STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC School of Social Sciences of Charles University Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 Czech Republic E-mail address: carolina@n.fsv.cuni.cz Fax: (+422) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 123, Monday, June 20, 1994. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE LAST WEEK (JUNE 8 TO 15) Head of National Property Fund Resigns Tomas Jezek, chairman of the executive committee of the National Property Fund, resigned June 10. The resignation was forced, according to Jezek, because of ongoing disputes between Jezek and Jiri Skalicky, minister of privatization and chairman of the presidium of the National Property Fund. Roman Ceska, Skalicky s deputy minister, was immediately appointed to Jezek s post. Both Jezek and Skalicky are members of the government-coalition party Civic Democratic Alliance. Jezek has been called "the father of coupon privatization," for his role in creating and developing the idea of privatizing state property through voucher coupons. Later, he became head of the Ministry of the Administration of National Property, "At the beginning, it was impossible to discern what was the ministry and what was the fund", Jezek told the daily newspaper Telegraf the day after he resigned. "The fund was governed by dignified men, who were solving conceptional issues Prime Minister Klaus expressed surprise at Jezek s resignation. Klaus said the government was not informed in advance of the move, and he noted the rapid appointment of Jezek s successor. Klaus met with Jezek June 14. For his part, Jezek labeled his removal a coup. Jezek s deputies, Jan Princ and Jindrich Kapoun, were replaced along with him. "I learned it from TV," Kapoun said. "I think they could at least call us and say it face to face. Zita/Daniela Marriage Rate Declines in Czech Republic The lowest number of marriages per capita since the end of the First World War was recorded last year in the Czech Republic, reports Mlada Fronta Dnes. The divorce rate, however, remains high. In Prague, nearly half of all marriages end in divorc The number of single-parent families doubled in the last ten years. In the same perioud, the number of children born to single parents increased. Katerina/Daniela University Tuition Proposal Put Forth A new law of universities being proposed by the Ministry of Education would require each student to pay 20 to 25 percent of the cost of an education. The price would be approximately 12,000 Czech crowns, but would vary from school to school It is expected that most students would seek loans to meet the tuition payments. According to Ivan Pilip, minister of education, his office is not interested in banks or other institutions taking part in a system of loans.The proposal of this law supposes that the debt will be paid in the form of taxes assessed by the Of President Havel Grants Leniency to Radomir Simunek Three-time world champion bike-cross racer Radomir Simunek was released from prison June 1O on orders of President Vaclav Havel. Simunek was sentenced to prison for 18 months because he caused a car accident in which three people died. He spent just more than four months in a minimum-security prison since February 1. Simunek had asked for a pardon before he went to prison but Havel refused. However, Havel decided to free Simunek, even though the racer did not ask for a new pardon, because Simunek showed interest in assisting the families of the According to the terms of the release, Simunek cannot break the law or drive motor vehicles for three years. Katerina/Clara Beer Record Beaten A new record in a beer-drinking relay was set June 11 during a firemen s feast in the central Bohemian spa town Podebrady. One-hundred competitors drank, one after the other, 100 beers in 12 minutes, 2 seconds. The previous rec The drinkers consumed 12-degree beer, each knocking his empty glass to the full glass of the next in line. Vladislav Tomasek also set a record by drinking a half-liter glass of beer in 3 seconds. The drinkers sent a request that their sudsy feats be noted in the Guinness Book of World Records. Katerina/Sofie EXCHANGE RATES OF THE CZECH NATIONAL BANK (valid from June 20) CHECKS CASH Country Buy Sell Middle Buy Sell ----------------------------------------------------------------- Australia 1 AUD 21.135 21.347 21.241 20.17 22.31 Belgium 100 BEF 85.545 86.405 85.975 83.28 88.68 Great Britain 1 GBP 43.781 44.221 44.001 42.58 45.42 Denmark 1 DKK 4.494 4.540 4.517 4.32 4.72 Finland 1 FIM 5.268 5.320 