News Czech - 04.07.2012

The Syrian secret police are reported to have arrested a Czech woman, aged 32, on suspicion of collaborating with opposition rebels. Neither her family nor the Czech Embassy in Damascus have any news about her present whereabouts. Sandra Bitarova, who has a Syrian father and a Czech mother, has permanent residence in Syria, though she also has Czech citizenship. According to her family Bitarova is not personally involved in politics and her arrest may be an attempt to put pressure on her father who is an opposition activist and a vocal critic of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

 

Floods hit Plzeň region

Severe flooding has hit the Plzeň region around the town of Klatovy in the south-west of the country after severe rains overnight. According to meteorologists, around 20mm of rain was forecast to fall in the region. Most severely hit were the towns of Sušice and Klatov with the Šumava and Křemelná rivers reaching a level three degree of flooding while by morning, the River Ostružná had also reached a lower level two degree of flooding. Fire-fighters in the area were forced to evacuate dozens of homes, with locals reportedly saying that they could not remember such severe rainfall in their lifetimes. Roads were flooded in Mochtín, Chlistov and Kolinec and villages such as Běšiny remained impassable. So far, only one death, that of an elderly woman in Mochtín has been reported.

 

Three other regions also affected by severe rainstorms

Several other regions including Hradec Králové, Southern Bohemia and Pardubice were also hit by severe rains overnight. In the Southern Bohemia region, a section of railway from Vyšší Brod to Rybník was blocked by rocks as a result of the downpour, while a road near the village of Přečín was made impassable by large levels of mud. Fire-fighters were called to around thirty incidents in all. In the Hradce Králové region, a person was reportedly hit by lightning, but survived without serious injury, while numerous basements and homes were flooded. Additionally, a children’s summer camp in Miskolezy had to be evacuated. In the Pardubicko region, fire-fighters also responded to numerous flooding incidents, as well as a fallen tree in Brandýse nad Orlicí.

 

New website will allow patients to compare above-standard hospital care prices

A new website has been established to enable patients in the Czech Republic to compare the costs of above-standard care in hospitals. Cekacidoby.cz – meaning waiting times – offers comparison price checks for items which are better than those covered by standard health insurance. A patient can thus choose to pay more for better services, including items such as new, higher quality synthetic lenses for cataract patients or lighter plaster casts. The website, which is privately run and relies on a number of sponsors, has been up and running since last year, offering patients overviews of hospital waiting times – for example waiting times for an arthroscopy at the Hradec Králové Teaching Hospital is listed as two months. The new service comparing the prices of specific services is a new addition to the site.

 

Hamé forced to withdraw 11,000 biscuits from sale

The State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority (SZPI) has ordered the Czech food company Hamé to withdraw from sale more than 11,000 sweet biscuit packs after they were found to contain misleading labeling. The “butter leaves” are in fact made using margarine and not butter, with SZPI spokesperson Pavel Kopřiva stating that such mislabeling will lead to legal proceedings and sanctions against the company. The biscuits themselves were made by the Polish firm Mieszko for Hamé.

 

Government rejects plans for tougher anti-violence teacher protection laws

In a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the government of PM Petr Nečas rejected a proposal tabled by the opposition Social Democrats to toughen laws protecting school teachers and other educational staff from violence. Under the proposals, five new categories of crime would afford teachers greater protection: murder, severe violent attacks, violent attacks, extortion and dangerously threatening behaviour. Proponents of the legislation argued that teachers are increasingly finding themselves the victims of physical assaults by pupils. However, the government rejected the proposals arguing instead for more preventative measures to be taken by schools and also adding that violence against teachers is already against the law and does not require additional legislation.

 

Budvar ends deal with rival maker of Budweiser

Budějovický Budvar, the state-owned maker of Budweiser Buvar beer has terminated a deal with rival US Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch, according to the AP. Under the 2007 deal, the two rivals, who have been engaged in a decades-long legal dispute of the Budweiser trademark, the Czech Budvar beer was distributed by Anheuser-Busch in the US under the brand name “Czechvar”. Despite an initial surge in sales to the US, Budvar complained that post-2008, the new owners of Anheuser-Busch, the Belgian company InBev, lost interest in the product, with 2011 sales only at 30% of what had been projected. According to Budvar, the company United State Beverages located in Stamford, Connecticut will now take over distribution of Czechvar from InBev.

 

New justice minister casts doubt on appointment of Bradáčová

President Václav Klaus confirmed deputy chairman of the Civic Democratic Party Pavel Blažek as the country’s new justice minister in a ceremony at Prague Castle on Tuesday morning. In a speech, Mr Blažek cast doubt on any appointment of Lenka Bradáčová, a highly respected prosecutor and anti-corruption crusader, to the post of Prague High State Attorney. The new minister said he would not be taking orders from the Supreme State Attorney or following in the footsteps of his predecessor, both of whom he insinuated were controlled by regional politicians. The independent authority of state attorney, he said, should be kept in check. Pavel Blazek replaces Jiří Pospíšil whom the prime minister controversially sacked last week, criticising him of poor financial management. However, many have speculated that the decision was actually meant to block the imminent appointment of Bradáčová.

