Monday News Briefing

NEWS  

TOBACCO Health Minister Leoš Heger has urged for part of the excise duty on cigarettes to be redirected to the healthcare budget, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported July 10. Speaking on Czech Television, Heger said he believed smokers should bear some extra responsibility for the cost of health care, suggesting at the same time that people who practice extreme sports should pay higher insurance premiums.  

Read more: "Petition pushes for Czech smoking ban," The Prague Post, Feb. 16, 2011.

REFORMS The umbrella group of trade unions is meeting this morning to discuss the next steps in their campaign against the government's reform plans ahead of tomorrow's demonstration, ČTK reported July 11. The Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions is planning to march from the Health Ministry to the Chamber of Deputies at noon July 12 in protest against the start of debate on the remaining three of the Health Minister's four healthcare reform bills.  

HOLIDAYS Many Czechs say they may not take a holiday abroad this year because of a shortage of money, a new opinion poll has suggested. Almost half of the respondents to the SANEP survey said they were planning a holiday for later in the year, but most said it would be a domestic trip, and a third said they would not be taking any vacation. Of those taking holidays, half said they would go by car, with only one in eight planning to fly to their destination.  

BUSINESS  

EXPORTS Russia has agreed to allow the import of vegetables from the Czech Republic and Greece to resume, Interfax news agency reported. Russia had banned imports of all vegetables from the EU after an E. coli outbreak caused deaths in the bloc in June. The head of Russia's consumer protection agency, Gennady Onishchenko, said the ban had already been lifted on imports from Belgium, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands.  

LOTTERY Gaming company Tipsport is set to launch a numbers lottery called Tipšestka. The lottery was originally called Tipsportca, but a court ruled this name was too similar to the name of a product from competitor Sazka. The first drawing will be held on Sunday, July 17. Fortuna will also launch a lottery in July.  

BANKS Czech banks are raising their fees, according to a study from banking analysts Scott & Rose, who found that ČS, GE Money, Raiffeisen, Volksbank and LLBW, among others, have all recently increased fees. Meanwhile, mortgages are the only lending segment that is growing, the daily Hospodářské noviny reported. Mortgage interest rates could fall below 4.20 percent this summer, with some floating-rate loans already as low as 2.5 percent.  

WEATHER  

Prague, Czech Republic, July 11. Chance of rain. High: 25 C. Low: 13 C.

News Desk can be reached at
news@praguepost.com