http://radio.cz/en/article/145574 A daily in-depth look at current events in the Czech Republic. en Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:09:51 +0100 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:09:51 +0100 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Radio Prague CMS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Radio Broadcasting cr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas) webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) http://radio.cz/en/article/145574 The Czech police have cracked down on a group called Resistance Women Unity, a women´s branch of the Czech neo-Nazi movement National Resistance. Fifteen women were arrested and charged with promoting and supporting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms. I spoke to Miroslav Mareš of Masaryk University in Brno, one of the Czech Republic’s leading experts on far-right extremism, to find out more about the role of women in neo-Nazi groups in the present day Czech Republic. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:09:51 +0100 urn:uuid:aed399ec-2dea-5072-ae53-6d465a782f66 http://radio.cz/en/article/145591 The annual Bohemian Carnevale got underway this week, and for the next seven days carnival-lovers will have a chance to forget the freezing temperatures in Prague with masked balls, parades and acrobatic performances. The event is an attempt to revive what was a major social event in days gone by – one that attracted big-name celebrities such as Mozart and Casanova. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:09:51 +0100 urn:uuid:7a1e970c-939c-5579-b87f-47fc0759e735 http://radio.cz/en/article/145559 Thousands of teachers around the country are up in arms. They are unhappy about the government’s plans to gradually phase out special schools – or schools for children with a mental or physical handicap – and integrate as many of these children as possible into the education mainstream. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:17:11 +0100 urn:uuid:04ca50dc-3280-5587-8ef5-94a7733818f3 http://radio.cz/en/article/145510 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. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:41:00 +0100 urn:uuid:99673dcc-478e-5b68-aa39-6555e1a24d2c http://radio.cz/en/article/145461 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. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:26:56 +0100 urn:uuid:793512cf-35fc-548b-8e69-03409304f4fa http://radio.cz/en/article/145471 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. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:26:56 +0100 urn:uuid:6ab646b9-8a5e-5435-ae38-ee1dd5695c2c http://radio.cz/en/article/145432 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. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:15:00 +0100 urn:uuid:285d69af-4420-5654-8a86-d1e343b73340 http://radio.cz/en/article/145440 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 Czechs' 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. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:15:00 +0100 urn:uuid:9bc23878-db95-5dab-a938-049d970afd69 http://radio.cz/en/article/145409 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. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:10:13 +0100 urn:uuid:9090d702-ab26-5eac-b9f1-c6eb8b20422e http://radio.cz/en/article/145416 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. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:10:13 +0100 urn:uuid:e5c201e9-d276-5e79-98ab-0cb5a494ad3c http://radio.cz/en/article/145369 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. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:06:51 +0100 urn:uuid:32fc01b1-26bb-5350-9da9-b63e14a6b580 http://radio.cz/en/article/145324 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. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:43:21 +0100 urn:uuid:c0b6ab5e-f01f-511f-8500-70c7d587c0a5 http://radio.cz/en/article/145289 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. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:33:12 +0100 urn:uuid:0a576bff-58ed-5ea1-8d37-bb5640885e5d http://radio.cz/en/article/145290 For years, Prague councilors have been announcing the end of the sausage stands on Wenceslas Square, which for some have become an institution, albeit a greasy and noisy one. Now, City Hall officials are set to serve eviction notices to all of the fast-food stands on the city’s main thoroughfare, ahead of a major makeover next year. In the future, Wenceslas Square may be sausage-free – but not if Prague 1 mayor Oldřich Lomecký has his say. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:33:12 +0100 urn:uuid:465e5506-8532-52f8-bc4d-a04fa1a47c19 http://radio.cz/en/article/145253 Top Czech officials have engaged in an unusually strong exchange of insults over the government’s refusal to join the European Union’s new fiscal treaty. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, Prime Minister Petr Nečas and President Václav Klaus engaged in a crossfire which has put more strain on the fragile coalition government, and which illustrates the deep divisions between the major Czech political forces in their stance on European integration. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:31:44 +0100 urn:uuid:cdc3c0ca-ab40-5654-88e8-37b1117b6bf8 http://radio.cz/en/article/145262 With temperatures in Prague expected to drop as low as minus 20 degrees in the coming days, the Czech capital’s homeless are at high risk. Due to the harsh weather, homeless shelters are already close to operating at full capacity. To help battle deaths from exposure city hall officials have arranged for a large heated tent to be put up for those with no roof over their heads. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:31:44 +0100 urn:uuid:0b4eaff7-f981-5a48-9070-b0ec47c6a7c8 http://radio.cz/en/article/145232 The Czech government has refused to join the European Union’s planned fiscal compact which paves the way for a closer coordination of fiscal policies within the bloc. At an EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas cited “ratification issues” as the main reason why the country will stay out of the pact, as the only EU member state besides the UK. The Czech refusal has already caused a stir on the domestic scene as Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said the move would harm the Czech Republic’s interests. Jan Czech Radio’s former correspondent in Brussels, Ondřej Houska summed up the reasons Prime Minister Nečas gave to back his decision. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:57:33 +0100 urn:uuid:c28a449c-bba7-5129-9bdd-1c7bfb29bd3c http://radio.cz/en/article/145233 Internet banking, online shopping, google searches – the internet has made our life much more convenient. And despite the fact that it is a highly visual medium, blind people, too, are increasingly taking advantage of the internet. But how do they perceive it and what are some of the difficulties of mastering the World Wide Web for those without eyesight? Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:57:33 +0100 urn:uuid:4c626431-ebbf-55c1-b193-17ba2248db82 http://radio.cz/en/article/145198 After much controversy at home on whether the Czech Republic should join the euro-zone’s emerging fiscal compact, the Czech government delegation headed for Monday’s key EU summit in Brussels determined to keep its options open. In the midst of continuing discord on the subject, there is just one thing Czech politicians heartily agree on – they want to have a finger in the pie. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:53:42 +0100 urn:uuid:ec0fdd0a-9982-5ce4-b2be-70db12cf0746 http://radio.cz/en/article/145151 A ruling on Thursday by a Prague court might lead to a breakthrough in the ongoing Czech debate about home births. While state officials and health care providers have consistently opposed the practice over safety concerns, the court decided that mothers indeed have the right to choose the place of their child’s delivery, and the state has to provide all necessary assistance. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:56:44 +0100 urn:uuid:b271dd38-281e-57fb-85ae-76f071ca6e50