 

Blažek says he will save wherever possible

Justice Minister Pavel Blažek also said after his appointment that he would be working with his deputies and with the finance minister to find compartments in the ministry where money could be saved. He said the government under Petr Nečas insisted on saving wherever possible, and that he agreed with this. The main reason that Prime Minister Nečas gave for firing former minister Pospíšil was that he had asked for an additional one billion crowns for the prison system at a time when all ministries were suffering cuts. Blažek said his plan was to do what was necessary to avoid ending up like his predecessor.

 

CASA transport planes are not up to specifications

One of the defence systems on the army’s CASA transport planes are not up to specifications, the Defence Ministry reports. Specifically, the planes’ DAS, or Defensive Aids System used for detecting and preventing an attack, was unsuitable in seven out of 17 areas. The same system failed military examinations last year, since which time they were meant to be repaired. According to the ministry, in their present state the planes cannot be used in Afghanistan, which they were intended for. Police are currently investigating the purchase of the four planes, which they believe were overpriced.

 

Amendment allows army to use radio scramblers

The president has signed an amendment to the Armed Services Act that will allow the army to use radio scramblers for training purposes. According to the new law, the devices can only be used under set conditions and when necessary for training, particularly for foreign missions. The army must inform the Czech Telecommunications Office and the Integrated Rescue System of their use beforehand. The same law also simplifies the sending of planes with humanitarian aid, which can now be decided on by the Defence Ministry rather than the entire government.

Arrests made as police raid EU subsidies office

Police on Tuesday detained four people at an office responsible for distributing EU subsidies. A police spokesman said some of the detainees, who work for a Regional Operational Programme office, would be probably accused of abuse of power, but refused to reveal their positions. According the Czech Press Agency they include a section head and a department head. Police raided the office’s headquarters on June 1 and seized documents on four projects and data from the servers after a 24-hour search. They say Tuesday´s detentions concerned the same case.

 

European Anti-fraud Office investigating Rath

The European Anti-fraud Office intends to investigate the corruption case of former governor David Rath, Czech Radio 1 has reported. Director Giovanni Kessler told the station that the office, which deals with fraud cases regarding EU funds, will also be cooperating with Czech authorities, which he said is problematic - their cooperation with the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office was excellent, he said, but with the government ministries it was worse. Police accuse Dr Rath of accepting a seven million crown bribe that they believe involved the manipulation of EU funds.

 

State attorney rejects Rath complaint

In related news, the state attorney has rejected a complaint from Dr Rath regarding his investigation. Rath’s lawyers contest that the police did not order an expert assessment of the order for the repair of a chateau that their client is charged with manipulating. They also say that Dr Rath’s charges were phrased differently in two different protocols. According to the defence, the rejection of the case shows that the prosecution is relying solely on wiretap recordings. Police are also investigating seven other people in connection with the case; their similar complaints were also dismissed.

Bishops gather at Velehrad ahead of ‘Cyril and Methodius’

The Czech Bishops’ Conference is meeting for their 90th plenary session in the Moravian pilgrimage town of Velehrad. Ahead of the celebrations for the church and state holidays of Saints Cyril and Methodius on Thursday, the main topic of discussion will be church restitution, which Parliament is to vote on this month. The government plans for churches to be given roughly one half of their former property worth 75 billion crowns; for the rest they will receive 59 billion over 30 years.

 

Rare white tiger in Liberec Zoo bears three cubs

The zoo in Liberec is now home to three baby white tigers. The rare cubs were born to their four-year-old mother, Surya Bára, on Sunday morning. The births mark only the second successful attempt at breeding white tigers, the last having been ten years ago. The same animal bore three cubs last year but failed to care for them; the breeders then did not intervene and allowed the tigress to learn on her own – a decision they say Sunday’s birth proved to be the right one. The zoo’s tiger pavilion has been closed to the public as a precaution, but can be watched on a television screen elsewhere in the zoo.

 

Czech defending Wimbledon champion knocked out in quarter-finals

Defending Wimbledon champion, the number four seed Petra Kvitová has been knocked out of the tournament by former champion and number six seed Serena Williams. The straight sets win by Williams ended 6-3 7-5 and took place in Wimbledon’s Centre Court, with the roof closed due to rain. Williams overpowered Kvitová with a series of high powered serves – 13 aces up to 120 miles per hour. This is Kvitová’s first Wimbledon defeat in 17 matches.

 

Weather:

Skies will be largely overcast with some bright spells in the east of the country. Temperatures will range from between 24 to 28 degrees with some storms and showery spells and light winds.