Section Archive Talking Point
Overuse of antibiotics could mean a huge set back for medicine
Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928 marked a revolution in
the world of medicine. Once fatal illnesses became easily curable and the
mortality rate dropped the world over. Today doctors depend on antibiotics
to treat a wide range of bacteria-related illnesses from the common
ear-infection to meningitis. But gradually the effectiveness of
antibiotics has begun to wane and there have been cases of patients dying
because even the strongest available antibiotics failed to work.
More
Is the Czech Republic's Vietnamese community finally starting to feel at home?
According to official estimates there are now around 40,000 Vietnamese
living in the Czech Republic. Many of these immigrants first came to this
country in the Communist era, when Vietnam sought to bolster its skilled
workforce by sending thousands of students and guest workers to socialist
Czechoslovakia for training and experience. When the Iron Curtain
disappeared, a large number of the Vietnamese here decided to stay rather
than return to communist Vietnam.
More
Over-working of hospital doctors posing a danger to patients, warns doctors group
It was extremely windy down by the Vltava last week when around a hundred
Czech doctors gathered for a rather unusual protest - a trip on an
open-topped boat normally used for tourist excursions. The doctors headed
in the direction of Hamburg on what was a short, symbolic voyage. The
reason: they wanted to highlight the dangers posed by Czech doctors
leaving to work abroad, and to draw attention to the fact that many who
stay at home are doing huge amounts of overtime.
More
Is the Czech Republic about to price itself out of the FDI market?
A recent industrial dispute at carmaker Skoda Auto - one of the Czech
Republic's largest and most successful firms - has not only made headline
news in this country, but also taken up many column inches in the
international press. A pay rise of just under 13 percent, which Skoda
workers managed to negotiate with their employer, has led to speculation
abroad that the Czech Republic may be about to price itself out of the
foreign investment market. More
Future climate change policy discussed in Prague
Scientific evidence that climate change is caused by human activity has
boosted ongoing efforts to address the problem. Now the focus is primarily
on what will happen after 2012 when the validity of the Kyoto Protocol, an
international treaty designed to limit global greenhouse gas emissions,
expires. Last week representatives of the EU, the World Bank and the new
EU member states met in Prague to discuss the challenges ahead.
More
What can Czechs expect from the government-proposed tax and social reforms?
The Czech coalition government last week unveiled a package of ambitious
tax reforms and spending cuts. The cabinet says their reform, aiming to
reduce the country's fiscal deficit and prepare it for euro adoption in
2012, comes at the eleventh hour. They say that under current legislation,
mandatory expenditures would exceed state budget revenues in two years'
time. More
What does success of multiplexes mean for present and future of cinema in Czech Republic?
Refundable Bottles by Jan Sverak recently set a Czech record when it was
watched by 107,000 people in its opening weekend. Most if not all of those
viewers would have seen the film at a multiplex cinema; figures just
released show that multiplexes now have 75 percent of the cinemas market,
up from 40 percent in 2002. What does that mean for the present and future
of cinema in this country? More
People in Need continue "jail cell" campaign for Cuban dissidents
Visitors to Prague were treated to an odd sight recently - prisoners
wearing striped fatigues sitting disconsolately in a pretend jail cell on
Wenceslas Square. It was neither a piece of performance art nor an
elaborate joke, but part of a campaign run by the Czech NGO People in
Need, to remind people of the imprisonment of 75 Cuban dissidents in March
2003.
More
Is Prague ready to host the Olympics?
Up to now, Czechs have always had to cheer on their Olympic heroes like
Emil Zatopek and Jan Zelezny from afar, in such far flung places as
Helsinki and Seoul. In the not-too-distant future, however, people from
the Czech Republic may be able to enjoy the Olympic spectacle in their own
backyard, as it looks increasingly likely that Prague may make a bid for
the 2016 Olympics. But can the Czech capital really manage to host such a
massive event? More
Nation divided over plan to locate US radar base 70 km from Prague
The United States' plan to extend its missile defence system to Central
Europe has not only angered its old Cold War adversary Russia, it's also
prompted a lively debate in the countries that would be on the sharp end
of it. If all goes to plan, Poland would host an interceptor base - meant
to shoot down incoming missiles from countries such as Iran - while the
Czech Republic would host a radar station - meant to track those missiles
as soon as they break cloud cover. The Czech government has said a
cautious "yes" to the facility, which would be built in a range
of hills about 70 kilometres from Prague in the Brdy military grounds. More
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