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Carolina (English) No 388
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STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Charles University in Prague
Faculty of Social Sciences
Smetanovo nabr. 6
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
e-mail: CAROLINA@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz ISSN 121-5040
tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 22112219
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 388, Friday, September 22, 2000.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (September 6 - September 20)
Financiers Arrive for 55th IMF-World Bank Annual Meeting
The official program of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
World Bank annual meeting began September 19 in Prague's Congress
Center, and will continue next week with the expected arrival of some
15,000 bankers and financiers.
Prague's streets are expected to be filled by an estimated 25,000
domestic and foreign opponents of globalization. The protesters have
announced 215 protest acts, while the police say they are prepared for
demonstrations, marches, blockades and any possible violence: there will
be more than 11,000 members of the police force on duty.
There will be changes in traffic around the Congress Center, while
hospitals, courts, prisons, banks and some offices in downtown Prague
have enacted special procedures and opening hours. Some theaters have
cancelled performances, and some public parks and gardens will be
closed. Utility providers have also prepared special plans for the week
and have increased security measures.
Protesters have accommodation in a camp in Strahov Stadium and at
the Dzban recreation area. Not many protesters are visible in Prague,
because they have been preparing outside the capital.
Dita Eckhardtova/Michael Bluhm
Czech-Austrian Commission to Visit Temelin before Plant Opens
Czech legislators visited their Austrian colleagues September
12-13 and invited them to see the Temelin nuclear power plant. The visit
to Austria took place immediately after the EU lifted sanctions against
Austria preventing such visits. Before Temelin begins functioning it
will host a meeting of four experts and four legislators from each side,
with the commission's purpose being the evaluation of Temelin's safety.
A European Parliament September 7 resolution (passed by a wide
margin) asks the Czech government not to inaugurate Temelin before its
effect on the environment is analyzed. The resolution also requests
information for the international community to allow outside experts to
judge the plant's safety.
Prime Minister Milos Zeman has long made it clear he considers
Temelin safe and will not be swayed by foreign criticism. The Czech
State Office for Nuclear Safety and the International Atomic Energy
Agency do not have any objections to Temelin.
Austrian protesters continue to stage blockades of the
Czech-Austrian border. The September 15 blockade affected all border
crossings, another blockade is scheduled for September 22, with
protesters demanding a six-month delay in before Temelin begins
functioning.
Jakub Tronicek/Michael Bluhm
Decision Made on Jewish Cemetery
The Czech Jewish Community has concluded the long-running conflict
over the Jewish cemetery unearthed under a construction site belonging
to the Czech Insurance Company. The remains from the cemetery will be
moved to the New Prague Jewish Cemetery, according to a decision taken
by community leadership September 8. The leadership also recommended all
other institutions comply with the resolution
Prague Jewish Community Chairman Jiri Danicek said the solution
allows all religious rules regarding remains to be upheld.
Jakub Tronicek/Michael Bluhm
FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF
* Robert Fico, chairman of the Direction (Smer) Party and one of the
country's most popular politicians, announced September 9 he supported
voter participation in the referendum on early elections. President
Rudolf Schuster has called a referendum for November 11 on whether early
elections should be held, based on a petition drive by the opposition
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the Slovak National Party.
The stance of the Direction Party, which opinion polls say could garner
20 per cent in an election today, was eagerly awaited. Polls had
suggested the turnout for the referendum will not reach to the required
50 per cent of the electorate to make the results of the vote official.
* Slovak Finance Minister Brigita Schmoegnerova won Euromoney
magazine's award as Europe's best finance minister. She is the first
woman to win the award and will receive it at the annual meeting of the
IMF and World Bank underway in Prague.
* The unemployment rate in Slovakia declined to 17.4 per cent in
August from 19.4 per cent in July.
* Slovak doctors began a hunger strike September 12 in front of the
legislature to call attention to the situation in the healthcare field.
The government has freed an extra 1.4 billion Slovak crowns for the
industry, but doctors say that is not enough.
Lida Truneckova/Michael Bluhm
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* The Government September 18 approved its 2001 budget proposal with
a deficit of 20 billion crowns.
* The country's GNP rose in the second quarter by 1.9 per cent over
the last 12 months and by 3.1 per cent from the first quarter of this
year, according to information from the Czech Statistics Office
September 15. The office also said the unemployment rate in August was
9 per cent, the same as in July.
* Construction on Philips' color-television factory in Hranice nad
Moravou, which should become the second-largest such factory in the
world, began September 12. The investment of 21 billion crowns
represents the largest green-field investment in the Czech Republic.
Production, which should reach 8 million sets annually, should begin in
the third quarter of 2001 and employ some 3,00 people. Unemployment in
the region is about 15 per cent, and Philips was granted a 10-year tax
holiday by the government. Prime Minister Milos Zeman attended the
ground-breaking..
