Friday News Briefing

NEWS  

CHILDREN The government committee for children's rights has urged Parliament not to pass an amendment that would favor awarding joint custody of children involved in divorce proceedings, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported July 15. The bill has already been passed in the lower house and is currently before the Senate. The committee said that putting the option of alternating custody above all others would limit the decision-making capabilities of judges in individual cases, adding that if one parent was unwilling to commit fully to the arrangement, it could have damaging effects on the children involved.  

MINES A second miner has died within three days at the Karvína mine in the northeast of the country, Reuters reported July 15. In the latest incident, one miner died and another was injured in an accident at a New World Resources coal pit yesterday. At the CSA section of the same mine, another miner died Wednesday. Both accidents were a result of an underground tremor, a spokesman for mine operator OKD said. Two investigations are underway into the latest tragedy.  

MEDIA The Czech tabloids treat celebrities like "pet children" in comparison to the British press, a Czech professor based in Cardiff has claimed, the daily Hospodářské noviny (HN) reported July 15. Speaking in the wake of the ongoing phone-hacking scandal that has already led to the closure of the News of the World, Professor Jiří Přibáň also said he believed the Czech press was "weak and ineffective" in comparison to its British counterparts. He added that the BBC was much less restricted in its independence from politicians than Czech Television.  

BUSINESS  

ENERGY German utility company RWE and Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom announced July 14 they will work jointly to construct gas and coal power plants in Europe, the AFP reported. The daily Lidové noviny reported that the deal is a good sign for the Czech Republic, as Czechs will benefit from the lower gas prices that RWE will start receiving from Gazprom.  

LENDING Loans from building and loan banks fell 28 percent to 22 billion Kč year on year in the first half of 2011, HN reported. Last year, the government planned to lower the state contribution to the accounts. Association of Building Savings Banks President Vojtěch Lukáš told the daily that people are afraid to borrow from the building and loan banks because of the uncertainty surrounding future state contributions.  

FOREX Currency markets in Europe are on guard ahead of the bank stress-test results, which are due later today, Reuters reported. The euro fell from $1.4225 to as far as $1.4115. The U.S. dollar remains 2.5 percent poorer against the Swiss Frank for the week, and almost 13 percent for the year so far, and dealers are counting on further losses.    

WEATHER  

Prague, Czech Republic, July 15. Clear. High: 23 C. Low: 12 C.

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