeš to intervene. However their chances of success are
meager, since under Czech law the minister is not in a position to question
the verdict of the accreditation commission. We spoke to its chairwoman
prof. Vladimíra Dvořáková to find out what was behind the commission’s
decision. More
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