Lida Truneckova/Michael Bluhm
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid September 22)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 35.485
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 22.473
Great Britain 1 GBP 59.017
Denmark 1 DKK 4.752
Japan 100 JPY 39.141
Canada 1 CAD 28.085
IMF 1 XDR 53.491
Hungary 100 HUF 13.511
Norway 1 NOK 4.444
New Zealand 1 NZD 16.849
Poland 1 PLN 9.038
Greece 100 GRD 10.466
Slovakia 100 SKK 82.065
Slovenia 100 SIT 16.964
Sweden 1 SEK 4.235
Switzerland 1 CHF 23.542
USA 1 USD 41.691
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 18.143
Belgium 100 BEF 87.965
Finland 1 FIM 5.968
France 1 FRF 5.410
Ireland 1 IEP 45.057
Italy 1000 ITL 18.326
Luxemburg 100 LUF 87.965
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.102
Portugal 100 PTE 17.700
Austria 1 ATS 2.579
Spain 100 ESP 21.327
CULTURE
World Press Photo 2000 Exhibit Arrives in Prague
Prague's Ambit Gallery hosts September 2-24 the World Press Photo
exhibit, which presents the best photojournalism of the last year.
A 13-member international jury selected from the unprecedented number of
42,215 photos in 18 thematic categories (news reporting, nature and
environment, sports, art, science, technology, portrait, etc.).
Danish photojournalist Claus-Bjoern Larsen won the competition with
a black-and-white photo of a group of Kosovo Albanians. Chairman of the
international jury Mark Grosset said the photo could have come from
World War II as well as from the war in Chechnya. In this respect, he
said, the award-winning photo truly represents this 20th century, which
will be remembered in history as a century full of barbarity and
violence.
A review of the exhibit in Czech daily MF DNES said World Press
Photo jurors are facing criticism that they reward predominantly cruel
photos full of blood and violence. World Press Photo Foundation Board
member Femke Rotteveel said, "It is not true that we prefer only photos
of war and catastrophe. As a matter of fact they constitute only a very
minor part of the pictures entered for a competition." According to
Rotteveel, those snapshots are successful because they reflect moving
situations. "They transfer through an emotional way a message about
events in different parts of our planet."
Tereza Tesarikova/Milan Smid
WOMAD Festival Welcomed in Czech Republic
The very first WOMAD festival of ethnic music, dance and art in
a post-communist country took place in Prague. The purpose of WOMAD
(World of Music, Arts and Dance) is to organize meetings of authentic
folk music with contemporary popular arts.
About 20 artists and groups performed in a big tent erected on
Prague's Letna Plain, with performers including the Moravian folk
musicians Hradistan, the British dance group TransGlobal Underground,
Algerian Hamid Baroudi, folk musician Papa Wemba from Congo and Czech
Romany singer Vera Bila with her group Kale. The festival came to a head
with a public parade where works made in art workshops were presented.
Festival visitors were offered samples of vegetarian food, they could
paint ceramics and get acquainted with techniques of body and face
painting.
Mirka Stipkova/Milan Smid
Cultural Monuments Attract Tourists
More than 800 ancient monuments in 223 Czech towns and villages
were open free of charge September 9-10 as a part of the broader project
European Heritage Days (EHD). The objective of the EHD is to strengthen
the link between European citizens and their common cultural heritage
and to attain a better mutual knowledge and understanding of cultural
diversity. The Czech Republic joined the EHD project nine years ago.
The opportunity to visit cultural monuments - otherwise permanently
or temporarily closed because of private ownership or reconstruction
- was used by thousands of tourists, some of them from abroad. Many
Germans crossed the border to visit castles, monasteries and other
memorable objects in the western regions of the Czech Republic.
As a part of the EHD, the Czech Railways (Ceske drahy) organized
special steam-powered trains on the route between Prague, Krivoklat and
Zbecno.
Lenka Ludvikova/Milan Smid
SPORTS
XXVII Olympic Games in Sydney September 15 - October 1
Medals for the Czech Republic till September 20:
Gold: Stepanka Hilgertova - Canoeing Slalom K-1
Bronze: Jan Rehula - Olympic Triathlon
Bronze: Martin Tenk - 50m Pistol
Bronze: Marek Jiras, Tomas Mader - Canoeing Slalom C-2
The Czech media reported not only on medal winners but also on
competitors who finished up to the sixth place and won some points for
the final national Olympics chart.
Daniel Malek achieved the best finish by a Czech swimmer in history
when he finished fifth in the 100m breast stroke and sixth in the 200m
breast stroke. Irena Pavelkova in the Canoeing Slalom K-1 finished in
fourth place.
The performance of the Czech soccer players turned out to be
a disaster after the Czech team could not advance from its qualification
group, did not win a match and finished last. Results: Czech
Republic-USA 2-2, Czech Republic-Kuwait 2-3, Czech Republic-Cameroon
1-1.
