Section Archive Current Affairs
Helping disadvantaged children to learn English
Under communism Czech society was highly institutionalized and an unhappy
legacy from that time is the disproportionately large number of children
growing up in children’s homes. By way of comparison, there are fewer
children in institutional care in Britain than in the Czech Republic, even
though the country has nearly six times the population. Children growing up
in homes often end up with huge social and educational disadvantages, and
this was what motivated the Faculty of Education at Prague’s Charles
University to carry out a project aimed at developing after-school teaching
activities for children in children’s homes. The project focused on
English teaching. David Vaughan reports.
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Fire engine accident highlights bungled renovation of Ostrava’s main square
Three years ago, the central square in the city of Ostrava, in the
north-east of the country underwent a thorough renovation. But locals
complained about the poor quality of the job and the inferior stones the
square was paved with. The authorities had already launched an
investigation into the matter when on Tuesday, the complainers were proved
right: a fire engine sank into a hole in the square’s paving.
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New technology could overcome last Czech resistance to credit cards
Paying by plastic card took off in the Czech Republic after the fall of
Communism as the country transformed into a developed consumer society. But
surveys still show a hard core of Czechs shun payment cards preferring good
old cash because they feel they can better keep track of their spending.
Now some card companies are rolling out smarter systems which might help
overcome this last resistance.
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Hadamczik takes over as coach of national hockey team
The Czech hockey team is fresh from its gold medal win at the World
Championship in Germany, but many in the country are wondering what will
come next for the national team. Ahead of the tournament, coach Vladimír
Růžička promised he would be stepping down, handing the reins to his
successor Alois Hadamczik. Curiously, it is the second time Růžička has
won gold at the Worlds only to be followed by Hadamczik and there are a
number of challenges that the new coach will face.
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New law allows product placement in some television programs
As of June 1, product placement in soap operas or talk shows will become a
legal way for television networks to increase their budgets in the Czech
Republic. This change in law follows an EU directive aiming to provide some
clear guidelines for product placement in television. Networks are obliged
to air a disclaimer before any program that contains this form of
advertising, but nonetheless, the line between advertising and programming
has just become a bit more blurry. Media lawyer Martin Elger talks about
the significance of this new law.
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Government opts for expropriation to push through strategic motorway link
For several years a battle over a piece of farmland has stopped a strategic
Czech motorway project in its tracks. On Monday the government decided to
remove that obstacle with the radical step of expropriation. We look at
that controversial step and whether it will bear fruit.
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Catholic Church and state end 18-year-long legal battle over St. Vitus’ Cathedral
Prague’s famous St. Vitus’ Cathedral, home to the country’s
coronation jewels and the final resting place of Czech kings, has long been
an issue of contention between the Catholic Church and the state. On Monday
President Václav Klaus and Archbishop Dominik Duka announced that they had
agreed to end the 18-year-long legal battle over ownership rights and
signed an amicable agreement on joint administration of the cathedral.
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Czech ice hockey team defy odds to take gold at world championship
The Czech Republic’s ice hockey players have scored a victory that will
live long in the memory, taking gold at the World Championship on Sunday
night after a thrilling final win over Russia. A Czech squad featuring
several relatively unknown players defied the odds to take the trophy –
sending fans around the Czech Republic into ecstasy.
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Public fundraiser to save Europe’s oldest glass making school
Europe’s oldest secondary glass making school, located in the north
Bohemian town of Kamenický Šenov, is facing existential problems. To make
sure that the school, which first opened in 1856, survives the next school
year, a group of supporters on Monday launched a public campaign to raise
some 500,000 crowns to tide it over. Radio Prague spoke to the school’s
director, František Janák, to find out what’s at the root of the
school’s financial difficulties.
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Final political poll shows everything still to play for
With four days still to go before Czechs start voting in elections to the
lower house, the last opinion poll has come out. But the political parties
and their leaders still hope to sway some of those wavering or undecided
voters with final rallies and debates still to come.
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