Section Archive Current Affairs
Specialists at Defence University make use of Xbox technology to create new military visualisation system
Specialists at the Defence University in Brno have developed a new system
for the Czech military to improve planning as well as the real-time
monitoring and control of missions in the field in 3D. Most intriguing is
that the system makes use of technology from Microsoft’s Xbox gaming
console but applies it to real-world situations including the battlefield. More
Vsetín faces Roma exodus
In late 2006, Jiří Čunek, then mayor of the eastern town of Vsetín and
later Christian Democrat chairman, made a controversial decision to move
several hundred Romany rent-defaulters out of a dilapidated block of flats
in the town centre and relocate them in a complex of portacabins on the
outskirts of Vsetín. Now, five years on, most of them are choosing to move
even further – as far as the United Kingdom. More
Fresh blow to government’s anti-corruption efforts
The Czech government’s anti-corruption efforts took a beating when the
lower house of Parliament last week watered down its public procurement
bill, leaving a loophole for non-transparent companies to reach public
money. The centre-right cabinet is also fighting an uphill battle against
corruption in its own ranks after reports that Civic Democrat minister
Martin Kocourek’s mother became rich overnight, with no explanation given
by her or her son. More
Czech pilot repeats pioneer flight
2011 marks one hundred years since Jan Kašpar, a Czech aviation pioneer,
made the first long-distance flight from a town in East Bohemia, to the
famous Chuchle racetrack near Prague. Kašpar covered the 120 kilometres in
a retrofitted single-engine monoplane, bought from Louis Bleriot after the
Frenchman’s successful flight over the English Channel. Kašpar’s own
journey from Pardubice to Chuchle was itself ambitious and when he arrived
he was given a heroes’ welcome. This week, in honour of the original
deed, the feat was repeated by another Czech pilot, Petr Mára. Radio
Prague’s Jan Velinger has the details. More
Government reforms approved by Parliament
After a grueling week-long filibuster in the lower house, the centre-right
coalition government on Sunday pushed a package of key reform bills through
Parliament, overturning a Senate veto, in what has been a long and fierce
battle with the opposition. The bills which will launch an overhaul of the
pension, health care and welfare systems, among others, still need to be
signed by the president and are expected to take effect at the start of
next year. More
Disenchanted Czechs say country not going in the right direction
The results of an October survey carried out by the STEM polling agency
indicate people’s growing pessimism regarding the future. Half of those
polled said the country was not going in the right direction and worried
about what the coming year would bring. Radio Prague asked the agency’s
director Jan Hartl what was behind the growing public dissatisfaction with
the present state of affairs. More
Škoda plans to conquer city car market with new Citigo
The Czech carmaker Škoda has unveiled a new model for the much
sought-after city car market – the Citigo. It’s closely modelled on
Volkswagen’s Up – not surprisingly as Škoda is part of the VW group
– and will appear in Czech showrooms at the end of the month, with a
European rollout planned for 2012. More
Lower house passes state budget bill in first reading
On Wednesday evening, following a thirty-hour session and after eleven
hours of opposition filibustering, the lower house passed the draft state
budget for 2012 in its first reading. A majority of 102 deputies for the
centre-right coalition Civic Democrats, TOP 09 and Public Affairs approved
its revenues, expenditures and deficit figures. The draft budget proposes a
deficit of 105 billion crowns, or 3.2 percent of GDP, but could be subject
to changes in January. More
Messi, Barcelona, beat Viktoria Plzeň 4:0
It was always going to be a tough battle for Czech squad Viktoria Plzeň in
Champions League action on Tuesday and despite the team’s best efforts,
especially in the first 20 minutes, things went south pretty fast.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi earned a hat-trick on the evening and 4:0 was
the final result at Prague’s Eden Stadium. More
Stories of Injustice film project tries to shed light on grey “normalization” period
The 2006 film “Swingtime” inspired by a communist-era secret police
operation as well as four documentaries will be screened in November at
primary and secondary schools around the country as part of a month-long
project called Stories of Injustice. Now in its seventh year the project
organized by the NGO People in Need covers a period often neglected in the
curriculum. Through film and subsequent discussions with survivors,
witnesses and victims of communist injustice, students are learning about
post-war Czechoslovak history – this year with a special focus on the
period of normalization and the subjects of emigration and exile. Radio
Prague talked to the project’s spokesman Filip Šebek. More
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