5.294 4.79 5.79 France 1 FRF 5.161 5.213 5.187 4.99 5.39 Ireland 1 IEP 42.728 43.158 42.943 40.94 44.94 Italy 1000 ITL 17.948 18.128 18.038 17.27 18.81 Japan 100 JPY 27.818 28.098 27.958 26.66 29.26 Canada 1 CAD 20.790 20.998 20.894 20.00 21.78 Luxemburg 100 LUF 85.545 86.405 85.975 82.98 88.98 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.704 15.862 15.783 15.30 16.26 Norway 1 NOK 4.051 4.091 4.071 3.92 4.22 New Zeland 1 NZD 17.057 17.229 17.143 16.39 17.89 Portugal 100 PTE 16.936 17.106 17.021 15.84 18.20 Austria 1 ATS 2.501 2.527 2.514 2.45 2.57 Greece 100 GRD 11.640 11.756 11.698 10.99 12.41 Germany 1 DEM 17.592 17.768 17.680 17.22 18.14 Spain 100 ESP 21.295 21.509 21.402 20.40 22.40 Sveden 1 SEK 3.656 3.692 3.674 3.51 3.83 Switzerland 1 CHF 20.915 21.125 21.020 20.52 21.52 USA 1 USD 28.841 29.131 28.986 28.29 29.69 EC-ECU 1 XEU 33.851 34.191 34.021 -- -- IMF-SDR 1 XDR 41.127 41.541 41.334 -- -- Slovakia 1 XCU -- -- 34.021 -- -- SPORTS The First Year of Czech Football League Finished The First year of the Czech Football League ended June 8 with Sparta, the only Czech team able to compete with European football giants, capturing the crown. Slavia came in second, a showing that will allow it to take part in the UEFA cup. In third place was Banik Ostrava, which climbed in the rankings during the final rounds. Union Cheb came in fourth, despite an early start to the year that saw them struggling to stay out of last place. But in the second half of the year, under the leadership of new couch Milan Boksi, Union Cheb lost only once and that in the last round Both Vitkovice, with young players lacking experience, and the once-powerful Dukla Prague, will drop out of the first league as a result of their last place finishes. The new football season begins August 6. New teams in the league will be Jablonec, which returns after some years of absence, and Benesov, which will open its first run in the league. Pavel P./Clara Results of the 30th Round Sparta Prague-Union Cheb 3:0, Banik Ostrava-Brno 4:1, Slovan Liberec-Slavia Praha 0:0, Zlin-Oloumoc 2:4, Bohemians Prague-Hradec Kralove 2:2, Czech Budejovice-Dukla Prague 1:1, Plzen-Vitkovice 2:0, Viktoria Zizkov-Petra Drnovice 2:0 Final Board 1. Sparta 45 9. Liberec 32 2. Slavia 39 10. Drnovice 32 3. Ostrava 36 11. Zlin 27 4. Cheb 36 12. Brno 26 5. Plzen 35 13. Hradec Kralove 24 6. Czech Budejovice 35 14. Bohemians Prague 23 7. Oloumoc 34 15. Vitkovice 13 8. Zizkov 33 16. Dukla 10 Pavel P./Clara Historical Success of Victoria Zizkov Victoria Zizkov beat Sparta in the finals of Czech-Moravian football union cup (CMFS) June 13. The match between the new master of the Czech League, Sparta, and upstart Victoria Zizkov was decided only by the penalty kicks. The teams met twice this year but always ended in a scoreless tie. This time the match ended 1:1 and a 15-minute overtime was added. In the 13th minute Sparta scored, but a penalty kick awarded to Zizkov tied the game again. The final word was in the penalty kicks, which allowed Viktoria Zizkov, last master of its league 68 years ago, to walk away with the cup. Pavel/Clara Strahov Prepared For Meeting of Sokol The 12th meeting of Sokol, the oldest Czech sports organization, will be held July 5 to 6 in Prague. Twenty-six district meetings have already taken place, the final rehearsal before the event. In addition to the Czechs, 1,200 foreign participants will appear at Strahov Stadium. The performances will be preceded by music and speeches about history and meaning of Sokol. The performances will be followed by the ringing of the bells of St. Vitus cathedral and the national anthem. Women will the perform "Carnival," set to the music of Antonin Dvorak. According to the chief of Czech Sokol, Jiri Zizka, the performers are enthusiastic. Katerina/Daniela WEATHER It was cloudy during the last week, with occasional showers. The night temperatures were about 5 degrees Celsius, the day temperatures around 21 degrees. Natalie/Daniela ANNOUNCEMENT Carolina s editors announce that all back Carolina issues in Czech and English versions are available at the address gopher.cuni.cz. We apologize that a few issues of the English version were not preserved and they are missing in the gopher. Milan/Daniela ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ANNOUNCEMENT Carolina s editors announce that all back Carolina issues in Czech and English versions are available at the address gopher.cuni.cz. We apologize that a few issues of the English version were not preserved and they are missing in the gopher. Milan