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October 24th, 2007 | Current Issue

Bittersweet victory
Landmark case opens a new chapter in sterilization controversy

Court upholds right to march
City Hall continues fight to ban plans of neo-Nazi group

U.S. offers Russia new radar terms
Gates proposes making joint decisions about threats

Chemical plants top polluters in the country
Report pressures companies to curb carcinogens

Ministry seeks approval for terror law
Public asked to weigh in on proposed plan by end of October

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BRIEFS


REMINDER Daylight saving time ends this weekend (Oct. 28). On Saturday night, turn your clocks back one hour.

PORNOGRAPHY President Václav Klaus signed a bill into law banning possession of child pornography Oct. 18, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported. Approved by the Chamber of Deputies last month, the bill was previously returned by the Senate, which argued the bill could easily be abused, leading to blackmail and provocation.
IRAQ Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanová announced Oct. 22 the government’s plans to reduce the number of Czech troops in Iraq, ČTK reported. A 100-strong Czech contingent will operate in Iraq until 2008, when it will be reduced to only 20 soldiers.
SECURITY The Czech Republic’s failed candidacy as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council may have been caused by concern that the post would interfere with the country’s European Union presidency in 2009, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg announced Oct. 17. After three unsuccessful rounds, the country withdrew its candidacy Oct. 16, according to ČTK.
VIOLENCE In the past nine months, police expelled 660 men and five women from their homes for physically abusing their loved ones, the daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported. The highest occurrence of domestic violence was recorded in the Ostrava region, and a majority of the victims targeted were 31 to 40-year-old women.
LITERATURE Czech-born author Milan Kundera is the recipient of the 2007 national literature award for his 1985 novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Culture Minister Václav Jehlička announced Oct. 22. 78-year-old Kundera, who has lived in France since 1975, said he could not accept the prize in person for health reasons, according to ČTK.
COMPLAINT The opposition Social Democratic party filed a complaint against the recently approved public finance reform bill with the Constitutional Court Oct.22, the daily Lidové noviny reported. Party leaders, who criticize the bill’s income and tax health care reforms, say the bill should be repealed for its unconstitutionality.

EUROPE Leaders from the European Union’s 27 member states agreed in Lisbon Oct. 19 on a new reform treaty that would revive the defeated European Constitution. It calls for the creation of an EU presidency with a 30-month term, which would come into effect in January 2009. The treaty needs to be ratified by all member states’ parliaments.

POLAND The Civic Platform party defeated the incumbent Law and Justice party in elections, paving the way for policies friendlier to the EU. Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a controversial right-wing figure seen to have isolated the country in Europe, conceded defeat Oct. 21. The Platform’s Donald Tusk will likely take over his post, the Guardian reported. Kaczynski’s twin brother, Lech, does not face elections until 2010.
RUSSIA Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev founded a new political party Oct. 19, according to the BBC. According to Gorbachev, the Union of Social-Democrats party aims to fight against corruption in Russia and support President Vladimir Putin’s plans to reform the country.
UK Following the lead of Norway and the Netherlands, the UK will donate $204 million (4 billion Kč) to the United Nations Population Fund to decrease the risk of women dying in childbirth and increase maternal health, the government announced Oct. 19. A woman’s lifetime risk of dying during childbirth is one in 26 in Africa, according to The New York Times.
SWITZERLAND Despite its controversial campaign, the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) won the most votes in an Oct. 22 general election, the BBC reported. The SVP, already the largest Swiss political party, is criticized by its opponents for propagating racist immigration policies.
UK Britain’s Foreign Office announced Oct. 18 that the country will try to extend its Antarctic territory by 896,000 square miles, according to a Reuters report. Argentina is also looking to take a piece of what some say is the last major carve-up of maritime territory. The United Nations deadline for claims is May 13, 2009.

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