Disappointment came also from the performance of Czech tennis
players. From the six Czech participants in the Olympic tournament only
two - Jiri Vanek and Daniela Bedanova - were able to survive the first
round of the competition. Among the losers were the Czech players Jiri
Novak a Ctislav Dosedel.
Sparta Defeated by Arsenal 0-1 in Champions League
Sparta lost its first match in the Champions League with London's
Arsenal 0-1 in Prague September 12. The deciding goal came in the 33rd
minute when the Brazilian player Silvinho got around three Sparta
defenders and scored off the left goalpost. While in the first half
Sparta tried to attack its rival and was nearly Arsenal's equal, in the
second half Arsenal controlled the course of the game and did not give
Sparta a chance to score.
1st round of the UEFA-Cup:
Slavia- Kopenhagen 3-0
Drnovice - Muenchen 1860 0-0
Norrkoping - Liberec 2-2
Hockey Extraleague Starts
A new system of rules and classification has been introduced into
the Czech Telecom Hockey Extraleague: When a match is not decided in
regulation time, it is extended with two additional five-minute periods
with only four players on each side. A winner of a match within
regulation time gets 3 points, a victory in overtime brings 2 points for
the winner and 1 point for the defeated team.
Last year's champion Vsetin overcame financial problems and is at
the top of the chart after five rounds.
Results of the 1st round (September 8):
Sparta - Zlin 4-1, Vsetin - Slavia 2-2, Pardubice - Kladno 7-6 in
overtime, Trinec - Vitkovice 3-3, Havirov - Znojmo 2-1, Litvinov - K.
Vary 3-0, C. Budejovice - Plzen 5-3
Results of the 2nd round:
Slavia - K. Vary 6-5 po prod., Vitkovice - Sparta 2-0, Zlin - C.
Budejovice 7-2, Plzen - Havirov 5-3, Znojmo - Trinec 6-5 in overtime ,
Kladno - Vsetin 2-4, Litvinov - Pardubice 4-1
Results of the 3rd round:
Litvinov - Kladno 1-2, C. Budejovice - Trinec 5-2, Vitkovice - K.
Vary 5-1, Pardubice - Zlin 2-2, Havirov - Slavia 2-3, Sparta - Plzen
5-2, Vsetin - Znojmo 2-1
Results of the 4th round:
Slavia - Sparta 1-4, Zlin - Vsetin 2-3, Vitkovice - Pardubice 3-4,
Plzen - Litvinov 4-2, Trinec - Havirov 3-3, Kladno - K. Vary 2-4, Znojmo
- C. Budejovice 3-5
Results of the 5th round:
K. Vary - Plzen 1-3, Havirov - Zlin 1-1, Kladno - Slavia 1-2 in
overtime., Pardubice - Znojmo 3-2, Sparta - C. Budejovice 3-2, Vsetin
- Trinec 2-0, Litvinov - Vitkovice 0-1 in overtime,
Standings after 5 rounds:
1. Vsetin 13, 2.Sparta 12, 3.Vitkovice 9, 4.Plzen 9, 5.C.
Budejovice 9, 6.Pardubice 9, 7.Slavia 8, 8.Litvinov 7, 9.Zlin 5,
10.Havirov 5, 11.Kladno 4, 12.K. Vary 4, 13.Trinec 3, 14.Znojmo 2
Soccer League Affected by Olympic Games in Sydney
Due to Czech players' participation in the Olympics soccer
tournament, the soccer clubs made a deal that any team missing two
players for Sydney is entitled to postpone its match. With seven games
postponed, the chart does not reflect the real standings. Also the
Sparta-Slavia intracity derby was cancelled and will take place December
1.
Results of the 6th round:
Drnovice - Ostrava 3-0, Stare Mesto - Liberec 2-2, Jablonec
- Olomouc 2-1, Plzen - Bohemians 1-1, Zizkov - Pribram 2-1
Results of the 6th round:
Bohemians - Blsany 4-0, Sparta - Drnovice 3-0, Liberec - Plzen
2-0, Ostrava - Stare Mesto 0-0, Pribram - Jablonec 1-0
Standings (in brackets number of matches played): 1.Sparta (6) 18
points, 2.Liberec (7) 16, 3.Stare Mesto (7) 13, 4.Olomouc (6) 11,
5.Slavia (5) 11, 6.Bohemians (7) 10, 7.Teplice (5) 8, 8.Ostrava (7) 8,
9.Pribram (7) 7, 10.Blsany (6) 6, 11.Zizkov (6) 6, 12.Drnovice (7) 6,
13.Plzen (7) 6, 14.Jablonec (7) 5, 15.Ceske Budejovice (5) 4, 16.Brno
(5) 1.
Sports by Martin Moravec
WEATHER
According to astronomy, fall starts September 22. According to
Czech Central European experience, Indian Summer with temperatures above
20 degrees Celsisus/68 degrees Fahrenheit lasts till September 20. The
day of September 21 brought chilly and rainy weather with temperatures
of 10-15 degrees Celsius/50-59 degrees Fahrenheit.
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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